View Full Version : A380 5hr circling
PC767
23rd Apr 2024, 20:11
This story came up on my news feed and this bit thst caught my attention was the aircraft circling for 5hrs to burn/dump fuel.
I know SIN - LHR is a long distance flight and the A380 is on the 'likes a drink' side, but is 5hrs the norm? Seems a long time. Over to the A380 jockeys.
https://airlive.net/news/2024/04/23/british-airways-a380-ba12-circled-for-5-hours-following-a-technical-issue/?amp=1
wiggy
23rd Apr 2024, 20:42
Not sure about the techie side of the 380 but the comment in the linked article that “The typical flight duration is 10 hours,” SIN-LHR isn’t even close to being correct so is the claim that the flight “ started to circle over the sea to dump/burn fuel for 5 hours” accurate?
... so is the claim that the flight “ started to circle over the sea to dump/burn fuel for 5 hours” accurate?No, quick check on FR24, they were in holding patterns over the sea for exactly 4 hours. And of course no idea on how long they were actually dumping fuel.
Bluffontheriver123
24th Apr 2024, 06:14
A380 dumps 2500kg/min but can only dump the transfer tanks so if the jet had say 140tons on board it would be able to jettison about 50 tons which would take 20mins. Can’t think of a failure (even loss of anti-skid on all gear) that would require the jet to burn fuel. You would have the performance to land immediately and after jettison with careful brake management the brake energy could be kept under control.
RudderTrimZero
24th Apr 2024, 07:18
Allegedly double Weather Radar fault
wiggy
24th Apr 2024, 07:41
Allegedly double Weather Radar fault
Ah, not a great thing to have on any route but certainly not on that sector.
As for the holding, I can now see it was indeed 4 hours plus…whatever the reason I suppose if circumstances permitted that gave time for a meal service before dumping people back into the terminal…
Less Hair
24th Apr 2024, 08:20
A380 main landing gears are very precious spare parts these days.
atakacs
24th Apr 2024, 12:21
A380 main landing gears are very precious spare parts these days.
Any histroy of the MLG needing to be replaced after a heavy landing ?
krismiler
24th Apr 2024, 13:01
BA had injured cabin crew due to turbulence on that route a few months ago so proceeding without the weather radar wouldn’t have been a good idea even if the OPS manual allowed it.
SIN - LHR is around 14 hours so lots of fuel onboard, even more if ME detours were needed.
The flight had already suffered a 4 hour delay to its departure due to a weather radar fault.
Less Hair
24th Apr 2024, 13:19
Any histroy of the MLG needing to be replaced after a heavy landing ?
Not that I knew. They are just not made new again. This is why treating them carefully and avoiding overweight landings is the way to go.
ASRAAMTOO
24th Apr 2024, 16:57
A380 dumps 2500kg/min but can only dump the transfer tanks so if the jet had say 140tons on board it would be able to jettison about 50 tons which would take 20mins. Can’t think of a failure (even loss of anti-skid on all gear) that would require the jet to burn fuel. You would have the performance to land immediately and after jettison with careful brake management the brake energy could be kept under control.
Having dumped the fuel in the transfer tanks, is it possible to feed fuel back into them from other tanks and then dump it. If so what sort of flow rate can you get?
White Knight
25th Apr 2024, 08:46
Having dumped the fuel in the transfer tanks, is it possible to feed fuel back into them from other tanks and then dump it. If so what sort of flow rate can you get?
No. Not possible.