British Airways A319 near London on Oct 21st 2016, fumes on board
Last Update: March 9, 2017 / 14:30:12 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Oct 21, 2016
Classification
Incident
Cause
Fumes on board
Airline
British Airways
Departure
Bordeaux, France
Destination
London Gatwick, United Kingdom
Aircraft Registration
G-DBCB
Aircraft Type
Airbus A319
ICAO Type Designator
A319
The UK AAIB rated the occurrence a serious incident and opened an investigation.
The occurrence aircraft had diverted to Bordeaux the previous day while performing flight BA-2720 from London Gatwick to Malaga,SP (Spain).
On Mar 9th 2017 the AAIB released their bulletin.
The AAIB wrote:
The day before the incident, during a cross-bleed engine start, the co-pilot noticed a brief acidic smell that returned just before takeoff and twice during the climb. The commander was unable to detect anything unusual until they were in the cruise, when the smell returned with increasing intensity. The smell was strongest in the area of the co-pilot’s rudder pedals and side-stick controller but there were no symptoms in the passenger cabin. The crew initiated the Smoke/Fire/Fumes emergency checklist and with the smell becoming stronger, they diverted to Bordeaux, where the landing was uneventful.
The smell could not be reproduced on the ground but the avionics blower fan was inhibited before the aircraft departed the following day on a re-positioning flight to London Gatwick.
The smell returned when the crew initiated their descent and they donned their oxygen masks and declared a PAN.
Investigation by the operator did not identify the definitive source of the smell, although a number of components were replaced. These included the right brake master cylinder which was found to be leaking hydraulic oil. The aircraft has completed over 30 flights since the incident without recurrence.
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Oct 21, 2016
Classification
Incident
Cause
Fumes on board
Airline
British Airways
Departure
Bordeaux, France
Destination
London Gatwick, United Kingdom
Aircraft Registration
G-DBCB
Aircraft Type
Airbus A319
ICAO Type Designator
A319
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
Article source
You can read 2 more free articles without a subscription.
Subscribe now and continue reading without any limits!
Read unlimited articles and receive our daily update briefing. Gain better insights into what is happening in commercial aviation safety.
Send tip
Support AeroInside by sending a small tip amount.
Related articles
Fleet type match
British Airways A319 near London on Mar 5th 2014, cabin pressure problems
A British Airways Airbus A319-100, registration G-DBCB performing flight BA-976 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Hanover (Germany), was climbing…
British Airways A35K enroute on Jan 22nd 2023, turbulence injures cabin crew
A British Airways Airbus A350-1000, registration G-XWBL performing flight BA-247 (dep Jan 21th) from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Sao Paulo,SP…
Fleet type match
British Airways A320 near Glasgow on Apr 10th 2023, fuel transfer problem
A British Airways Airbus A320-200, registration G-EUYU performing flight BA-1480 from London Gatwick,EN to Glasgow,SC (UK), was descending towards…
Fleet type match
Briitsh Airways A320 near Zurich on Mar 29th 2023, unusual odour on board
A British Airways Airbus A320-200, registration G-EUUK performing flight BA-575 from Milan Linate (Italy) to London Heathrow,EN (UK), was climbing…
Fleet type match
British Airways A320 near Zurich on Mar 23rd 2023, steam on the flight deck
A British Airways Airbus A320-200, registration G-EUUC performing flight BA-718 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Zurich (Switzerland), was descending…
Fleet type match
British Airways B789 and Qantas A332 at Sydney on Sep 28th 2022, loss of separation during standard instrument departure
A British Airways Boeing 787-9, registration G-ZBKF performing flight BA-16 from Sydney,NS (Australia) to Singapore (Singapore), was climbing out of…
Newest articles
Fleet type match
El Al B788 at Boston on May 28th 2023, tyre damage, steering failure, possibly hard landing
An El Al Boeing 787-8, registration 4X-ERB performing flight LY-15 from Tel Aviv (Israel) to Boston,MA (USA), landed on Boston's runway 22L and was…
Fleet type match
Egypt B738 at Jeddah on May 28th 2023, tyre damage on landing
An Egypt Air Boeing 737-800, registration SU-GEM performing flight MS-643 from Cairo (Egypt) to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), landed on Jeddah's runway 16R…
Subscribe today
Are you researching aviation incidents? Get access to AeroInside Insights, unlimited read access and receive the daily newsletter.
Pick your plan and subscribePartner
A new way to document and demonstrate airworthiness compliance and aircraft value. Find out more.
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 provides streamlined access to thousands of aviation accident reports. Tailored for your safety management efforts. Book your demo today
AeroInside Blog
Popular aircraft
Airbus A320Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-800 MAX
Popular airlines
American AirlinesUnited
Delta
Air Canada
Lufthansa
British Airways