Onur A332 at Jeddah on May 21st 2018, landed without nose gear

Last Update: June 19, 2019 / 16:03:15 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 21, 2018

Classification
Accident

Airline
Onur Air

Flight number
SV-3818

Departure
Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Destination
Dhaka, Bangladesh

Aircraft Registration
TC-OCH

Aircraft Type
Airbus A330-200

ICAO Type Designator
A332

An Onur Air Airbus A330-200 on behalf and in colours of Saudi Arabian Airlines, registration TC-OCH performing flight SV-3818 from Madinah (Saudi Arabia) to Dhaka (Bangladesh) with 141 passengers and 10 crew, was enroute at FL370 about 200nm northeast of Madinah when the crew decided to turn around and divert to Jeddah due to a hydraulic failure. The aircraft went around from about 1000 feet MSL on first approach due to an unsafe gear indication, entered a hold for about one hour while working the checklists, performed a low approach to Jeddah and subsequently positioned for a full stop landing without nose gear. The aircraft landed on Jeddah's runway 34R about 4.5 hours after departure from Madinah and skidded on main gear and aircraft nose producing sparks to a halt on the runway. The aircraft was evacuated. One passenger received serious injuries (bone fractures), 52 passengers minor injuries as result of the evacuation. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

On May 22nd 2018 the airline reported the aircraft suffered a hydraulic malfunction due to an unknown cause and diverted to Jeddah.

Saudi Arabia's AIB reported 52 passengers received minor injuries and one passenger received serious injuries (bone fractures) as result of the evacuation. The aircraft had suffered a hydraulic failure while enroute to Dhaka and diverted to Jeddah where the aircraft landed without nose gear, which did not extend. An investigation into the occurrence rated an accident has been opened.

In 2019 Saudi Arabia's AIB reported the aircraft suffered a green hydraulic system low quantity indication and considered to return to Madinah, due to weather consideration decided to divert to Jeddah, the main base of Saudi Arabian Airlines' operations. On approach the crew performed an alternate (gravity) gear extension, however, did not receive a down and locked indication for the nose gear. The aircraft performed a low pass to runway 16C, however, observers on the ground could not confirm the status of the nose gear, the aircraft performed a second low pass, however, again none of the ground observers could confirm the status of the nose gear. The crew declared emergency to land with a nose gear that likely was not extended. The aircraft landed on runway 34R, extensive sparks and smoke emanated from the nose of the aircraft as it skidded along the runway surface before coming to a stop. Emergency services reported no indication of a sustained fire, however, discharged fire agent to cool the affected parts of the aircraft. The flight crew at the same time reacted to a right hand engine fire indication by discharging a fire bottle into the engine (Trent 772). Evacuation was performed through the left hand doors and slides. One passenger received serious, 52 other passengers minor injuries. In September 2018 the Free Fall Rotary Actuator (FFA) were examined, a CT Scan showed both motors deteriorated magnets coating and bonding which caused the failure of the FFA. On May 23rd 2019 EASA released AD 19-092 as result of this investigation result. The investigation is ongoing (the narrative does not tell about what caused the depletion of hydraulic fluid in the green system, however, claims a preliminary report had been released, however, no such report was posted to the AIB's website).
Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 21, 2018

Classification
Accident

Airline
Onur Air

Flight number
SV-3818

Departure
Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Destination
Dhaka, Bangladesh

Aircraft Registration
TC-OCH

Aircraft Type
Airbus A330-200

ICAO Type Designator
A332

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