Lost 1 Gen during taxiout A321

[Hoangminh90]

I want to know if during taxi out we lose 1 Gen , what should we do ?
Should we come back or continue using APU GEN ?
And if we are on emer elec , should we start APU or not ? ( both 320 and 321 )
Tks :) !

[kishupes]

Return to ramp for sure.check MEL very useful for decision making

[Hoangminh90]

Actually i checked the Mel. It related to " Ac main generator ". And on procedure it said use APU GEN . Probrally we can still can continue but any idea that why we should come back ?

[A and C]

Technically unless you are ETOPS you can continue but you need to ask yourself if this is a wise course of action as you do not know why the GEN has failed.

I would return to the ramp and find out why it has failed before flying.

[flyingchanges]

Your MEL says nothing about checking IDG oil levels or running a history on the remaining generators?

[Hoangminh90]

and 1 more question i just wonder if G/S mini still working if during circling if we did not input the landing runway or the wind component ?

[CaptainProp]

May I ask what your experience level is? Don't mean to be sarcastic or anything, just out of interest.

CP

[kishupes]

If you will read carefully there is limitation regarding max altitude 33500ft which may be far not the optimum cruise level which can be a significant difference in fuel so at least you may be aware of that. also you dont know what may happened in cruise etc. (other downgrades)

[Piltdown Man]

I'm afraid it all depends. The first factor is when is your decision point for you company's MEL? Is it at Engine start/Brakes release (WIE), commencement of taxi or the start of the take-off roll? Each of these milestones is easy to determine and really are non-negotiable. Assuming your point just after Engine start/Brakes release you may be able to legally continue. But do you really want to? Will you have enough fuel to actually make the flight? One gen. inop. normally incurs an additional fuel burn. Do you have enough? And on arrival, is the aircraft dispatchable? Are you flying to a maintenance base? Is this a re-occurring fault? The easy and possibly most sensible option is the one suggested by A and C because if nothing else it gives you time to think if you really want to take the plane.

With major faults like this you firstly have to legal. Then you have to be able to sell it to your Chief Pilot and then, most importantly to yourself. All electric planes need lots of wiggly ampy things to fly and when one source fails, it would be nice to know why.

PM

[FlightDetent]

and 1 more question i just wonder if G/S mini still working if during circling if we did not input the landing runway or the wind component ? No. As with any other computer system, either set it up properly and use it as designed, or not use it at all. Rubbish inputs produce mathematically correct, yet rubbish results. And it would look as if it were working.

[tubby linton]

Light the apu, hope that you have enough spare fuel to run it for the duration of the flight and continue if you do.

[Hoangminh90]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I am just released FO few months so i want to know about my aircraft.
So i think we may continue the flight if the flight time is short and we come back to our main base legally , right ?

[ironbutt57]

if your MEL has an "M" procedure associated with this failure...good airmanship would be to return to the gate and have this procedure carried out...and most MEL's state something to this effect in their preamble..

personally you should be consulting with your companies' ops manual procedures, I wouldn't necessarily act on information received on this forum..

[Metro man]

I returned to stand because the green hydraulic system failed on taxi out, ETOPS flight. I also went back with an Engine Interface Unit failure after start up, we would have been unable to get the engine going again after shutdown. Sometimes the MEL won't cover the failure and old fashioned judgement comes in.

[compressor stall]

old fashioned judgement comes in

Some people need an app for that...

[Junkflyer]

In the 717, we are able to crew placard one generator if it is inop. (Non etops) We are allowed to do this on certain items at my airline. It is an MEL entered by the crew after conferring with mx.
The procedure calls for using apu generator the entire time. Not a big deal. If you expect bad wx at destination it is a judgement call.
Not sure what the Bus specifies, it also depends on your company procedures.
If there is no MEL relief, you return to the gate.

[wiggy]

What a lot above have said... your company's rules covering point of despatch, applicability of the MEL and so on should be written down in your company's MEL. There will possibly be further discusion/rules laid out in your FCOM/Ops manual.

FWIW where I work the general rule is that the MEL only applies up to point of despatch, after that it's what's written in the QRH/ECL..(but it still might be an idea to look at the MEL for more info). There's also a proviso with us that if you're still on the ground at a Main Maintenance base regardless of MEL/QRH content talk to company because they might not want you taking the problem to an out station.

But above all what ironbutt57 said:

personally you should be consulting with your companies' ops manual procedures, I wouldn't necessarily act on information received on this forum..

[CMpilot1]

In our company, if the snag has 'M'(maintenance) written against it, then you can return to the stand to get it rectified. I had a similar snag and had returned to the stand.

[tubby linton]

The problem with losing an engine gen is the gen - fmgc- autoland capability relationship will leave you CAT3 Single.