summary
- Lufthansa Flight LH712, bound for Seoul and Incheon, experienced engine trouble over the Caspian Sea before returning to Frankfurt Airport, but landed safely without incident.
- The 21-year-old Boeing 747-400 has had accidents in the past, including a lightning strike in 2011 and an oxygen system leak in 2020.
- Engine problems are not limited to older aircraft, as a new Airbus A350-900 was diverted to Angola in December 2022 due to technical issues.
A Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 was forced to return to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) on Wednesday after a hydraulic abnormality forced one of the flight’s four engines to shut down.
Details of the incident
Flight LH712, which departed Frankfurt at 15:25 CET and headed for Seoul’s Incheon International Airport (ICN), experienced engine trouble while traveling through the Caspian Sea on flight FL350. According to the Aviation Herald, the crew noticed a hydraulic problem and decided to shut down the engine. The crew cited technical problems to air traffic control (ATC) as they approached Kazakh airspace and returned to Frankfurt about five hours into the 11-hour journey.
The 21-year-old jet (D-ABTL) arrived in Frankfurt just before 1 a.m. CET on three engines and landed safely without incident. There were no injuries among the 341 passengers and crew. Aviation24 reported that the passengers rebooked to other flights to Seoul.
D-ABTL remained on the ground in Frankfurt overnight and returned to service the following evening as flight LH732 to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG).
During its 21 years of service, the aircraft has been involved in several minor accidents, ranging from a lightning strike in 2011 to a recent lightning strike in 2020. “It won’t fly anywhere.” The aircraft, which was 18 years old at the time, experienced a leak in its oxygen system during a flight to Rio de Janeiro International Airport (GIG). Pressurization during the flight was reported to be normal. However, as a precaution it was decided to descend to FL140 and return to Frankfurt.
engine trouble
Less than a month ago, another Lufthansa airliner, this time an Airbus A321-100, was involved in a similar accident during a short flight between Hamburg Airport (HAM) and Frankfurt.
The D-AIRR is one of Lufthansa’s oldest jets, now in its 27th year, but it was reported that the flight deck crew had to shut down the engine shortly after takeoff due to a defective engine indicator. The crew aborted the flight at FL50, just minutes from departure, and safely returned to Hamburg 22 minutes after departure.
Photo: Klenaco | Shutterstock
Despite the relative age of the aircraft involved in the recent incident, engine problems are not limited to geriatric jets, and one of the airline’s new Airbus A350-900s was killed in Angola. It has been locked up for 12 days waiting for maintenance in December 2022.
The D-AIXE, which was flying between Cape Town International Airport (CPT) and Munich Airport (MUN), was grounded at Luanda’s Cuatro de Quattro on December 2 after the crew discovered a technical problem with the left engine display. Diverted to Fevereiro International Airport (LAD). As a precaution, the crew shut down the engines, declared a state of emergency, and landed safely in Luanda an hour after first reporting the problem. After an overnight stop in Luanda, the passenger was transferred to another Lufthansa service within 24 hours.
The jet remained in Luanda until December 14, when a subsequent maintenance check revealed that only the engine gearbox needed replacing. D-AIXE resumed operations on his December 17th.
Have you ever been on a flight that was rerouted due to technical issues? What was your experience? Let us know in the comments.
source: aviation herald, aviation 24