A333, en-route, near Gaborone, Botswana, 2022

A333, en-route, near Gaborone, Botswana, 2022

Summary

On 14/15 April 2022, refuelling of an Airbus A330-300 in Accra was delayed by multiple automated interruptions but resolved by changing from tanker to hydrant. Departure to Johannesburg was delayed to the following day. During the cruise at FL410, a right wing fuel pump low pressure annunciation prompted descent to FL190 to activate gravity fuel feed. An ‘ENGINE 2 STALL’ annunciation then appeared and could only be removed by manually controlling thrust at below-normal level. The fuel pump low pressure annunciation remained after landing. Initially suspected fuel contamination with water in both cases was eliminated during the investigation. 

Description

On 14/15 April 2022, a Rolls Royce 700 engined-Airbus A330-300 (ZS-SXM) which was to be operated by South African Airways on a scheduled international passenger flight from Accra to Johannesburg as SA053 experienced problems when refuelling at Accra. The significant delay could not be accommodated within crew duty time limitations, so departure had to be delayed until the following afternoon. A right wing fuel low pressure message at FL410 about five hours into the flight led to descent to FL190 to enable gravity fuel feed. This was followed by a right engine stall annunciation, which did not affect manual thrust control. No exceedance was annunciated, and the flight was continued to the intended destination without further developments.

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