Spirit Airlines maintenance hangar in Detroit suffered a massive foam release which will cost the beleaguered airline millions.
Safety Foam Release
A fire suppressant foam was released in a Spirit Airlines maintenance hangar at Detroit Metro Airport (Wayne County) on July 4th, 2025 following a lightning strike – not the fireworks the airline needed.
According to a statement from Spirit, the foam release was inadvertent without any fire danger to the equipment or staff. Maintenance facilities have these fire suppressants in place to quickly extinguish any fires before more serious danger is posed to people or equipment much like a sprinkler system in an office building. The 126,000 sq ft facility was opened in 2017 as the maintenance headquarters for the Dania Beach (Fort Lauderdale) based ultra low cost carrier.
At the time of the incident, an Airbus A321 and an A320 aircraft were inside with four A320-family aircraft on the ramp, three of which were affected.
Massive foam incident in Spirit’s hangar at Detroit Metro Airport https://t.co/GUKdHXEluw
— AIRLIVE (@airlivenet) July 5, 2025
Corrosive, Will Sideline Aircraft
This event is one in which the airline could ill-afford. The leisure-focused ULCC is in the swing of the busy summer season and is trying to climb away from its now closed bankruptcy. Like all Airbus operators, engine issues have plagued the fleet as well, and these five aircraft will now have to be removed from service in addition to the maintenance they were in Detroit to receive.
“The foam, while designed to extinguish fires, poses significant risks to aircraft. Its chemical composition is often highly corrosive, potentially damaging critical systems including engines, electrical bays, and cabin interiors.” – Airlive
The airline operates an all Airbus fleet of 195 aircraft of which (5) are now sidelined for an undetermined period of time. It’s unlikely the aircraft will suffer any long term damage, but cleanup, testing, and verification by authorities that the equipment is air worthy will take some time. Spirit has not made any statements with regard to timeline of the process nor cancellations that may ensue.
The company has 52 additional Airbus A320 & A321 NEOs on order.
Lightning may or may not fall under an “act of God” and thus, might not be covered by insurance. While I am not an insurance adjustor and have no knowledge of their policy, it seems unlikely the event will be an allowable claim leaving Spirit to cover the bill.
Conclusion
There’s never a good time for an inadvertent release of fire suppressant foam in an aircraft maintenance facility, but this timing is particularly bad. With aircraft delays continuing from Airbus (and engine manufacturers), during the busiest season of the year, and for an airline that has an already tenuous financial situation, this is a significant event. The airline’s fleet will be constrained and costs associated with cleanup, testing, and evaluation, plus the initial maintenance will further complicate matters this summer for Spirit.
“Lightning may or may not fall under … ”
What did Lightning have to do with it ?
More likely it had something to do with “computers” .
That’s the most “white” that close to a Spirit plane ever!
Well Dave last time I checked, the Spirit Airlines flight on SEA-LAS is majority White (with some Asians, Latinos & a few “Blacks”). But I wouldn’t expect your racist butt to know that. I, however, as a college-educated Black civil engineer who has traveled the world, would understand that it’s more about regional demographics than about RACE. A Spirit Airlines flight from Kentucky to Fort Lauderdale would have a fair amount of low-end Whites (think trailer-type) than, say, a flight on BOS-FLL. And even in Boston, MANY Middle-class Whites board the late evening FLL flight to save money. But keep up your tired narrative. I pray for people like you.
As you said, it’s headed to Vegas from Seattle. The white junkies you allowed to take over the city chased the decent blacks out years ago.
As for you, congratulations for showing blacks have the sane opportunity in life as everyone else and with hard work and tough life choices, they can succeed. Not sure why so many of your people allow liberals to tell them otherwise.
Now, hopefully things turn around for you and you can start flying that route on Alaska at a minimum. By the way, how is that late night party at Drai’s?
“…your people…”
You’re not helping yourself with this reply. While I agree that many people of color have the same opportunities as white people in the US, they also suffer from a range of challenges that many white people do not. A history of slavery that has lead to protracted poverty. A culture of shoot first and ask questions later by law enforcement. The endless statistics that clearly show black school children disproportionately punished, black adults disproportionately incarcerated, and lenders, landlords, insurers, and even home appraisers, disproportionately disqualifying or devaluing black applicants. The list goes on, and on, and on. But you don’t want to recognize any of that, do you? Ask yourself why you spend so much time coming to negative conclusions about people with the molecule melanin in their skin? You have it too. But based on what you’ve said here, there are many negative things I could say about you that have nothing to do with the color of your skin.
My mom said I have to apologize, or she won’t buy any more diapers from Walmart for me.
If the release of foam was inadvertent, without actual fire danger, shouldn’t the suppression system installer be at fault and therefore responsible? That is of course unless an employee inadvertently triggered it. What a mess.
The lighting strike hit the heat detectors which triggered the power ball valves, causing the system to discharge.
Pulling the manual pull station would also discharge the system.
More likely a power surge at the fire alarm control panel activated the solenoid valves.
Heather I was the base contractor PM at a fire test military facility. We did suppression testing. All are not the same and I worked with various suppliers. One of the things I found most troubling was the instance to place manuel switches near the exit doors. And why I mentioned the involvement with an accidental trigger. Your information thankfully points away from that.
Insurance covers “acts of god”. I think you mean “acts or war” or “acts of terrorism”. However, lighting may be excluded or carry a higher deductible.
Regarding my home owners insurance, I had a lightning strike and an ice storm about 18 months apart. ( never filed a claim in 20 years) Received a cancel letter stating only 1 act of god was allowed. Also my new insurance disallows war and terrorism. But commercial policies likely differ.
“Spirit Airlines maintenance hanger…”
Please, if you’re writing about aviation, learn the difference between “hanger” and “hangar”.
I corrected the one letter typo.
The other major expense of this release is the environmental remediation of the foam chemical.
It does seem strange that you have a fire suppression system to prevent the destruction of property that works by… destroying property.