SQ A380 emergency landing in Baku due to low cabin pressure
Those photos appear to show the upper (gate?) seal partially detached and some structural failure of the upper assembly. Hats off to the crew for their swift action. red faces all round at Airbus/SIA (and dare I say whoever inspected it back at LHR, there for the grace of etc...) 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: southern england
Posts: 105
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Having just operated to Baku in the last couple of weeks a couple of points.
Prior to Baku travelling east MSA reaches up to 18400' so depending on where it happened choices of diversion are limited after a descent due to decompression.
Take a look at Tblisi Odesa Simferopol or Ganja. Where wold you rather go. Again depending on where it occurred there is a lot of terrain and distance between Baku and other airports outside this area.
As for making a pa? In an emergency descent on my little airbus there is a pre recorded announcement not sure what happens on a 380. I sound like a Dalek through the oxymask so it won't be reassuring to hear from me early on.
So it's an emergency descent due to probably slow decompression with hi terrain all round. We are trying to prevent the cabin pressure rising above 14000'. If all that comes out of the blue regardless of how good your situational awareness is at that point in the cruise it is I can assure you very very busy up front. The passengers can wait.
It's a good diversion airfield with relatively decent facilities. The new terminal according to ground staff opens in may but the old one is ok albeit without a huge amount of eateries and shops. There are a couple of hotels on the airport as well.
All safe , well done the crew .
Prior to Baku travelling east MSA reaches up to 18400' so depending on where it happened choices of diversion are limited after a descent due to decompression.
Take a look at Tblisi Odesa Simferopol or Ganja. Where wold you rather go. Again depending on where it occurred there is a lot of terrain and distance between Baku and other airports outside this area.
As for making a pa? In an emergency descent on my little airbus there is a pre recorded announcement not sure what happens on a 380. I sound like a Dalek through the oxymask so it won't be reassuring to hear from me early on.
So it's an emergency descent due to probably slow decompression with hi terrain all round. We are trying to prevent the cabin pressure rising above 14000'. If all that comes out of the blue regardless of how good your situational awareness is at that point in the cruise it is I can assure you very very busy up front. The passengers can wait.
It's a good diversion airfield with relatively decent facilities. The new terminal according to ground staff opens in may but the old one is ok albeit without a huge amount of eateries and shops. There are a couple of hotels on the airport as well.
All safe , well done the crew .
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Malton, North Yorkshire
Age: 71
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Please could someone A380-wise explain the photos? What's the component part that appears to be torn off/distorted at the top of the door? [I guess part of the seal?].
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: The Burrow, N53:48:02 W1:48:57, The Tin Tent - EGBS, EGBO
Posts: 2,297
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just a thought, to date,on all the aircraft in which I have travelled the Captain has introduced him/herself and given a little pre-flight information - usually about him/herself, Bloggs the FO and the Cabin Crew. Might it not be an idea if a short announcement was included along the lines of "In the extremely unlikely event of a problem arising be assured that I & my FO will deal with that first then, when all is resolved, tell you what has happened and if necessary, what we intend to do next" (continue, diversion)?
What is the A380 procedure if you receive an EICAS Message "Pax door unlocked" at cruising altitude? Manually switch of pressurization and land ASAP? Or does the bus depressurize automatically in that case, just to prevent an explosive event (which potentially is much worse) ?
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: UK
Posts: 2,044
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What is the A380 procedure if you receive an EICAS Message "Pax door unlocked" at cruising altitude? Manually switch of pressurization and land ASAP? Or does the bus depressurize automatically in that case, just to prevent an explosive event (which potentially is much worse) ?
- Do nothing if Pressn seems normal
- If Pressn not normal, action as per Pressurisation e.g. descend as required to MSA/FL100
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Singapore
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
When did problem first arise?
According to press report in Singapore there was a loud noise from the door and a sudden cooling in temperature 20minutes after take-off. If this is so, why didn't the pilot fly back to London?
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Singapore
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The real issue ?
There is lots of discussion on what pilot should/should not have done, but not much comment yet on how or why the door came apart in the first place (which it seems to have done from the pics). I am assuming thinking is that is an operational problem rather than a design one, or a fault, otherwise there would be cries of 'ground them all till we know' ?
Hope I am not being thick, just SLF myself !
Hope I am not being thick, just SLF myself !
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: flying by night
Posts: 500
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The question why the a/c did not return to london earlier has already been answered multiple times in this thread, but I'll try to repeat some points, in no particular order
1) Because a/c are meticulously maintained and inspected and the expertise of professional engineers carries more weight than "noises" heard by random people
2) Because door seals quite frequently have minor leaks which create noises, but in no way endanger passengers or the safe operation of the aircraft
3) Because pilots have better means available to verify door closure and monitor pressurisation than "noises"
4) Because it takes a lot more than noise to depressurise an aircraft
The a/c landed safely, no one was injured, and by now all pax have arrived safely in singapore. Whatever happened to the door will be scrutinized very, very carefully.
One of the more surprising things about this story is how critical Singapore Press suddenly seems to be towards the flag carrier. I can't say a free press is a bad thing, but lets hope they'll report not only freely, but also based on facts.
1) Because a/c are meticulously maintained and inspected and the expertise of professional engineers carries more weight than "noises" heard by random people
2) Because door seals quite frequently have minor leaks which create noises, but in no way endanger passengers or the safe operation of the aircraft
3) Because pilots have better means available to verify door closure and monitor pressurisation than "noises"
4) Because it takes a lot more than noise to depressurise an aircraft
The a/c landed safely, no one was injured, and by now all pax have arrived safely in singapore. Whatever happened to the door will be scrutinized very, very carefully.
One of the more surprising things about this story is how critical Singapore Press suddenly seems to be towards the flag carrier. I can't say a free press is a bad thing, but lets hope they'll report not only freely, but also based on facts.
Last edited by deptrai; 7th Jan 2014 at 14:28.
If that photograph is the actual door, it is a frightening reminder of how little human protection we now have whenever we launch. That door would have closed and locked with the mechanics overcoming any abnormalities. It may be that pressure exacerbated the problem but the strange physical appearance now goes unnoticed. Cabin staff these days are on McDonalds wages and (with some exceptions) have little commonsense or training to look or think outside the box.
Pfffft, DX, never! Half of them can't even be arsed to respond to "hello welcome onboard" or watch a safety video playing 2 inches from their faces.... you really think they will be listening to anything beyond how long they have ro watch telly and drink free booze? :P
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: US
Posts: 2,205
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Looks like the door failed at the edge. Completely different issue than a door seal leak.
Was the leak/noise because of the door starting to fail? From the cheap seats (ie, a long distance away, like thousands of miles) I'd guess yes.
Door failure on a new a/c is going to get a LOT more attention from the authorities than a simple seal failure.
Was the leak/noise because of the door starting to fail? From the cheap seats (ie, a long distance away, like thousands of miles) I'd guess yes.
Door failure on a new a/c is going to get a LOT more attention from the authorities than a simple seal failure.
Last edited by misd-agin; 7th Jan 2014 at 14:26. Reason: clarity - 'door starting to fail'
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: flying by night
Posts: 500
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Misd-again, that's an interesting thought. Unusual thing... I initially wondered why a whole aircraft was dispatched instead of just an engineer with a door seal. Then I saw the pictures, and also heard the whole door is now being replaced. At some point I was also wondering if some exceptinally persistent seal issue (maybe a gremlin airframe) could have weakened some structure over time, as a door seal just seemed like a common and likely culprit for the described noises, but I cant possibly know, and of course it could be a totally different cause.
Some (most) aircraft have an acoustic seal around the door in addition to a pressure seal; is this so for the A380.
Acoustic seals may appear more like structure, but they too can wear, be damaged, or come loose. Any of these aspects might consequentially affect the pressure seal.
Acoustic seals may appear more like structure, but they too can wear, be damaged, or come loose. Any of these aspects might consequentially affect the pressure seal.
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Malton, North Yorkshire
Age: 71
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Interesting fact you can deduce from the two pictures of the door is that it is the central (over-wing), port -side, lower door that has been affected.
This door would not normally be one used for embarkation/disembarkation, so FOD from regular ingress/egress this particular port would be less likely.
This door would not normally be one used for embarkation/disembarkation, so FOD from regular ingress/egress this particular port would be less likely.
Last edited by kenjaDROP; 7th Jan 2014 at 15:24.
Interesting fact you can deduce from the two pictures of the door is that it is the central (over-wing), port -side, lower door that has been affected.
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: wiltshire uk
Age: 62
Posts: 84
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This door issue has been around for a while
I hate to sound smug, but nothing new here -you've heard the scuttlebutt on this have you not?
The alleged door problems on the 380 doors are a known. Emirates has had at least one diversion due reputed alleged door issues on 380. This SQ incident may be the first deprez and descent though.
My last flight as pax on a 380 was with SQ in 2009 - the upper deck door I sat next to squeaked in its frame all the way from SYN to SIN to LHR. Of note, the doors further forwards did not squeak in their frames.
As turbulence increased and rear fuselage upper lobe flexing increased the frame rubbing and plastic-to-plastic trim squeaking increased also increased. I put a blanket into the gap and went to sleep. I raised the issue with SQ and was told 'no problem'. After all that is what you expect is it not - 'no problem'...
I note the pax saying he told the crew soon after take off and met with denial/dismissal. That is a human factor worth noting for SQ. I venture to rashly suggest that a QF hostie in the same scenario would have agreed with the complainant and handed him a beer to keep quiet - before telling the CSD or FE.
As I say, Emirates allegedly had a 389 door issue last year I think.
Seems to me there a little issue a brewing here. But lets not panic. Wet towels, dry blankets - soon bunged into flexing aperture.
The alleged door problems on the 380 doors are a known. Emirates has had at least one diversion due reputed alleged door issues on 380. This SQ incident may be the first deprez and descent though.
My last flight as pax on a 380 was with SQ in 2009 - the upper deck door I sat next to squeaked in its frame all the way from SYN to SIN to LHR. Of note, the doors further forwards did not squeak in their frames.
As turbulence increased and rear fuselage upper lobe flexing increased the frame rubbing and plastic-to-plastic trim squeaking increased also increased. I put a blanket into the gap and went to sleep. I raised the issue with SQ and was told 'no problem'. After all that is what you expect is it not - 'no problem'...
I note the pax saying he told the crew soon after take off and met with denial/dismissal. That is a human factor worth noting for SQ. I venture to rashly suggest that a QF hostie in the same scenario would have agreed with the complainant and handed him a beer to keep quiet - before telling the CSD or FE.
As I say, Emirates allegedly had a 389 door issue last year I think.
Seems to me there a little issue a brewing here. But lets not panic. Wet towels, dry blankets - soon bunged into flexing aperture.
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: London
Posts: 7,072
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I can recollect two incidents over the years flying in the back
One was Branff 727 out of Kansas City where a window started to make a loud whistling noise - after inspection by the FO we dropped to 5000 ft approx and slogged into Chicago in one piece
Another was the door on an Aeroflot Tu-154 which also gave out some very strange noises - but we all just fastened our seat belts and resorted to the power of prayer
One was Branff 727 out of Kansas City where a window started to make a loud whistling noise - after inspection by the FO we dropped to 5000 ft approx and slogged into Chicago in one piece
Another was the door on an Aeroflot Tu-154 which also gave out some very strange noises - but we all just fastened our seat belts and resorted to the power of prayer
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: earth
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Explosive sound and decompression at night in pitch darkness over 15000ft peaks in Afghanistan with structural failure. And the passengers whine about lack of refreshments and the jounors report the lack of visas and hotel at Baku. I wonder who's Dumb and who's Dumber? 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: San Jose
Posts: 727
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Off topic, I guess, but why would a door leak make the cabin colder? It's not like cold air's leaking in from outside.