The Airbus A340-300 was on a flight from Shanghai (Pudong International Airport) to Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport. The co-pilot was the handling pilot. During the flight, the crew observed there was low fluid quantity in the Green hydraulic system and they witched off the Green system engine-driven and electric pumps. As the Airbus was manoeuvred for the approach to runway 16R at Sydney, the crew extended the landing gear by gravity extension. The crew reported that the landing was normal, and that engines number 2 and 3 thrust reverses were deployed after touchdown. Directional control was maintained with rudder, however, as the aircraft was decelerated through approximately 30 kts, directional control was suddenly lost. He applied full manual braking, but the aircraft was yawed rapidly to the right, and came to rest on a heading of approximately 280T, which was about 120 degrees off runway heading. The main landing gear wheels remained on the sealed surface of the runway, however, the nose wheels were on the grasses area adjacent to the runway, approximately 16 m beyond the runway edge. None of the passengers or crew was injured.
The investigation revealed that a crack in the number one engine EDP case led to the loss of the Green system hydraulic fluid. However, this was not a factor contributing to the final loss of directional control of the aircraft. The flight data revealed that the engine number one thrust lever was inadvertently advanced after the pilot in command took control of the aircraft. The rapid manner in which it was advanced, suggests there may have been some confusion between the pilot in command and the co-pilot at the time of the takeover of control. In the process of taking control, it is likely that the pilot in command placed his right hand on the thrust levers before the co-pilot could completely relinquish his control of them, and that the subsequent advancement of thrust lever number one was a result of this confusion. As the aircraft began to veer rapidly tot eh right, the crew's attention was substantially diverted by the unexpected and sudden loss of control of the aircraft. with their attention so diverted, none of the crew would have been initially aware of the engine number one thrust lever position, and that the engine was delivering substantial asymmetric thrust that contributed to the loss of control.