British Airways A320 near London on Dec 18th 2014, fumes in cockpit and cabin
Last Update: March 12, 2015 / 16:26:02 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Dec 18, 2014
Classification
Incident
Airline
British Airways
Flight number
BA-326
Departure
London Heathrow, United Kingdom
Destination
Paris Charles de Gaulle, France
Aircraft Registration
G-TTOB
Aircraft Type
Airbus A320
ICAO Type Designator
A320
The flight was cancelled.
The French BEA reported in their weekly bulletin that the occurrence was rated a serious incident and is being investigated by the AAIB. No injuries are being reported.
On Mar 12th 2015 the British AAIB released their bulletin reporting that hydraulic fluid leaking from a hydraulic actuator had been ingested by the air conditioning system.
The aircraft was climbing through 5000 feet when the flight crew noticed a "musty" smell in the cockpit, donned their oxygen masks and worked the related checklists. In the meantime cabin crew reported that the odour was noticed in the cabin as well and a couple of passengers reported being light headed and feeling nausea. As the check lists did not permit to identify the origin and the smell did not dissipate the crew decided to return to London, where the aircraft landed without further incident. After vacating the runway the smell had reduced sufficiently for the flight crew to remove their oxygen masks while taxiing to the apron.
Maintenance identified that a yaw damper actuator had been leaking hydraulic fluid which was ingested into the inlet of the auxiliary power unit (APU) from where the hydraulic fluid "found its way into the air conditioning system". The actuator was replaced and the decontamination conducted before the aircraft returned to service without further occurrences.
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Dec 18, 2014
Classification
Incident
Airline
British Airways
Flight number
BA-326
Departure
London Heathrow, United Kingdom
Destination
Paris Charles de Gaulle, France
Aircraft Registration
G-TTOB
Aircraft Type
Airbus A320
ICAO Type Designator
A320
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 A320 near Prague on Jan 31st 2018, hydraulic problem
A British Airways Airbus A320-200, registration G-TTOB performing flight BA-856 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Prague (Czech Republic), was…
Fleet type match
BAW E190 at London on May 13th 2026, lightning strike
A BAW British Airways Embraer ERJ-190, registration G-LCYM performing flight BA-8724 from London City,EN to Glasgow,SC (UK), was climbing out of…
Fleet type match
BAW A320 at Edinburgh on May 11th 2026, first officer incapacitated
A BAW British Airways Airbus A320-200, registration G-EUYW performing flight BA-1458 from London Heathrow,EN to Edinburgh,SC (UK), was descending…
Fleet type match
BAW B772 near London on Apr 26th 2026, electrical burning odour
A BAW British Airways Boeing 777-200, registration G-YMMD performing flight BA-2203 from London Gatwick,EN (UK) to Cancun (Mexico), was enroute at…
Fleet type match
BAW A35K enroute on Feb 19th 2026, temporary engine failure
A BAW British Airways Airbus A350-1000, registration G-XWBR performing flight BA-274 (dep Feb 18th) from Las Vegas,NV (USA) to London Heathrow,EN…
Fleet type match
BAW B772 enroute on Feb 4th 2026, strange odour on board
A BAW British Airways Boeing 777-200, registration G-VIIR performing flight BA-2204 (dep Feb 3rd) from Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) to London…
Newest articles
PSA CRJ9 at Philadelphia on May 8th 2026, gear problem on departure
A PSA Airlines Canadair CRJ-900 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N646NN performing flight AA-5478 from Philadelphia,PA to Memphis,TN…
Fleet type match
UPS MD11 at Louisville on Nov 4th 2025, burst into flames on takeoff
A UPS United Parcel Service McDonnell Douglas MD-11, registration N259UP performing flight 5X-2976 from Louisville,KY to Honolulu,HI (USA) with 3…
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
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