Plane experts - emergency this evening
Discussion
Hey Pistonheads plane experts!
I was on Ba508 from Heathrow to Faro this evening and it had a serious problem over France. All we were told was that 'it was a problem with the air conditioning they were seeking to rectify' but I understand that's just a euphemism to keep the passengers happy and whilst I can't factually justify my thoughts, it didn't 'feel' like that was the issue. Had a bit of non-turbulence feeling juddering at 35k feet, seatbelt sign went on and then descended down to 10k quickly. Felt like we limped back to Heathrow when the issue was rectified, but again, no factual basis for saying that.
Any sleuths have any idea what happened or how I might find out later?
I was on Ba508 from Heathrow to Faro this evening and it had a serious problem over France. All we were told was that 'it was a problem with the air conditioning they were seeking to rectify' but I understand that's just a euphemism to keep the passengers happy and whilst I can't factually justify my thoughts, it didn't 'feel' like that was the issue. Had a bit of non-turbulence feeling juddering at 35k feet, seatbelt sign went on and then descended down to 10k quickly. Felt like we limped back to Heathrow when the issue was rectified, but again, no factual basis for saying that.
Any sleuths have any idea what happened or how I might find out later?
Chainedtomato said:
Thank you. What's an 'engine pressure bleed inop'?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleed_air
It also depends on which engine, as I don't think there is as much system dupolication on bleeding as there is with many other systems.
They weren't lying when they said the air-conditioning was broken. There were probably other (perhaps more critical) systems affected as well.
It also depends on which engine, as I don't think there is as much system dupolication on bleeding as there is with many other systems.
They weren't lying when they said the air-conditioning was broken. There were probably other (perhaps more critical) systems affected as well.
BlackWidow13 said:
….suggests BA had two flights to Faro turn back this afternoon - is that just a coincidence?Might pop up on here ?
https://avherald.com
Never read that page if you are flying in the next week or so LOL
https://avherald.com
Never read that page if you are flying in the next week or so LOL
When I was doing certification tests for parts that went on airliners, one of the tests was to simulate a bleed air duct failure.
Bleed air is high pressure air tapped off the engine compressor stages which then gets used for cabin pressurisation. The bleed air ducts run from the engines (usually on the wings) to the air conditioning & cabin pressurisation control packs in the fuselage.
If a bleed air duct fails, not only is the cabin pressurisation starved of heated, compressed air, but parts of the aircraft and its systems in the vicinity of the leak are now being blasted with up to 250°C air. This could have harmful effects on structure and systems, so it is potentially serious.
Fortunately for the part I was testing, a composite heat shield, it was actually better in all respects after exposure to 250°C for five hours, as the composite material had had the equivalent of a high temperature post-cure, which ensured the epoxy was fully cured and cross-linked.
Bleed air - where it comes from and what its used for
Bleed air is high pressure air tapped off the engine compressor stages which then gets used for cabin pressurisation. The bleed air ducts run from the engines (usually on the wings) to the air conditioning & cabin pressurisation control packs in the fuselage.
If a bleed air duct fails, not only is the cabin pressurisation starved of heated, compressed air, but parts of the aircraft and its systems in the vicinity of the leak are now being blasted with up to 250°C air. This could have harmful effects on structure and systems, so it is potentially serious.
Fortunately for the part I was testing, a composite heat shield, it was actually better in all respects after exposure to 250°C for five hours, as the composite material had had the equivalent of a high temperature post-cure, which ensured the epoxy was fully cured and cross-linked.
Bleed air - where it comes from and what its used for
Edited by GliderRider on Saturday 23 September 16:15
skyline501 said:
Must be a Faro thing.
We had a drop in pressure requiring a drop to 10,000 ft. ……
Wife just reminded me that same happened to us flying Manchester to Faro years ago - sticks in her mind as our daughter threw up all over immediately it happened as we went down fast. She said what worried her was that her dad, who had a private pilot licence, looked concerned. We did continue though.We had a drop in pressure requiring a drop to 10,000 ft. ……
fourstardan said:
Might pop up on here ?
https://avherald.com
Never read that page if you are flying in the next week or so LOL
Thanks, I’ve never seen that before. Not sure if I’m more impressed by how safe flying is or more terrified by how frequently things go wrong!https://avherald.com
Never read that page if you are flying in the next week or so LOL
giveitfish said:
Thanks, I’ve never seen that before. Not sure if I’m more impressed by how safe flying is or more terrified by how frequently things go wrong!
No idea what the coverage of that page is but there’s something like 200K flights per day.I find looking at a zoomed out image of Flightradar24 quite scary!
Edited by Sheepshanks on Sunday 24th September 14:36
giveitfish said:
Thanks, I’ve never seen that before. Not sure if I’m more impressed by how safe flying is or more terrified by how frequently things go wrong!
What's more interesting is that aircraft will often depart with defects and systems already broken.It will be in the deferred defects in the tech log and then the minimum equipment list will detail how the aircraft can be operated with that system inop.
Example if anti icing system is a deferred defect then the MEL will have a stipulation that the aircraft cannot be operated into known icing conditions.
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