Qantas pilot to passengers: 'We have a technical issue'

[Paratus]

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them under control. I trust you are not in too much distress."

Passenger: "Are you telling us absolutely everything?"

Pliot: "We're also out of coffe."

Passengers: "AHHHHHHHHH"

 

[Number1]

If you thought the A380 only had engine trouble, you're in for a surprise. It is a fking miracle this thing did not catch fire.

From Herald Sun

WHAT WENT WRONG ON QF32
Damage to the A380
1 Massive fuel leak in the left mid fuel tank (there are 11 tanks, including in the horizontal stabiliser on the tail)
2 Massive fuel leak in the left inner fuel tank
3 A hole on the flap fairing big enough to climb through
4 The aft gallery in the fuel system failed, preventing many fuel transfer functions
5 Problem jettisoning fuel
6 Massive hole in the upper wing surface
7 Partial failure of leading edge slats
8 Partial failure of speed brakes/ground spoilers
9 Shrapnel damage to the flaps
10 Total loss of all hydraulic fluid in one of the jet's two systems
11 Manual extension of landing gear
12 Loss of one generator and associated systems
13 Loss of brake anti-skid system
14 No.1 engine could not be shut down in the usual way after landing because of major damage to systems
15 No.1 engine could not be shut down using the fire switch, which meant fire extinguishers would not work on that engine
16 ECAM (electronic centralised aircraft monitor) warnings about the major fuel imbalance (because of fuel leaks on left side) could not be fixed with cross-feeding
17 Fuel was trapped in the trim tank (in the tail)creating a balance problem for landing
18 Left wing forward spar penetrated by debris
====================================


I have also been reading this thread on PPRuNe.
Facinating.

 

[techs]

Back in the day, when British made Jaguars were having quality problems, this was a popular bumper sticker in Britain:

 

[coxmaster]

If you thought the A380 only had engine trouble, you're in for a surprise. It is a fking miracle this thing did not catch fire.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad-ap...et-full-of-holes/story-fn6bfkm6-1225952350842

****SNIP****

How many of those failures/damages were caused by the engine failure though? Uncontained failures tend to cause all sorts of trouble like this

 

[Number1]

More stunning information from that PPRUNE thread. Check items 7 and 8!!!!!

"More Scuttlebutt from the Antipodes ( unverifiable source)


1. Bus #2 is supposedly automatically powered by Bus #1 in the event of Engine #2 failure - didn't happen.

2. Buses #3 & #4 will supposedly power Bus #2 in the even that the auto transfer from Bus #1 fails - didn't happen.

3. After some time the RAT deployed for no apparent reason, locking out (as a load-shedding function) some still functioning services.

4. One of the frequently recurring messages warned of the aircraft approaching the aft C of G limit (the procedure calls for transferring fuel forward), the next message advised of fwd transfer pumps being u/s. This sequence occurred repeatedly.

5. Apparently landing/approach speeds are obtained from the FMS, but there weren't anywhere near sufficient fields to load all the defects for speed corrections - the crew loaded what they thought were the most critical ones.

6. The crew commenced an approach NOT because they'd sorted out all the problems but because they were very worried about the way-out-of-tolerance and steadily worsening lateral imbalance.


7. The aircraft stopped with just over 100 metres or runway left, brakes temps climbed to 900C and fuel pouring out of the ruptured tank. Unable to shutdown #1 engine (as previously mentioned) but elected not to evacuate as the fire services were attending in great numbers.


8. The other comment from the source of the above (who was on the flight deck) was that the aeroplane did many things they simply didn't understand and/or failed to operate as expected."

 

[DivideBYZero]

Back in the day, when British made Jaguars were having quality problems, this was a popular bumper sticker in Britain:

And apparently you still live there.

 

[Number1]

Quantas is still not flying the A380s for at least another 48 hours. They are not taking any chances, very impressive in my opinion. The original problem is addressed in the newer versions of the Trent 900 engine.Now it's going to be a rush to retrofit all the engine with this modification, a major and EXPENSIVE undertaking which RR is going to have to absorb. I am just glad nobody died as a result of this major SCREW UP. It is clear the engineers and regulators still don't fully understand this new engine even after years of operation in commercial fleets.
From the PPRUNE thread.post # 928

"ABOUT half the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines powering Airbus A380s, including 14 Qantas engines, will need to be taken off and dismantled.

The process would fix components involved in a potentially dangerous oil leak.
The Australian has been told about 40 engines on the 20 A380s operated by Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa need to be modified to fix the leaks. This includes 24 at Singapore Airlines and two at Lufthansa.
The modification, described by Rolls-Royce as the replacement of a module and understood to involve a bearing box, requires the engines to be taken off the wing and stripped down so engineers can access the affected area.
Industry players expect the work to strain both resources and parts availability and say the British manufacturer is looking at establishing stations around the world to do the work.
The modifications aim to prevent a repeat of an oil fire blamed for the disintegration of a turbine disc that saw a Qantas Trent 900 rip itself apart, peppering the wing of an A380 with shrapnel and causing substantial damage.
Rolls also plans to introduce a software fix that will shut down the engine before it reaches a point where the turbine disc is in danger of disintegrating.
The incident prompted Qantas to ground its A380 fleet and the airline was still unsure yesterday about when the superjumbos would resume flying.
It expects the A380s to be returned to service on a plane-by-plane basis and Airbus has offered to help by taking already modified engines from its production line and shipping them to Qantas.
A spokesman said Qantas would work with both Airbus and Rolls-Royce to work out "the fastest and most effective way of ensuring its engines were up to the latest variation".
Singapore, which has grounded three planes and has the oldest A380s as well as the biggest fleet of 11 aircraft, would not confirm the number of engines requiring modifications.
A Singapore spokesman said the airline was continuing to inspect the engines in accordance with a European airworthiness directive that allowed operations to continue safely."