Airbus A319 Anomaly

[t-jey]

Hello, this is my first post: I had a whimsical experience with an Airbus A319 jet of the low-cost-carrier Germanwings in Paris Charles de Gaulle II airport: Some minutes before the scheduled take off, with all passengers having already taken their seats, the captain announced that they had found an oil leak under one of the engines and that it would be necessary to figure out if it originated from our plane. It did.

For more than 3 1/2 hours, a mechanic from "Luthansa-Technik" examined the engine and tried to fix what seemed to be wrong with it (the passengers were not allowed to leave the plane). The noises the mechanic produced were terrific and extraordinarily loud - so that a technical layperson did not feel like going with that plane on a night flight.

What was really shocking to me and the other passengers was that the same noise returned under way on cruising level, when the captain just had commenced the dive down to the airport of Cologne. The sound remained till the plane had stopped at the gate. I have attached 2 videos taken with my digital camera, that may document and illustrate the episode.

Now, my only question to all professionals is: Can you imagine and explain to a layperson, what was wrong with our plane - and was it responsible of the captain to take off with a plane in that condition? Leaving the plane, the crew just stated that the sounds we had to listen to in 10.000 meters of altitude were "just normal". "Just normal for a damaged plane", I replied ...


Video 1 (standing on the airfield in Paris):
http://www.t-jey.com/videos/MOV00429.MPG

Video 2 (on cruising level, somewhere above Belgium):
http://www.t-jey.com/videos/MOV00432.MPG

Finally, a shot of the plane:
http://www.t-jey.com/pics/DSC00424.JPG

[t-jey]

Sorry, I fixed the second video link. Yes, the captain grumbled something about "hydraulic".

[PondLifeMan]

Hi t-jey

Gotta say that the sound is hydraulic. Probably from the PTU.

As an engineer I only wish that I could do something that would make that sound in the cabin!!

Mostly I tell people that its a dog barking in the hold!

PLM

[Techman]

Definately a PTU running.

It is not unusual to have one, or two, running on the ground when you want to pressurize the hydraulic systems without starting the engines. On the first clip, you can also hear the electrical hydraulic pumps running.

It is however unusual to have a PTU running in flight, as that would mean that at least one hydraulic system is not powered by an engine driven pump.

[longarm]

Sounds just like the PTU to me. Unusual for it it be running in flight but nothing to be overly concerned with.

[BRISTOLRE]

T-J
I had a similar experience on a BA A319 a few days ago coming away from Spain on G-EUPM. Exactly the same noise went on for around 15x minutes before departure. I had never heard this before and I have travelled on several 319s as a passenger.
Needless to say the noise wasnt heard during flight.

[t-jey]

Thanks for your replies. Obviously, we weren't in danger of life :-) Standing on the ground in Paris, the sound persisted for more than 1 1/2 hours, accompanied by cryptic comments of the captain and *free* Germanwings apple juice - time enough to get a little nervous ...

[Avman]

t-jey, these strange noise experiences can be a little off-putting and i think that crews don't always appreciate this. However, if you need to re-assure yourself, just remember that the crew want to get home in one piece just as much as you do and won't take any risks that may put THEIR lives in danger.