Spirit grounds aircraft after fire foam floods hangar
July 7, 2025
Spirit Airlines has been forced to ground five aircraft after a fire suppression foam system unexpectedly discharged during a thunderstorm at its maintenance base at Detroit’s Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW).
The system, designed to flood the hangar with fire-retardant foam in the event of a blaze, was reportedly activated during a period of severe weather on Friday.
Footage showed the entire hangar and a large area outside the building submerged in foam.
An Airbus A320 and A321 were inside the hangar and three additional Spirit aircraft were parked outside.
The $32 million maintenance hangar opened in 2017 and is one of several Spirit engineering facilities across the US.
The low-cost US carrier will now be assessing the full extent of the damage.
Although it was apparent no fire had occurred, the chemical foam – which is an efficient fire retardant – can be corrosive to materials and systems.
Unfortunate foam incident in Spirit Airlines' Aircraft maintenance hangar at Detroit Metro Airport where the fire suppression system got triggered accidentally, releasing a massive foam discharge.
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) July 6, 2025
The open hangar doors allowed the foam to spill onto the ramp area.
The incident… pic.twitter.com/0A1iBwC6Av
Spirit Airlines has not yet disclosed how long the affected aircraft will remain grounded or the operational impact on its schedule.
Fire suppression foam systems are standard in hangars handling large aircraft, but false discharges, particularly those triggered by external environmental factors, are rare.
In 2020, a fire suppression system at Heathrow Airport failed while a British Airways 777-200ER was parked in the hangar. Footage showed the hangar floor covered in fire retardant foam.
