‘Missing’ Titan Airways A321 windows caused by high intensity film lights: AAIB

 

After high-power lights used during filming damaged the windows of a Titan Airways Airbus A321, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) released a special bulletin.  

On November 11, 2023, an advisory was released to alert people of a possible problem that wasn't identified until the aircraft was in flight.  

When the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) in France said that the AAIB was looking into an incident in which three windows had become "missing and loose," word of an aircraft with damaged windows first spread in October 2023. 

The incident's cause is explained by the most recent AAIB information. 

The Airbus A321-253NX, registered G-OATW, operated by Titan Airways was on a “multi-day charter away from base with a flight crew consisting of three pilots, an engineer, a loadmaster, and six cabin crew,” according to the AAIB's notice. Nine other people, all tour operator personnel, were also on board.  

Photo credit: flightradar24.com

On October 4, 2023, at approximately 11:50 a.m. local time, the aircraft took off from London Stansted Airport (STN) and flew to Orlando International Airport (MCO) in Florida.  

The loadmaster at the back of the aircraft "noticed an increased cabin noise as he approached the overwing exits and his attention was drawn to a cabin window on the left side of the aircraft," the report states, after the seat belt signs had been turned off.

He noticed that the windowpane looked to have "slid down," and the window seal was flapping. The boom was "loud enough to damage your hearing," according to him. 

The third pilot and engineer checked the window while flying at somewhat less than 14,000 feet, and they decided to head back to STN. 

The A321 landed after just 36 minutes in the air, and upon inspection, it was discovered that two more cabin windowpanes were "missing and a third was dislodged." The cabin, however, maintained its pressure the whole trip. 

Why were the windows damaged? 

According to the AAIB, high-power lights were shone through the windows on October 3, 2023, during a filming exercise intended to create the sense of illusion of a sunset.  

“The lights were first shone on the right side of the aircraft for approximately five and a half hours, with the light focused on the cabin windows just aft of the overwing exits. The lights were then moved to the left side of the aircraft where they illuminated a similar area on the left side for approximately four hours,” the AAIB said. 

The "foam ring material on the back of the cabin liners was found to be melted in the areas adjacent to the windows that were damaged or missing," the AAIB determined after closely examining the windows. 

It was discovered that four of the aircraft's windows were broken.  

The AAIB noted that during shooting activities the day before the flight, the windows were lighted for four to five and a half hours at elevated temperatures, which appears to have caused thermal damage and distortion.  

The AAIB came to the conclusion that the lights had most likely been placed less than 10 meters from the aircraft. 

Future concerns center on the possibility of "more serious consequences" in the event that window integrity is compromised at a higher altitude.  

With the help of the BEA, the aircraft manufacturer, and the aircraft operator, the AAIB inquiry is currently ongoing to determine how a similar incident could be avoided. 

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