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Qantas A380 uncontained #2 engine failure

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Qantas A380 uncontained #2 engine failure

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Old 6th Nov 2010, 11:45
  #501 (permalink)  
 
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If the crew realised that they had no control over No 1 when they were still airborne then it would be reasonable to question whether they would be able to get reverse thrust on it

I thought the '380 only had thrust reversers on Engs 2 & 3, so they would only have had 1 engine (3) providing reverse thrust
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 11:48
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@Up

Spot on!

You are right
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 11:51
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Up up and away.

Confirmed; the A380 only has reversers on the inboard engines.
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 11:54
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Ashling

The number 1 & 4 engines on the A380 are not fitted with reverse thrust!

During the Singapore incident, the number 1 engine operated normally. It just would not shut down after they arrived!

Edited.... Oops.. too slow!
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 12:39
  #505 (permalink)  
 
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Engine shutdown problem

I have followed this thread from the beginning but can't recall if the actual achieved thrust setting(s) for Engine #1 have been reported for the various stages of flight up to the attempted shutdown.

I can add that the fuel valve associated with electronic engine control systems of earlier FADECs did latch at the current setting after some failures but later ones, and I assume the Trent 900 is included, the valve would drop back to an idle setting.

I would be very surprised if a high power setting existed during the approach and landing due to the huge handling problems that would arise.
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 12:47
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Emm4

How many times will the QF CEO have to say "eng #1 responded normally in the air, just wouldn't shut down on the ground" before people get it?

It's been restated in countless posts.

Or folks don't believe anything anymore.
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 13:04
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Quote
"During the Singapore incident, the number 1 engine operated normally. It just would not shut down after they arrived!"
.
Operated normally ??? could mean many things for various conditions ???

1. Thrust control was avail over full range via thrust lever and autothrust inputs.

2. Thrust was normal for inputs to engine system.

Can anyone advise if engine thrust was low/med/hi when they poured that fluid in to in ???

I would guess, 4 normal inputs can shut down engine, Master lever and fire handle via the spar and fuel valves, sounds like none of these 4 were avail, all very interesting.

Anyways, many lessons to be learned I'm sure, this event will make the 380 even more safer than it was on Wednesday.

A very well done to all involved, great job.
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 13:23
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KWATEOW

I was trying to recall a reliable statement about No #1 engine control. Unfortunately, Alan Joyce's (QF CEO) statement was lost in the noise of the other 500+ posts. Your reply helped me use the SEARCH function to find that statement.
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 13:27
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@lompaseo

"...One can't expect the general public to know whats going on behind the scene but you can expect that when a major airline puts their fleet back in the air that they are darn sure that they are satisfied."

Lompaeo, I agree with your comment.
But it intrigues me that SQ could so confidently put their fleet back in the air within 12 hours, having first decided that they wouldn't stop to make checks, then, then presumably after advise from RR deciding to do so. Their haste to fly again on the face of it appears lacking caution. Particularly given that they have had an inflight shutdown themselves and multiple unscheduled engine changes on the Trent 900.

I also agree that there are many good techos doing hard yards behind the scenes to resolve this event quickly for insight and understanding, but I can't reconcile the two quite different attitudes between the two airlines.

Is it a rivalry thing, or a public-face thing, or are there genuinely valid reasons why these two major airlines would take quite opposite approaches?

Genuine inputs only please. Not interested in bashing either airline.
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 13:46
  #510 (permalink)  
 
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I'd been under the impression that engine designs early in their lifecycle tended to have these kinds of problems, as even the best testing will never fully replicate real-life conditions.

While it's only right that RR should look into this in as much depth as is humanly possible, I think a lot of the opprobrium directed at them is a little excessive. Specifically my mind wanders back to the CFM56-3C-1 and it's teething troubles - another derived and uprated design that suffered multiple failures which in one case led to a nasty accident (Kegworth).
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 13:57
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Two more engines found with problems:
Qantas to change engines on two A380s

Confirmation that it was indeed a rotor disk that was found:
Qantas A380 likely lost engine disk
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 14:08
  #512 (permalink)  
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Don't all shout because I really do not know: however a friend in NSW has said to me that not all QANTAS engine maintenance is carried out in Europe or Australia. Any truth in this ?
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 14:11
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"During the Singapore incident, the number 1 engine operated normally. It just would not shut down after they arrived
Correct
Engine shut down/fuel cut off is a not connected to the Fadec.
It takes a powered command to shut down the engine ie close the fuel valve. It appears that wire or wire bundle that controls the fuel shut off valve was damaged or in some way unpowered. Not an issue just ask the AA guys that tried to do a USA continental flight on 30 min battery power in a 57. They made it from SEA to ORD but landed safely but could not shut down the engines. You do not want to shut down an engine for disruption of electrical power, lightning stike, switching busses, the list is pretty endless.
The thrust/throttle control in non linkage/non cable control or Fadec type applications actually generates its own power and is routed to the throttle controls and back to the engine to give thrust control. Thrust control is a seperate system and does not shut down the engine. It appears this cable bundle was unaffected.

VFD
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 14:26
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OFSO

"The two-year-old plane was Qantas' first A380. The engine was fitted in February after being overhauled at the Rolls-Royce plant in Hong Kong"

Can't confirm, though.
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 14:28
  #515 (permalink)  
 
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VFD

It sounds as though you are an engineer?

Thrust control is a separate system and does not shut down the engine. It appears this cable bundle was unaffected.
Had that cable bundle been damaged, and I appreciate that it appears not to have been in this incident, could it leave the engine developing high thrust or would the local control, adjacent to the engine, have reduced it to idle? i.e. would the the engine stay at the last commanded thrust setting, or would it, in the absence of valid command input, have defaulted to some pre-configured value -- if so, what? Is there some other means of controlling thrust or shutting down in an emergency -- maybe not from the cockpit, even?
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 14:30
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This runaway engine thing is quite alarming. Suppose the no. 1 is on fire, and there is no way to shut off fuel to it?
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 14:37
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Would the checklists check that you could throttle No 1 back while in the air? Would have thought it would be needed to run at a safe continuous max to minimize imbalance - pretty close to where it was before No 2 gave up?
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 14:43
  #518 (permalink)  
 
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Does anyone know whether the systems connected to the fire handle are those apparently damaged in this A380?

I've not seen it stated whether the crew pulled the #1 fire handle in an attempt to shut it down.

It may well have worked but on the other hand it's overkill for an engine that's not on fire and can be shut down with a fire hose.
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 14:43
  #519 (permalink)  
 
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@ Morrisey

Sitting two rows back from the emergency aisle one of the senior cabin staff came round and briefed the crew that it would be a fast landing. You could feel the landing gear coming down - this personally was my primary concern - but it sounded all wrong. There was almost a flapping sound and then a gap prior to the gear took an age to clunk into place. One of you more experienced guys can comment if we were sitting directly above the gear , all i can say was the floor was vibrating significantly below our feet, enough for me to lift my feet from the floor.
Sounds to me like a free fall deployment, which is consistent with the photographs of the aircraft showing the gear doors open.

Very pleased that you are around and able to post on here by the way.
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Old 6th Nov 2010, 15:07
  #520 (permalink)  
 
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multiplied by 10 to the power of n, where n tends towards infinity.

Bits of #2 emerged uninvited through the top of the wing, punching through hydraulics, cabling and fuel as they sailed by.

#1 handled things just like many a good pilot would - steadily and by the book until safely stationary, followed by the urgent need for a stiff drink.
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