On 7 September 2016, an Emirates Boeing 777-31HER aircraft, registered A6-EGA, was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Brisbane, Queensland. On board were 22 crew members and 308 passengers.
At about 1916 Central Standard Time, the left engine oil quantity started to decrease from 16.4 quarts, stabilising at 2 quarts at 1927, when the aircraft was about 650 km north-west of Adelaide, South Australia, and at flight level (FL) 353. The flight crew contacted company engineering and operations staff and advised them of the situation.
The flight crew received a left engine low oil engine-indicating and crew-alerting system (EICAS) message and conducted the associated non-normal checklist. At about 1951, the flight crew shut the left engine down.
The flight crew contacted air traffic control, declared a PAN and conducted a diversion to Adelaide Airport, which was the nearest suitable airport. The flight crew commenced a gradual descent to FL 270, and conducted an area navigation (RNAV) approach to runway 05 at Adelaide. The aircraft landed without incident. There was no damage to the aircraft or injuries to crew or passengers.
A subsequent engineering inspection found the left oil supply line to bearings numbers 4 and 5 had fractured and the associated clamp was broken. The operator performed a fleet-wide inspection and found no leaks or cracks on any other engine.
This incident provides an excellent example of effective crew resource management techniques when faced with an abnormal situation. Additionally, regular proficiency checks in the simulator including scenarios of a single engine failure allow flight crew to respond appropriately in the event of such an occurrence in flight.
Read the investigation report AO-2016-113