| Occurrence Briefs are concise reports that detail the facts surrounding a transport safety occurrence, as received in the initial notification and any follow-up enquiries. They provide an opportunity to share safety messages in the absence of an investigation. |
What happened
On 28 August 2018 at about 1400 Eastern Standard Time, an Airbus A380 departed Sydney, New South Wales for a regular public transport flight to Dallas, US.
Passing FL 250 on climb, a loud noise was detected coming from a door on the upper deck. The door was locked correctly and not at risk of opening, however due to the passenger discomfort and the unknown nature of the issue the decision was made to return the aircraft to Sydney. The crew conducted a fuel dump and an uneventful approach and landing into Sydney.
The post-flight engineering inspection revealed damage to the door, caused by contact with a catering truck while the aircraft was loaded. The door seal retainer and seal on the underside of the door was damaged. Due to distraction of the non-normal operation of the catering truck, the damage to the door seal and seal retainer was not observed by the catering crew and therefore not reported to the flight crew or engineering. This resulted in the aircraft departing with the damaged door.
Figure 1: Damage to the door seal and door seal retainer
Source: Operator
Safety action
The operator launched an investigation into the ground handling incident.
Safety message
All persons working in and around aircraft have a responsibility to notify the operating crew about any damage to the aircraft. Ground crew should always be on the lookout for damage or anything abnormal. If any doubt exists, it is imperative to notify flight and/or ground crew for an engineering inspection.
About this report
Decisions regarding whether to conduct an investigation, and the scope of an investigation, are based on many factors, including the level of safety benefit likely to be obtained from an investigation. For this occurrence, no investigation has been conducted and the ATSB did not verify the accuracy of the information. A brief description has been written using information supplied in the notification and any follow-up information in order to produce a short summary report, and allow for greater industry awareness of potential safety issues and possible safety actions.