EasyJet Flight 6074

EasyJet Flight 6074

G-EZAC, the aircraft involved in the incident
Incident
Date	15 September 2006 (2006-09-15)
Summary	Major electrical failure
Site	Near Nantes, France
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Airbus A319-111
Operator	EasyJet
IATA flight No.	U26074
ICAO flight No.	EZY6074
Call sign	EASY 6074
Registration	G-EZAC
Flight origin	Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport, Elche, Spain
Destination	Bristol Airport, North Somerset, United Kingdom
Occupants	144
Passengers	138
Crew	6
Fatalities	0
Survivors	144

EasyJet Flight 6074 was a scheduled flight on 15 September 2006 from Alicante, Spain to Bristol, United Kingdom on an Airbus A319-111. The flight suffered severe electrical failures during its flight to Bristol. ^[1]

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a brand-new Airbus A319-111, MSN 2691, registered as G-EZAC, which was manufactured by Airbus Industrie in 2006. It had logged 1962 airframe hours and 1428 takeoff and landing cycles and was powered by two CFM International CFM56-5B5/P engines. ^{[2] [3] : 20}

Incident

The second aircraft involved looked similar to this American Airlines Boeing 777-223ER

On 15 September 2006, about 85 minutes into the flight, EasyJet Flight 6074, an Airbus A319-111, en route from Alicante experienced an electrical systems failure near Nantes, France, while cruising at 32000 feet (FL320). It caused multiple aircraft systems to become inoperative, including the aircraft's radios, autopilot, ECAM, the captain's electronic flight instrument display, and TCAS. As a consequence of these failures, the A319 nearly collided with American Airlines Flight AAL63, a Boeing 777-223ER. The transponder, which lets the ATC track down Flight 6074, was also knocked out, disabling the controller's ability. Ten minutes before a shift change, the ATC noticed that Flight 6074 disappeared from radar. Fearing the worst, the ATC asked the pilots of AAL63 to descend to 31000 feet (FL310) and if they could see EasyJet Flight 6074 in their TCAS, but AAL63 replied negative. After the ATC shift change, the new controller again commanded AAL63 to descend to 31000 feet. At 11:01:17 local time, AAL63 then began their descent. A few moments later, AAL63 reported spotting an "EasyJet 737" flying overhead, undetected by the TCAS. This was because the TCAS was disabled due to the electrical failure on EZY6074 and the TCAS needs to work on both aircraft to detect each other. Moments later, the pilots of EasyJet Flight 6074 managed to reconfigure their transponder and then a minute later, the code changed to the number 7700, or the General Emergency code number. ^{[1] : 41} Before landing, several attempts were made to contact ATC using mobile phones without success. ^[1] The crew was unable to reconfigure the majority of the aircraft's electrical systems and continued on to land uneventfully at Bristol Airport without any further communication to air traffic control or remedy to the affected systems. ^[4]

Due to their radio failures, EasyJet Flight 6074 decided to continue their flight to Bristol to avoid being shot down by fighter jets that may think that the flight was hijacked. The air traffic control canceled all departures and arrivals at the airport. The aircraft safely landed at Bristol.

Analysis

According to the analysis, EasyJet Flight 6074 intersected with American Airlines Flight 63 at a distance of 2.86 nautical miles (3.3 miles) directly ahead, with AAL63 being 600 feet below EZY6074 which was at 32000 (FL320), only because of descending 40 seconds prior. At 11:02:16 local time, American Airlines Flight 63 continued its descent and reached the point where the two aircraft tracks intersected, at approximately FL310, 19 seconds after EasyJet Flight 6074 had passed. At that moment, EZY6074 was 2.67 nm (3.07 miles) east of AAL63. This marked the closest recorded separation between the two aircraft. ^{[1] : 45}

Aftermath

The crew reports, the PFR, and the recorded data all indicate that the incident occurred due to the AC BUS 1 losing power. An AC BUS 1 is a crucial electrical bus that distributes alternating current (AC) power to various systems and components on the aircraft. It's an essential part of the aircraft's electrical system, providing power for critical functions during the flight. During the investigation, the TSD from GCU 1 indicated that the de-energization of AC BUS 1 was caused by the offline tripping of IDG 1 due to the activation of the Welded GLC Protection function. GCU 1 regulates electrical power generated by the aircraft's engine generators and ensures efficient distribution to systems and components. ^{[4] : 69}

See also

• Air Illinois Flight 710
• United Air Lines Flight 266
• Aeroflot Flight 909

References

1. "Report: Easyjet A319 near Nantes on Sep 15th 2006, electrical failure leads to losscomm". avherald.com. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
2. "Serious incident Airbus A319-111 G-EZAC, Friday 15 September 2006". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
3. "G-EZAC Final Report" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
4. "Report on the serious incident to Airbus A319-111, registration G-EZAC near Nantes, France on 15 September 2006". Air Accidents Investigation Branch. Retrieved 29 April 2023.