Beechcraft Twin Piston Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Troubleshooting; Time Pressure
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
After starting right engine I started the left engine; after engine had started First Officer noticed smoke rising from the right panel and looked as if it was coming up from the charging port for the IPad. I immediately shut both engines down and took the ship battery switch to off. Strong acrid smell persisted in the entire aircraft.I would suggest when ever possible have the charger removed from the charging jack so as not to have the units overheat.
The reporter stated that a cigarette lighter style electrical outlet has been installed on some aircraft for use with iPad chargers. The charger is 28 Volts which must be stepped down to USB voltage of 5 volts. The transformer/charger is the component which caught fire and it is separate from the aircraft in that it is a portable device used only during iPad charging. This event is his second and fortunately this event was on the ground. His previous event occurred while airborne and required an emergency descent because the crew could not immediately determine the smokes source. He saw the inside of the first transformer/charger and a capacitor inside the device actually split it became so hot. He believes four or five similar events have occurred.
Following both engine starts at the gate; smoke from an external iPad charger connected to a charging port filled the aircraft cockpit so both engines where shut down and the battery switched OFF.