Lufthansa A343 near Cologne on Aug 13th 2017, engine shut down in flight

Last Update: August 15, 2017 / 19:18:56 GMT/Zulu time

Bookmark this article
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Aug 13, 2017

Classification
Incident

Cause
Engine shut down in flight

Airline
Lufthansa

Flight number
LH-483

Departure
Tampa, United States

Destination
Frankfurt/Main, Germany

Aircraft Registration
D-AIFA

Aircraft Type
Airbus A340-300

ICAO Type Designator
A343

A Lufthansa Airbus A340-300, registration D-AIFA performing flight LH-483 (dep Aug 12th) from Tampa,FL (USA) to Frankfurt/Main (Germany), was enroute at FL350 about 150nm west of Cologne in Belgian Airspace when the crew needed to shut an engine (CFM56) down. The crew decided to divert to Cologne for a safe landing on runway 32R about 30 minutes later.

On Aug 15th 2017 a passenger reported (see "The Duke", Aug 15th 2017 09:26z below) that approximately two hours before landing in Cologne the crew announced there had been a minor technical problem while crossing the Atlantic, nothing to worry about, however they had a higher fuel burn than normal, they would be diverting to Cologne as result. After landing the crew announced maintenance was trying to fix the issue, a o-ring was being suspected. About 75 minutes after landing the crew announced however that a cracked fuel pipe was discovered, that could not be fixed in Cologne due to lack of spare parts. The passengers therefore disembarked, most of them were bussed to Frankfurt.

On Aug 15th 2017 The Aviation Herald received information that the crew received indication that the #2 (inboard left hand engine's) fuel filter had been clogged while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Some time later a fuel imbalance warning appeared. The crew rechecked their fuel consumption and discovered that at that point about 2 tons of fuel were missing, the #2 engine was checked and some mist was detected coming off the engine. The crew therefore shut the engine down with the option to divert to Manchester,EN (UK). Recomputing their fuel reserves the crew found out that Cologne could be reached with the final fuel reserve intact while Frankfurt could be reached only with less than the required fuel reserve remaining. The crew therefore diverted to Cologne. Maintenance discovered that a fitting of the fuel filter bypass had been torn out of the fuel pump casing causing the fuel filter clogged message and a fuel leak. The fuel pump was replaced.
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Aug 13, 2017

Classification
Incident

Cause
Engine shut down in flight

Airline
Lufthansa

Flight number
LH-483

Departure
Tampa, United States

Destination
Frankfurt/Main, Germany

Aircraft Registration
D-AIFA

Aircraft Type
Airbus A340-300

ICAO Type Designator
A343

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
Article source

You can read 1 more free article without a subscription.

Subscribe now and continue reading without any limits!

Subscribe now
Are you a subscriber? Login
Subscribe

Read unlimited articles and receive our daily update briefing. Gain better insights into what is happening in commercial aviation safety.

Compare our plans

Send tip

Support AeroInside by sending a small tip amount.

Send tip

Related articles

Newest articles

Subscribe today

Are you researching aviation incidents? Get access to AeroInside Insights, unlimited read access and receive the daily newsletter.

Pick your plan and subscribe

Partner

ELITE Logo

ELITE Simulation Solutions is a leading global provider of Flight Simulation Training Devices, IFR training software as well as flight controls and related services. Find out more.

SafetyScan Pro

SafetyScan Pro provides streamlined access to thousands of aviation accident reports. Tailored for your safety management efforts. Book your demo today

AeroInside Blog
Popular aircraft
Airbus A320
Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-800 MAX
Popular airlines
American Airlines
United
Delta
Air Canada
Lufthansa
British Airways