Photo credit: BobMil42
An Airbus Fuel Dumping in progress
Have you ever wondered why pilots sometimes take longer to land even when there’s a technical problem?
Recently, an unhappy passenger on an Airbus A320 flight from Guangzhou to Kuala Lumpur was left frustrated when the captain decided to fly for about three hours before landing due to a technical issue in pressurizing the cabin. But what many passengers don’t know is that this decision was made to ensure their safety and the safety of the aircraft.
This event reminds me of an almost similar incident on the Boeing 777 I had previously experienced. It was about 17 years ago when I encountered a pressurization problem which prevented us from continuing our 13-hours flight from Stockholm to Kuala Lumpur.
We took off at about 293 tons but the maximum landing weight was around 213 tons. As such, we were overweight and had to dump about 80 tons of fuel. At a dumping rate of around 2 tons per minute, it took us about 40 minutes to do the job before we landed below the maximum landing weight
As it turns out, most commercial airplanes have a maximum landing weight, which is often lower than their take-off weight. This means that if a plane is too heavy, it could potentially damage its landing gears and other structures when it lands. So, in cases where a plane needs to land below its maximum landing weight, pilots have two options: they can either dump fuel or burn it off.
The Airbus A320, unlike the long-range Boeing 777, doesn’t have a fuel dumping system, so the only option available was to burn off the fuel. While this may seem like a tedious and time-consuming process, it ensures that the plane can safely land without causing damage to its structures.
It’s worth noting that while pressurization problems at low levels is not a critical emergency, it can render pressurization impossible and prevent the plane from climbing to its cruising level. This means that the plane must fly unpressurized below 14,000 feet, which is not dangerous but may not have enough fuel to return home.
In the case of the Airbus A320 flight, the inability to pressurize meant that the plane couldn’t climb to its cruising level, so the captain had to make the tough decision to burn off the fuel to reduce the landing weight. This was a justifiable decision, as landing overweight could have resulted in excess strain on the landing gears and other structures.
It’s important to remember that delays due to technical problems are sometimes inevitable and usually undesirable for everyone involved. However, it’s important to trust that pilots make these decisions with the safety of the passengers and the aircraft as their top priority.
So, the next time you find yourself frustrated with a delayed flight due to technical issues, be patient and remember that the pilot is doing everything possible to ensure your safety.
With that, I wish you all a safe and incident-free flight on your next journey.
View YouTube video ‘AirAsia denies Guangzhou flight turned back due to depressurization.’
here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaDDOIaWSoA
View YouTube video ‘Why do PILOTS DUMP FUEL?’