crew. the faa has done extensive ç testing on in-flight fires and the research you may have as little as 20 minutes to get the fire under control or you may lose control of the airplane. over the years, aircraft had become heavily protected against fire. materials are tested for flammability, smoke detectors installed throughout, but these precautions are the product of hard lessons. fires often start in areas of the plane that are not visible to the crew. in this hour, dramatic animations will show you where these hidden infernos can start, making you an eyewitness to the disaster unfolding. it can unfold very quickly, as in the case of an md-11 that crashed into the atlantic ocean, minutes after smoke entered the cockpit. september 2, 1998, passengers on board swiss air flight 111 are making their way from new york to geneva.