SWISS LX40 [ZRH-LAX] diversion to Iqaluit
 

Flightradar24 reporting:
Latest report (5 hrs. ago):
Screenshots of statement from Swiss International Air Lines and Flightradar24 attached.

Must have been very serious to go into Iqaluit.......YYR would have been another hour I suppose extra ?

I thought so too. Imagine changing engines in those conditions! Wonder if Air Canada has any support there.

It even made the local news (headline item - may change with time)

I've been out of the loop for a while, but do these modern wonder-jets have engines that shut-down automatically? Sounds scary to me; I'm an old Luddite who would like to be able to make my own decision about engines.

Not that I've ever heard of, and yes, we do !

This could have been a fuel leak or engine fire, leading to a shut down, hence the divert. One would always keep an engine running - even just at idle if one could - to provide electrics, hydraulics and air.

Re Iqualuit, would you really want to fly past a perfectly sevicable airport on one engine, and cross more sea and frozen tundra with almost no suitable airports ?

Here's a video of the all-snow landscape landing:
https://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/83556...-angeles-.html

No.1 Eng shut down?

The A330-300 is on its way to JFK as LX7003. Wonder whether the pax are headed to JFK.

Yes, "l'arrêt automatique du réacteur gauche".

The A330-300 is on its way to JFK as LX7003. Wonder whether the pax are headed to JFK.

JFK-YFB-LAX perhaps too far for one crew duty ?? Probably logistically faster to bring the pax back to JFK and distribute from there on flights to the West Coast. Expensive recovery exercise underway whichever way you look at it !!

Quote:
"Must have been very serious to go into Iqaluit.......YYR would have been another hour I suppose extra ?"

What planet do you live on? Try looking at a map. :ugh:

Every long-haul crew's nightmare, particularly on a twin. The relief after the successful landing would have been palpable. But then the music starts...

[EDIT]
On reflection, the suggested extra one hour extra to YYR (Goose Bay), compared to YFB (Iqaluit), was not as far adrift as I first thought. :O The extra 650 nm or so would perhaps have taken about 90 mins at single-engine cruise speed? Unacceptable in view of the availability of YFB, however.

QRH = land at next available airport or wording to that effect.

Errr, and the rest.......

In any event what Chris said;

Looking at the map if Iqaluit was acceptable (weather, etc) then anyone deciding to press on elsewhere, ( e.g. Goose) in a twin, with one shut down, for another x hours would probably be best advised to think about looking for another job this morning.

Well done . Iqaluit is not easy , the terminal cannot handle that much pax, but everyone is safe. the rest is only paperwork...and good training for the mechanics to change an engine by - 30 degr... No hangar that can accept a 777 in Iqaluit last time I was there...

As to the armchairs critics here : why Iqaluit? : closest airport, period. Imagine if they got into trouble after having overflown it and decided to go somewhere " more comfortable" .

QRH = land at next available airport or wording to that effect.

wiggy,

It's 30 years since I operated that route, and I was no expert then. Looking at my world globe, Iqaluit (formerly Frobisher Bay) looks easily the strongest candidate from the point they diverted.

Half-decent weather for the time of year, I guess:
CYFB 011900Z 32006KT 4SM -SN SCT034 BKN055 M21/M24 A2964 RMK SN3SC1SC3 SLP042
CYFB 011800Z 31004KT 5SM -SN SCT035 BKN051 M21/M25 A2962 RMK SN2SC2SC3 CIG RAG SLP037
CYFB 011730Z 32004KT 5SM -SN SCT034 BKN050 BKN100 M21/M25 A2961 RMK SN2SC2SC2AC1 SLP033
CYFB 011700Z 32004KT 8SM -SN SCT042 BKN100 BKN140 M22/M25 A2961 RMK SN1SC3AC2AC1 SLP033

Having originally departed Zurich at 1230Z, I'm assuming it would have landed around 1800Z (1300L)?

There seems to be an ILS on Rwy 34, which is about 2600 metres (8600 ft) long.

In our handbooks, it actually is:
"Plan to land at nearest SUITABLE airport", slight difference..
Without knowing the details like type of failure, weather and runway conditions of both YFB and YYR, company SOPS, it is hard for to make an assessment..
Especially runway condition is interesting, thought that callout time in YFB in winter is significally longer then in summer..

And now that I think of it, with their historical background, I really understand a Swiss crew's mindset not to bypass an usable airport on their way to one slightly better but an hour further...

I think the word you are looking for is "suitable"

Some snow , so what!
 

Gratulations to the Crew on job well done.
I think Swiss possibly had a bit more than a engine flame out or a precautionary shut down.
They found out the hard way what happens when you try to solve a problem that is to fare gone.

Quite shure the cl said Land at the nearest suitable airport.
For those of you allergic to snow, leave this to to us that love it.

I would fly into this place any time compared to the desert were the numbers are rigged to support unsustainable aircraft export and illogic hubbing.
Never mind.

The fact that we now see the other side of ETOPS, ie having to put down in a community were you dobbel the population at touchdown.
And the suits at HQ are outoff ideas .
So WHAT .
It was maybe not the perfect diversion, but it was the safest if time was critical.
2600meters rwy at -22c if cowered with spots of hard snow still gives good breaking action.

Anyway looking forward to see the initial report.

I didnt think i needed to write suitable as that should be obvious to anyone with an IQ over 60.

The "suitable" airports are marked on the flight plan by flight ops. But hey what do I know ;)

I think the danger is if availability of "company support" starts skewing the decision making process in an emergency such as this, though I'd agree it would be in the decision making process if it was "50/50" between two airfields .

For the sake of this discussion looking at the Metars and knowing what Iqaluit has available it would be hard to see it as being anything other than the "nearest suitable".

I would expect crews in that part of the world will already know where they are going before the EICAS squawks into life. Routing to SEA/SFO/LAX from Europe leaves you spending a lot of time over unforgiving terrain with few options available.

I sympathise greatly wish the crew having sat there looking at the weather and plates at the likes of Yellowknife and Iqualuit and offering a quiet prayer to messrs RR or GE as we approach the edges of those nice ETOPS circles.

Quite a statement seeing that within a very reasonable time under the circumstances they had an airplane and crew up there to take the pax to JFK, from where they could be distributed onto other flights. I think this was handled very professionally by the company.

With a Twin bypassing a suitable airport with one fan shut down is simply not done.

Update
 

LX7003 (A333) from YFB has just landed at JFK.

From the article in French I understand that this was an "automatic" engine shut down. Is that correct? If so I'd be worried that the other "automatically" shut down too. Consequently, a rapid diversion to the nearest suitable was a no brainer. Excellent PROFESSIONAL job done by the crew!

HT

Sound unlikely doesn't it - be interesting to see what exactly happened.

I wonder if it's a clunky way of saying basically the engine simply failed!!!

OTOH some pax do seem very unhappy at the idea we can turn anything on or off without HALs permission, and would probably be happier if they were told HAL did the whole job....

"Open the pod bay doors HAL............."

I wonder what the braking was like?, snow covered surface, assymetric reverse, obviously they made it ok.
Job well done.

Google Translate provides an interesting perspective:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/48420878/Swiss.jpg

That'll get the Greens protesting........:E

Native French speaker here.
Best translation I can come up with is "resulted in the automatic shutdown of the left engine, as intended / as per design of the automation"
Just a pax here, but that sure sounds like a case where avionics decide that keeping that engine running is a major threat and shut it down without human intervention. Looking forward to reading input from people who know whether that's even possible...

Well everybody else moans about Google Translate, why shouldn't they ? :O

But Newton would be OK with it ...

The actual wording in the QRH for this instance is "LAND ASAP" nothing more nothing less

Good recovery by Swiss
 

AN2 Driver
I may have insinuated that Swiss HQ do not know what they are doing.
That is not the case. and this is why I would love to fly with them any time.

Some other LH companies are of my list as pax.
Land ASAP or nearest suitable means just that.
Ops have no say in that , whatsoever the Commander has , hence Commander.
I think Fly Dubai proved that with a perfectly working AC with at least 4 ACARS and 3 satphone massages to " help " the commander.

Just had a timecritical Non Normal event on approach with CAVOK and standard fuel plus 15 mins.
22 min of cl and non standard brief and performance.
No time for dicking around with asking HQ what they wanted.
Could have gone to a maint base nearby. Did not: KISS.
Landed with fuel to spare for a second approach AND diversion fuel to said maint base.
If your enroute alternates or emg airports are called Frobisher Bay , Churchill , Alert , Cambridge Bay, Søndrestrøm Fjord , Narsasuak , Thule ,or Longyear Byen etc etc You are interested in the following: Is it open , weather and performance. Head for it,

By the way , a-symmetric thrust cant possibly be an issue with an aircraft as long and with such a rudder , and a fullflap N-1 landing . Vref ca 135???
Regards Cpt B

They won't be the first to erect a tent over the engine and bring in several heaters.

The locals have the skills to do the job with snow blocks;)

Air stairs or ice blocks
 

Tent for the Trent!
Building a set of stairs high enough for the debarkation was nr one exercise it looked like from the video.
Shure love those airstairs in the 737 800.
Anyway, i am shure the locals have a plan to cover that engine and enough heaters for a good sauna by now.
Keep an open mind , and listen to the locals. Not the first engine changed up there. Possibly the biggest, mind u !
Can anyone give us some progress reports and pictures !?
They will have have it ticking in no time.

Not on a -300ER.

I think you mean a teepee for a GE. :O

And YFB if perfectly suitable?.... not sure what any other option would be if you wanted to keep your job.

Actual population is ~6600. And it's on the Baffin Riviera! :p