On February 3, 1988, American Airlines flight 132, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-83, departed Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, for Nashville Metropolitan Airport, Tennessee. In addition to the passenger luggage in the midcargo compartment, flight 132 was loaded with a 104-pound fiber drum of textile treatment chemicals. Undeclared and improperly packaged hazardous materials inside the fiber drum included 5 gallons of hydrogen peroxide solution and 25 pounds of a sodium orthosilicate-based mixture. While in flight, a flight attendant and a deadheading first officer notified the cockpit crew of smoke in the passenger cabin. The passenger cabin floor above the ceiling of the midcargo compartment was hot and soft, and the flight attendants had to move passengers from the affected area. The captain, who was aware of a mechanical discrepancy with the auxiliary power unit on an earlier flight which resulted in in-flight fumes, was skeptical about the flight attendant's report of smoke. No in-flight emergency was declared. After landing, the captain notified Nashville Ground Control about the possibility of fire in the cargo compartment, and he requested fire equipment. The report discusses several safety issues including the undeclared and improperly prepared hazardous materials, the performance of the cargo compartment, the performance of the flight crew and flight attendants after smoke was discovered, and factors that affected the survivability of the passengers.
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