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An A320 engine generator faulted after start and was MEL'ed. At cruise the APU faulted and would not restart so crew diverted to a nearby airport.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1195507 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201408 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.ARTCC |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | A320 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | APU Electrical |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Maintenance |
Narrative:
ECAM gen fault number 2 after start. [We] followed ECAM procedure for fault. Problem was not solved; contacted maintenance control. [We] returned to the gate per maintenance control for MEL; since not deferrable by crew. MEL 24-20-01B required running the APU for duration of the flight. Departure was normal. During cruise FL320; ECAM APU fault appeared. [We] ran the ECAM per company procedures. Tried to restart the APU; started fine; APU generator would not accept generator load; then ECAM APU fault illuminated. [We] started a descent for turbulence; cool starter motor and possible diversion. Level at FL300 repeat the previous steps with no success. Per APU starter limitation; tired one last start of the APU at FL280; no success. Communicated a plan with ATC; first officer; a flight attendant and dispatch for a diversion since aircraft was down to one generator. [We] advised the passengers of diversion and precautionary landing at a diversion airport. Performed the overweight landing QRH procedures; configured the aircraft early to burn fuel. [We] landed at 151;800 pounds at less than 300 FPM; with no issues. [We] made a logbook entry for overweight landing.MEL issued to aircraft; APU failure in flight; aircraft had overnight check before this event.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: An A320 engine generator faulted after start and was MEL'ed. At cruise the APU faulted and would not restart so crew diverted to a nearby airport.
Narrative: ECAM Gen Fault Number 2 after start. [We] followed ECAM procedure for fault. Problem was not solved; contacted Maintenance Control. [We] returned to the gate per Maintenance Control for MEL; since not deferrable by crew. MEL 24-20-01B required running the APU for duration of the flight. Departure was normal. During cruise FL320; ECAM APU Fault appeared. [We] ran the ECAM per company procedures. Tried to restart the APU; started fine; APU generator would not accept generator load; then ECAM APU Fault illuminated. [We] started a descent for turbulence; cool starter motor and possible diversion. Level at FL300 repeat the previous steps with no success. Per APU starter limitation; tired one last start of the APU at FL280; no success. Communicated a plan with ATC; First Officer; A Flight Attendant and Dispatch for a diversion since aircraft was down to one generator. [We] advised the passengers of diversion and precautionary landing at a diversion airport. Performed the Overweight Landing QRH procedures; configured the aircraft early to burn fuel. [We] landed at 151;800 LBS at less than 300 FPM; with no issues. [We] made a logbook entry for overweight landing.MEL issued to aircraft; APU failure in flight; aircraft had overnight check before this event.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.