A Crikey reader filed this report and the photos:
Jetstar flight from Adelaide to Melbourne on Saturday 22 August ,
depature to be 3:30.
At the end of the pushback from the gate the plane
stayed put for longer than usual, then the captain advised us all that
due to a large amount of hydaulic fluid on the ground that the plane was
not going anywhere.
After receiving advice from ground staff and engineering he then advised
we would return to the gate where we all de-planed with all cabin
baggage etc.
They kept us well informed, and about an hour later said that parts were
coming from Sydney and Melbourne; and that the flight had not been
cancelled, just delayed till….. 10:10 pm! (It was a 3:30pm flight).
We and others had important evening events in Melbourne, fortunately
there were some (expensive) alternate flights from other carriers, in
our case Virgin. One young woman was a bit distressed as she could not
afford the higher fare to get to a wedding that night.
The attached photos shows the problem – the hydraulic slick, already
sanded by the airport emergency services (the front of the appliance can
be seen at the tail of the aircraft).
Appears to have leaked out of the central between-wing area, and I’d
guessed from the length and width of the slick it was at least 10 or 20
liters.
So….. what if it had happened at takeoff. Normally about 5 mins
later….?
At height? Was it aileron / tail control that was affected? Or braking
hydraulics? Either suggests some possible nasty consequences. Is there a
maintenance issue here?
Jetstar’s response 10.40 am today:
Safety is Jetstar’s number one priority.
As part of our established safety procedures, Jetstar does thorough checks prior to each take-off. In this particular case, the captain detected this issue as part of pre take-off checks.
Jetstar maintains its aircraft to the highest safety standards, however, mechanical issues can still sometimes occur.
More details please? As was quickly picked up by readers and another caller Jetstar could provide more information as to whether there is a walk around inspection prior to departure and exactly how the pilots determined there was a problem. Jetstar has been asked for this information.
Jetstar at 3.25 pm. A walk around or transit check is made by a Jetstar pilot at each turn of the jet, and a ground engineer called if there are signs of a problem. On this occasion the loss of hydraulic fluid was detected in the cockpit shortly after pushback leading to the decision to stop the process and then to return to the gate.
4 Comments
Ben,
There is a significant discrepancy between your reader’s account and Jetstar’s response. On the one hand, the aircraft pushed back ab=nd sat for a while before returning to the gate. On the other hand, Jetstar say that “the captain detected this issue as part of pre take-off checks”. IF this is the case, why did they push back and commence the journey as any signficant leak of hydraulic fluid would surely have been visible to the pilot/s on the walk-round? Do Jetstar pilots do a pre-flight walk-round or has this important function been assigned to someone else further down the food chain or discontinued?
Ken, I’m pretty sure there are pre-pushback checks, then pre-engine start checks and then a before take off checklist once the taxi to runway has started. The leak may have occurred as the pilots went though the engine start procedure, configured the flaps for takeoff or performed their control checks – moving the ailerons, rudder etc. Not sure on Jetstar’s procedures but I’m reasonably sure an engineer qualified on that particular aircraft has to be present for the pushback and engine start.
There’s no confusion if you read the Jetstar comments in the correct context. The loss of hydraulic pressure situation would have been apparent during the pushback while the control surfaces were being checked – that’s the pre-takeoff checks, not the “walkaround”.