United B789 near Sydney on Apr 17th 2016, unusual odour in cabin

Last Update: August 25, 2016 / 15:37:10 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
Apr 17, 2016

Classification
Incident

Airline
United

Flight number
UA-870

Departure
Sydney, Australia

Destination
San Francisco, United States

Aircraft Registration
N36962

Aircraft Type
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

ICAO Type Designator
B789

A United Boeing 787-900, registration N36962 performing flight UA-870 from Sydney,NS (Australia) to San Francisco,CA (USA) with 238 passengers and 15 crew, was enroute at FL310 about 440nm northnortheast of Sydney when the crew decided to return to Sydney after an unusual odour had developed in the cabin. The aircraft dumped fuel on the way back and landed safely back in Sydney about 2 hours after departure.

The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Sydney about 13 hours after landing.

The airline confirmed an unusual odour in the cabin prompted the return, the crew returned as a precaution to have maintenance check the odour out.

On Apr 18th 2016 Australia's Transportation Safety Board announced that they have opened an investigation into the fumes event rated an incident.

On Aug 25th 2016 the ATSB released their brief final report without formal conclusion but following safety message:

This incident highlights the correct management of an abnormal situation with effective crew coordination. Each crew member responded effectively and the situation was professionally managed by the captain.

The ATSB reported there was a brief burst of smoke after two aft galley ovens had been switched on for preparation of meal service, the smoke set off a smoke detector in the nearby lavatory for about one minute. One of the ovens showed a "FAILURE" indication. Several cabin crew noticed a strong chemical odour and an electrical smell as well as blue haze, other crew members decribed the odour as ozone. The oven displayed a "Critical Error - Fuse broken" message. The crew pulled all related circuit breakers and switched off all electrical supply to the aft galley. The Inservice Manager was informed and informed the flight deck, both inservice manager and relief pilot arrived in the aft galley with fire extinguishers, by that time the smoke had dissipated but the odour continued. As the crew could not ascertain the ovens were the sole source of the problem, the crew contacted maintenance via sat phone. In the resulting consultation it was agreed the safest course of action was the return to Sydney. The crew dumped fuel and landed safely.

Maintenance found an oven motor needed more current than normal and was hotter than usual, most likely due to lack of air flow. The ATSB stated: "This known fault had been rectified with a new oven software release."

The ATSB stated: "It was evident that all emergency procedures were carried out efficiently and effectively. The captain involved all relevant crew members and the TOMC (maintenance) prior to making a decision to return the aircraft to Sydney."
Aircraft Registration Data
Registration mark
N36962
Country of Registration
United States
Date of Registration
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Manufacturer
BOEING
Aircraft Model / Type
787-9
Number of Seats
HiA Subscribe to unlock
ICAO Aircraft Type
B789
Year of Manufacture
Lqhf Subscribe to unlock
Serial Number
Bmiqd Subscribe to unlock
Aircraft Address / Mode S Code (HEX)
Afkpnc Subscribe to unlock
Engine Count
E Subscribe to unlock
Engine Manufacturer
Cp Subscribe to unlock
Engine Model
LfkApei ibfic Subscribe to unlock
Engine Type
Jlhedldke Subscribe to unlock
Pounds of Thrust
Lfnde Subscribe to unlock
Main Owner
Mcm blndiAhblpqpmccl ghdepAlhpfnfd eecipnqgqlcqcffgbg pngijf nbc femicd Subscribe to unlock
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Apr 17, 2016

Classification
Incident

Airline
United

Flight number
UA-870

Departure
Sydney, Australia

Destination
San Francisco, United States

Aircraft Registration
N36962

Aircraft Type
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

ICAO Type Designator
B789

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