B737-800
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor; Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; General Evacuated; General Maintenance Action
Equipment / Tooling; Aircraft
The First Officer and I were preparing for departure with the flight attendants on board and no passengers. Maintenance had just left the airplane when we smelled smoke in the cockpit. I looked outside to see the maintenance man frantically shutting down external power and pulled a flaming external power cord from the aircraft receptacle. We opened the First Officer's window and he suggested we evacuate the aircraft. I immediately made a PA advising the flight attendants to evacuate the aircraft thru the front door (1L). The First Officer and I powered down the aircraft and vacated thru the front door also. By that time there was substantial smoke and fumes on the flight deck. No one was injured; mostly because of the Maintenance man's rapid and assertive actions and the immediate action and response from my crew; extraordinary job to prevent damage to the aircraft which could have been severe.
While preparing for departure on a ferry flight; a B737 Captain smells smoke and sees a Maintenance man pulling a flaming ground power cord from the aircraft receptacle. The aircraft is shut down and the crew evacuates through the main cabin door.