Cathay Pacific Airbus A330 made emergency landing

[feb01mel]

Seven injured as plane makes emergency landing in Hong Kong

Posted: 13 April 2010

HONG KONG: Eight people were injured Tuesday when a Cathay Pacific Airbus A330 made an emergency landing at Hong Kong airport due to an engine failure, the government said.

The more than 300 passengers and 14 crew members on board flight CX 780 from Surabaya, Indonesia, were evacuated, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Department told AFP.

"Eight injured passengers have been taken and admitted to hospital," Tony Tyler, the Hong Kong airline's chief executive, told a press conference.

"It appeared there were some engine problems that the aircraft experienced on (landing)," Tyler added.

He said an investigation into the engine failure had begun.

The Civil Aviation Department said a small fire broke out in the engine after the twin-engined plane landed, but added that firemen had extinguished the fire within a short time.

- AFP/yb

[feb01mel]

Press Release from Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific Statement on Incident at Hong Kong International Airport

13 April 2010

Cathay Pacific today confirmed that our flight CX780 from Surabaya made an emergency landing at Hong Kong International Airport at 1343. The aircraft is an A330 with 309 passengers and 13 crew on board.

Cathay Pacific is working closely with the Civil Aviation Department which is investigating the incident.

A Cathay Pacific spokesman said that the left hand engine of the aircraft had shut down as the aircraft made its landing approach at Hong Kong International Airport.

The other engine was functioning.

The spokesman said: "Cathay Pacific flight crew are all trained on a regular basis to handle such situations."

This spokesman also said that during landing, all four tyres on the left hand side of the aircraft had deflated while two of the four on the right hand side also deflated.

He said that the tyres were designed to deflate during such high energy braking to avoid them bursting. Such landings were usually accompanied by smoke or dust as the tyres become warm and deflate.

As a precaution, the passengers and crew were deplaned through the aircraft's evacuation slides.

Eight passengers suffered injuries and were taken to hospitals accompanied by Cathay Pacific airport staff.

The aircraft entered into service with Cathay Pacific in 1998 and it had been through all the checks and servicing procedure recommended by its manufacturer, Airbus.

The spokesman added that all the passengers who had not required hospital treatment had been released from the holding area of the airport, assisted and supported by Cathay Pacific staff. Cathay Pacific staff were also present at Princess Margaret Hospital and Yan Chai Hospital to support the injured passengers and their friends and relatives.

We are not in a position to release any further details at this stage. We will release information as and when it is available.

[feb01mel]

Cathay Pacific updates CX780 incident

Cathay Pacific updates CX780 incident

14 April 2010

Cathay Pacific today emphasized that at no time were both engines on CX780 from Sarabaya, which made an emergency landing at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday, shut down.

At a press briefing, Dennis Hui Manager Maintenance Support at the airline’s Engineering Department emphasised that safety is always the airline’s number one priority. He said that after further investigation of the flight data from CX780 and having interviewed the crew, updated information had shown a clear picture of this aspect of the incident.

He said it had been determined that the number 2 (RH) engine was at idle power throughout the approach and landing at HKIA, and the Number 1(LH) engine was operating at 70 per cent of its maximum power, and frozen at that level.

Mr. Hui said: “This is a higher power setting than is required for a normal approach with a single operating engine. Consequently, this higher than normal power setting led to a higher than normal approach speed and incorrect flap configuration.

“The aircraft therefore touched down at approx 230 knots, as against a normal 135 knots at this aircraft’s operating weight.

“ However, the aircraft touched down on the correct position on the runway, but due to its high speed had to brake hard and use reverse thrust from the operating engine to bring the aircraft to a halt.

“The high speed and high energy braking led to very hot brakes, tyre deflation and the report from the FSD outside the aircraft that it had observed flames and smoke on the landing gear,” he added.

Mr. Hui said details of what happened and what caused the engine malfunction are now the subject of CAD investigations. Cathay Pacific was co-operating closely with the investigation, along with Airbus and Rolls Royce, the engine supplier.

At the same briefing, Quince Chong Director Corporate Affairs emphasized that no decision could be taken before touchdown on evacuation, until the aircraft safely landed and the commander was in the best position to assess the situation.

Once the pilots were told by the Fire Services Department that they had seen flames and smoke in the undercarriage, they decided to deplane the passengers and immediately alerted the cabin crew to begin the evacuation procedure.

Ms Chong praised the professionalism of the cockpit and cabin crews for their handling of the incident.

She said the cabin crew had assisted all the passengers out of the aircraft, and made sure all were safely deplaned before leaving themselves. Then the Captain and First Officer walked the entire length of the plane to ensure all were safely evacuated before leaving themselves.

She said the evacuation had taken just two minutes.

Ms Chong said: “The pilots and the 11 cabin crew all demonstrated professionalism of a highest order in handling a most testing situation. It was due to their training, professionalism, their judgment, and ability to perform multi-tasks under a highly intense situation that the injuries had been kept to a minimum.”

She said that Cathay Pacific had mobilized 40 department heads to operate the Crisis Management Centre and deployed 50 members of a “care team”, including Indonesian speakers, to accompany injured passengers to hospital and assist the others with their baggage and connecting flights.

The company was now offering to refund all passengers tickets and offer them a free regional flight.

[boing]

Sounds reminiscent of the BA IFSD at LHR a few years ago. Both Rolls Royce engines. This is a Trent 700 compared to the Trent 800 on the BA. I would hazard a guess and say it's either the icing issue, similiar to the BA incident, or a problem with the FMU or EEC. Great job on the crews side. But at the landing at that speed, the fuselage would have sustained some damages.