Oops: Foam Floods Spirit Airlines Maintenance Facility In Detroit

Well here’s something that you don’t see every day, which makes for a good picture, but is probably less fun to clean up. 😉

Spirit maintenance facility fire suppression system snafu

Spirit Airlines has one of its primary maintenance facilities at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW). The $32 million facility was completed in 2017, and covers an area of around 126,000 square feet. As you’d expect, these facilities have all kinds of safety features, including a fire suppression system.

Well, at around 5PM on July 4, 2025, there was a storm in Detroit, and it’s believed that lightning near the facility may have accidentally triggered the fire suppression system, causing foam to not only fill the hangar, but also the area around it.

The visuals of this incident are kind of wild, as you can seen in the below video, taken from a plane that took off from the airport that day.

Now, you might think that this is harmless, as it almost looks like an airplane bubble bath. However, this foam poses a real risk to planes, because the foam’s chemical composition is corrosive, and can damage aircraft systems, including engines, electronics, and even cabin interiors.

So planes have had to be taken out of service due to this incident, though the carrier’s schedule isn’t impacted. I can’t help but be curious how long this cleanup effort will take.

What Spirit Airlines says about the incident

Spirit Airlines has issued the following statement regarding this incident:

On July 4, the fire suppression system at our Detroit (DTW) maintenance facility was inadvertently activated, which we believe was caused by lightning nearby. There was no fire, and no injuries were reported. Two aircraft parked inside the facility and one aircraft parked outside the facility were removed from service for inspection by our maintenance team. We have engaged a contractor to assist with cleanup efforts, and we thank first responders for their quick response and assistance. There is no impact to our flight operations.

Bottom line

A Spirit Airlines hangar was filled with foam on July 4, as the fire suppression system accidentally went off. It’s believed that this happened due to lightning near the facility. This foam can be corrosive, so planes need to be inspected prior to returning to service. Good thing they’re already in the maintenance facility, I suppose.

This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen something like this, though it’s quite rare…