VS301 - 25 Aug - Engine problems?

My parents just returned from DEL on VS301. Apparently, 1.5 hours before landing, the captain made an announcement saying that there was a slight problem with one of the engines and they had had to fly at an altitude slightly lower than usual. He also told them not to be alarmed by the emergency vehicles which would be waiting for them at LHR.

Luckily, all was well with the landing... although my dad did mention that it was slightly "firmer" than usual. Being fairly seasoned travellers, my parents didn't get stressed by the situation - but out of curiosity, they wanted to know what the issue had been.

I was wondering if any VS staffers on here knew what happened with the engine?

Thanks,
Neal

[Scrooge]

Well the fact that they came down in altitude probably means they shut the engine down....I am going to take a little leap in the dark here and guess that vibration levels were above acceptable limits..heck lets take an even bigger leap...one of the blades in the turbine came lose.....

Please correct me if/when I am wrong.

[mcmbenjamin]

Originally posted by Scrooge
Well the fact that they came down in altitude probably means they shut the engine down

Thats what the textbooks said for 4.5 years and $130K.

A bit dramatic Scrooge, The T500 not known for high vibration & if the engine lost a turbine blade all the pax would have known!!!! A safer bet would be low oil pressure, loss of oil quantity or any list of lessor faults.

[Scrooge]

I didn't say it lost a turbine blade, I said it came lose which is a "common" problem, but your right, it could of been for any number of reasons, hence my "leap in the dark" statement, until we can find out for sure we are just guessing.

[mcmbenjamin]

I like Chinese food.

[Decker]

It'd be more Pythonesque if you omitted the word "food" there...

[mcmbenjamin]

Originally posted by Decker
Pythonesque

Words from Monty Python for $500.00 Alex....

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by mcmbenjamin

Originally posted by Decker
Pythonesque

Words from Monty Python for $500.00 Alex....

LINK

Looks like loss of oil quantity would have been a good bet, as that was apparently the reason for the IFSD. As for loose turbine blades being common, it's not something i'd want to be seeing to often when borescope inspecting an engine!!!!!

Thanks for the responses guys (including the Monty Python ones!)

Out of interest, how long can an A346 fly on one engine for?

[Scrooge]

Thanks for the info Denzil..and also pointing out to me that I cannot tell the difference between lose and loose [:I] LMFAO

I seem to remember reading about two flights that had to shut down an engine last week due to excessive vibration that upon inspection turned out to be a loose blade..hence my jump in the dark.

No idea how long it can stay up with only one engine going..losing one engine is not a big deal, just requiring a lower cruise altitude and a higher fuel burn.

[Decker]

Wouldn't that make it just fly in circles?

I'd rather have three engines for 10 hours (LAX to LHR with BA!!!) than one engine for 207 minutes!!!! Not sure on range in this condition, obviously it would have to happen after take-off as three engine ferry is crew only (with other stipulations.

As for vibration, high power in the climb more likely to throw up high N1 vibration, this is more likely to be the fan (LP compressor) blades than the turbine blades.

[mcmbenjamin]

Originally posted by Decker
Wouldn't that make it just fly in circles?

Nope. There are things like rudders and aeirlions (I'll leave the spelling up to you Decker [:p]) that correct the flight path of the plane in the event of engine failure.

Rudder not used much in high speed flight, primarily ailerons. The 777 has TAC (thrust asymmetry compensation) which is there to protect the aircraft in an engine out situation (particularly take-off). Just to confuse you even more, the inboard aileron on a B777 is actually a flaperon!!!!