Spilled coffee in the cockpit causes Condor Airbus A330 to divert to Shannon, Republic of Ireland

On 6 February 2019, a Condor Airbus A330 (G-TCCF) departed from Frankfurt Airport, Germany and was scheduled to fly to Cancun, Mexico. In flight over North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Republic of Ireland, coffee was spilled onto the commander’s audio control panel (ACP).

This resulted in failure of his ACP and later, the ACP on the co-pilot’s side. During the failures, the ACPs became very hot and produced an electrical burning smell and smoke. The commander decided to divert to Shannon, Republic of Ireland. During the diversion, the flight crew alternately used supplementary oxygen, with one pilot on oxygen at all times. The failure of two ACPs caused significant communication difficulty for the flight crew.

The operator changed their procedure to ensure that cup lids are provided for flights on all routes and reminded cabin crew of the requirement to use them. The operator also issued a flight crew notice reminding pilots to be careful with liquids. The operator raised an action to source and supply appropriately sized cups for the aircraft’s cup holders.

AAIB investigation: AAIB investigation to Airbus A330-243, G-TCCF