Air China, Pratt & Whitney, and Singapore authorities have taken safety actions following the 2023 emergency landing of one of the carrier’s Airbus A320neos in the city state.
The 10 September 2023 incident saw the passengers and crew exit the aircraft (B-305J) on slides following the appearance of smoke in the cockpit and cabin, according to a final report from Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau.
Of the 146 passengers and nine crew aboard the jet, nine passengers suffered minor injuries during the incident.
As the aircraft operated a service on the Chengdu-Singapore route, the crew detected smoke in the cockpit and declared MAYDAY. In addition, the crew received smoke warnings form the avionics compartment, forward cargo compartment, and lavatories.
After the aircraft landed safely on runway 20L and the passengers and crew evacuated, emergency personnel extinguished a small fire in the left-hand engine’s tail pipe.
The TSIB probe reveals that the smoke was caused by a carbon seal fracture of the No. 3 bearing in the jet’s left-hand PW1100G engine.
“This resulted in oil leaking from the bearing compartment to the hot zones of the engine, which led to smoke/fumes being formed, with a twofold consequence: smoke/fumes travelling to the aircraft cabin and cargo compartment through the bleed system, and a localised fire at the engine tailpipe,” says the report.
As a result of the incident, P&W has updated its engine health monitoring system to better detect the seal’s deterioration. P&W also told the TSIB that will improve the design of the No. 3 bearing carbon seals.
Air China has improved communications training for pilots operating international services, with a focus on making concise, clear statements. Prior to the landing, communications between the crew and air traffic control led to temporary uncertainty about which runway the aircraft would use, with the crew preferring 20R and controllers 20L.
Singapore has also updated communications procedures. During the incident, the Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Service was not initially informed that the incident aircraft had called MAYDAY.
In addition, Singapore’s ANSP – the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore – has reminded air traffic controllers to be concise and clear when communicating with an air crew that is dealing with an emergency.
