Lufthansa A343 Diversion to Dubrovnik (Non Double Engine Failure?)
 

The Aviation Herald is reporting:

There must be a very good reason why a 4-engine, long range aircraft would divert to somewhere like Dubrovnik while being so close (in relative terms) to its home base. Any truth to the passengers' take that this was a double engine failure?

Being down to 2 engines was a very good reason to land at nearest available.... can you imagine the uproar if he had tried to turn back and lost another...... suggest you think before you print.

I suggest you read before you reply.

That was exactly my point, i.e. to know if this was a double engine failure or not. If it was, then the decision to divert to the nearest airport was the reasonable course of action.

jeez, I'd be keen to hear what happened here.....Dubrovnik certainly wouldnt be a choice of an enroute alt for me unlesso u were in the "land at the nearest suitable alt" scenario.

And why so ? a 3300m x 45 runway and ATC with Approach radar and full emergency services avail would qualify. If you're referring to the high ground around, can be a factor with strong winds , I agree, but not the case today though.(been landing there a few times.)

No sign of anything looking like a 340 on the airport webcams Airport Dubrovnik so if this did happen it was on it's way again fairly quick.

My only experience of DBV is as a (young) pax on British Airtours 707 in 1975! - a nosewheel became separated from the aircraft during landing in +RA :eek:

Why so? windsheer experience from the place both rwys.......on the ILS app you can get some very sporty, theres a massive dip in terrain before the threshold re shearand the circle to land is not what you want to be doing in an emergency. I know of a guy that got Alpha Floor doing a circle to land on the break off for a down wind there due to the viciousness of the winds.......likewise the rwy is very undullating.....granted it's long. I'd prefer maybe Split as an Alt. Venice even better but they must have had big probs to dive into DBV.

Thats my reading of the place.....horses for courses as the saying goes.:ok:

.....any other reason to divert do DBV ??
....3 engines alife going to MUC, just a short jump or even to FRA....don't see a problem so far
....but 2 engines gone :mad:

anyway it's very quite in the medias, ZERO. Just Another "good" LH censorship :yuk: money instead of public interest....I know they are the Best, and bad stuffs happens only to the others.

As per the LH website, that flight is listed as "in flight" for today and arrival yesterday was listed as on time. Are any other details available?

Apparently this was the 18th of January 2011.

Eyewitness report
 

Apparently a source for the "2 engines off" is the press secretary of the catholic bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam (Netherlands):

Source:
Noodlanding vliegtuig met bisschop Punt erin Archief 2011 [Actualiteit | Katholiek Nederland]

Guessing he means circled ... doubtless a translation matter. "Smoke coming from engines" is vague enough to mean ... anything.
Matches his testimony, that vagueness.
Of course. To shut down two engines, doubtless something a bit more complex, perhaps even dire, was afoot.
All translation matters considered, this is unhelpful, other than his report that two of the four engines were shut down / off.

"Therefore we were floating."

Actually, Herr Secretary, "therefore, we were still flying!" :} (Given two engines were still running). They'd have been floating if all four engines had been secured, and they were landing in, rather than "doing loops" in and about the Adriatic. :eek:

Hopefully something in more aviation-like language will be forthcoming to explain this divert.

Japan Airlines fly a 747-400 every now and then to Dubrovnic. In daylight with RWY12 in use and nice weather, I don't see why you wouldn't land in DBV.

Obviously trying to drum up a little support.

2 eng failures on
 

4 eng aircraft in the past were usually due to crew actions in haste

Vincenco,

Nice photo. Welcome to the forum!

Thanks! This foto is from airport webcam

A lot of reading interpretations throughout this saga. Of course the crew knows what they did and their report would show this. The rest of the sources of information leaking into these posts are likely speculative.

Most two engine problems end up as one shutdown for precaution while the other is on-watch for similarity.

I'm not sure what the picture above is suppose to show. Is it the same plane the same day after it landed or just a file photo?

translation
 

wozzo
Quote:
"I clearly saw smoke coming from the engine. The plane made some loops over the Adriatic Sea." (...) Lufthansa was according to Peeters very vague about the cause of the smoke. "Something would have gone wrong in the kitchen where meals are heated. But I think there was more to it. The pilot had two of the four engines off. Therefore it seemed we were floating. Everyone held his breath. We obviously have done some prayers."
Source:
Noodlanding vliegtuig met bisschop Punt erin Archief 2011 [Actualiteit | Katholiek Nederland]

I checked the translation and it is except for some wrong choosen words correct.
The loops of course were some circles over the adriatic sea.
What he left out is Mr. Peeters also reported to that Catholic Press office in the Netherlands, that fuel was dumped and that it was an impressive sight of which he took some pictures with his mobile phone.
Instead of using the word floating he should have used the word soaring / gliding.

It obviously was an normal landing at DBV and the passengers arrived at Addis Ababa one day late.
Forget about the prayers, a good catholic has to say something like that ??

By the way I am married to a Dutch girl since 48 years, that´s why !
Jo