AAIB: final report on A319 electrical network failure incident
published: 24 AUG 2009
by Harro Ranter, ASN
The U.K. AAIB released the final investigation report into the serious incident involving an Airbus A319-111 aircraft operating a scheduled passenger flight between Alicante, Spain and Bristol, UK. The aircraft had experienced a fault affecting the No 1 (left) electrical generator on the previous flight and was dispatched on the incident flight with this generator selected off and the APU generator supplying power to the left electrical network.
While in the cruise at FL320 in day VMC, with the autopilot and autothrust systems engaged, a failure of the electrical system occurred which caused numerous aircraft systems to become degraded or inoperative. The aircraft could only be flown manually, all the aircraft's radios became inoperative and the Captain's electronic flight instrument displays blanked.
Attempts by the flight crew to reconfigure the electrical system proved ineffective and the aircraft systems remained in a significantly degraded condition for the remainder of the flight. The flight crew were unable to contact ATC for the rest of the flight. The aircraft landed uneventfully at Bristol, with the radios and several other systems still inoperative. (AAIB)
» AAIB Report 4/2009
While in the cruise at FL320 in day VMC, with the autopilot and autothrust systems engaged, a failure of the electrical system occurred which caused numerous aircraft systems to become degraded or inoperative. The aircraft could only be flown manually, all the aircraft's radios became inoperative and the Captain's electronic flight instrument displays blanked.
Attempts by the flight crew to reconfigure the electrical system proved ineffective and the aircraft systems remained in a significantly degraded condition for the remainder of the flight. The flight crew were unable to contact ATC for the rest of the flight. The aircraft landed uneventfully at Bristol, with the radios and several other systems still inoperative. (AAIB)
15 SEP 2006, 10:52 UTC Airbus A319-111
G-EZAC - easyJet
0 / 144
Nantes (United Kingdom)
International Scheduled Passenger flight, during cruise flight
The serious incident occurred to an Airbus A319-111 aircraft operating a scheduled passenger flight ... (more)
The investigation identified the following causal factors in this incident:
1. An intermittent fault in the No 1 Generator Control Unit, which caused the loss of the left electrical network;
2. An aircraft electrical system design which required manual reconfiguration of the electrical feed to the AC Essential busbar in the event of de-energisation of the No 1 AC busbar, leading to the loss or degradation of multiple aircraft systems, until the electrical system is reconfigured;
3. The inability of the flight crew to reconfigure the electrical system, for reasons which could not be established;
4. Master Minimum Equipment List provisions which allowed dispatch with a main generator inoperative without consideration of any previous history of electrical system faults on the aircraft;
5. Inadequate measures for identifying Generator Control Units repeatedly rejected from service due to repetition of the same intermittent fault.
