ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 240564
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| Date: | Friday 1 June 2018 |
| Time: | 12:20 LT |
| Type: |  Airbus A330-303 |
| Owner/operator: | Qantas |
| Registration: | VH-QPI |
| MSN: | 705 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2005 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 310 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | near Sydney-Kingsford Smith International Airport, NSW (SYD/YSSY) -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Sydney-Kingsford Smith International Airport, NSW (SYD/YSSY) |
| Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK/VTBS) | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A Qantas Airbus A330 was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Sydney, Australia to Bangkok, Thailand. On board were 13 crewmembers and 297 passengers. The flight crew consisted of the aircraft captain who was the pilot flying (PF), the first officer as the pilot monitoring (PM) and a second officer.
The aircraft departed Sydney at 12:19 local time. As the engine thrust was being reduced from the take-off setting, the PM heard a ‘pop’ sound and the flight crew recalled receiving a flight deck advisory message, followed by light airframe vibration. A reduction of about 5 per cent in N1 revolutions per minute of the right (No. 2) engine was also noticed. The advisory message from the aircraft’s electronic centralised aircraft monitor (ECAM) indicated that the No. 2 engine’s vibration level had reached the maximum recordable level of 10 units.
The PF reported that, despite the right engine vibration and reduction in N1, no yawing was present. The aircraft was configured with the undercarriage retracted, and autopilot engaged. As the aircraft gained altitude, the PF retracted the wing flaps and leading edge slats. The flight crew then responded to the advisory message and referred to the aircraft’s quick reference handbook, which directed them to the 'High Engine Vibration’ checklist.
By 12:24:22, the flight crew had discontinued the climb and were maintaining an altitude of 7,000 ft in order to complete the ’High Engine Vibration’ checklist. The PF reported that in accordance with the checklist, the No. 2 engine’s thrust lever was reduced to idle, and the No. 1 (left) engine set to maximum continuous thrust.
With the No. 2 engine at idle, the vibration level reduced to 6.5 units. However the advisory message remained displayed as the threshold to remove the advisory was 5.7 units. The flight crew considered this level of vibration to be excessive, and discussed shutting down the No. 2 engine to prevent further damage. No additional alerts or advisory messages from the ECAM that related to engine parameters were presented to the flight crew for the remainder of the flight. Given the ‘pop’ sound heard immediately prior to the onset of vibration, the ‘Engine Stall’ checklist was actioned. At 1231:47, about 12 minutes after take-off, the PF shut down the No. 2 engine.
With the No. 2 engine shut down, the airframe vibration ceased, and a holding pattern over Richmond, New South Wales was initiated. While holding, the flight crew communicated with air traffic control, appraised company representatives of the event, and briefed the cabin crew and passengers on the situation. The decision was made to return to Sydney and perform an overweight landing. The aircraft was not equipped with a fuel dump system and company procedures required that, when an aircraft was damaged, an overweight landing was to be performed to allow the aircraft to land as soon as practicable.
The flight crew referred to the ‘Overweight Landing’ checklist and discussed how they would conduct a single-engine approach and utilise the aircraft’s auto-land system as procedurally required. At 13:07, after about half an hour of holding, a descent into Sydney was commenced. The PF reported that the descent was initially unstable, however between 1,000 and 500 ft above ground level, a stable approach was established. At 13:17, the aircraft touched down at Sydney Airport on runway 16R. It was taxied clear of the runway and inspected by airport fire services.
An initial inspection by engineering staff later revealed visible damage to the No. 2 engine low-pressure turbine stages four and five. It also revealed that engine debris had caused impact damage to the lower surfaces of the aircraft’s right wing flaps and body fairings.
Findings:
- Oxidation and deterioration of the stage four No. 5 nozzle guide vane segment protective coating resulted in the development of intergranular oxidation in the parent material of the No. 6 aerofoil. This led to crack development, fracture and liberation of the aerofoil.
- The loss of the aerofoil led to downstream turbine rotor damage with significant loss of blade material and engine vibration. Due to the vibration, and in consideration of the potential for further engine damage, the flight crew decided to shut the engine down in flight and return to the departure airport.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
ATSB
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 22 June 2009 | VH-QPI | Qantas | 0 | Over Borneo |  |
min |
| Turbulence | ||||||
| 27 July 2019 | VH-QPI | Qantas | 0 | Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK/VTBS) |  |
min |
| Bird strike | ||||||
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Aug-2020 09:33 | harro | Added |
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