Fire and its toxic smoke have been the cause of accidents . An electrical fire on Air Canada Flight 797 in 1983 caused the deaths of 23 of the 46 passengers , resulting in the introduction of floor level lighting to assist people to evacuate a smoke-filled aircraft . In 1985 , a fire on the runway caused the loss of 55 lives , 48 from the effects of incapacitating and subsequently lethal toxic gas and smoke in the British Airtours Flight 28M accident which raised serious concerns relating to survivability – something that had not been studied in such detail . The swift incursion of the fire into the fuselage and the layout of the aircraft impaired passengers ' ability to evacuate , with areas such as the forward galley area becoming a bottle-neck for escaping passengers , with some dying very close to the exits . Much research into evacuation and cabin and seating layouts was carried out at Cranfield Institute to try to measure what makes a good evacuation route , which led to the seat layout by Overwing exits being changed by mandate and the examination of evacuation requirements relating to the design of galley areas . The use of smoke hoods or misting systems were also examined although both were rejected
Air Canada Flight 797
Air Canada Flight 797
Aviation safety