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An md-83 captain reported the loss of the left CSD and associated AC bus; mitigated by use of the APU. After landing it was established that the APU was too weak to maintain electrical power in case of a total power failure which made it impossible to defer the left AC power system.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1375945 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201607 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.ARTCC |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | MD-83 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Generator Drive |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe |
Narrative:
Enroute at FL320; about 30-40 minutes from our destination; the 'left CSD low oil' eoap (electronic overhead annunciator panel) illuminated along with associated destabilized AC electrical bus problems. As the appropriate QRH procedures were complied with; ATC was notified and assisted with direct routing and vectors. Since a second source of electricity was established from the APU; an emergency was not declared and our flight was continued to original destination without incident.after landing; the APU air switch was selected on to augment the engine bleed air. I then switched it off to wait a couple more minutes to prevent ingesting leaking hydraulic fluid from the thrust reversers into the APU inlet. Upon switching the APU air switch off I noticed an unusual momentary electrical power shift. Preliminary maintenance evaluation was that the APU was too weak to sustain stable electrical power to the AC busses. This APU problem made it impossible to defer the left generator for the return trip. This unknown APU issue also increased the probability of being unable to satisfactorily power the AC bus(es) inflight after losing an engine generator which would have forced an emergency landing to the nearest suitable airport.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: An MD-83 Captain reported the loss of the left CSD and associated AC bus; mitigated by use of the APU. After landing it was established that the APU was too weak to maintain electrical power in case of a total power failure which made it impossible to defer the left AC Power system.
Narrative: Enroute at FL320; about 30-40 minutes from our destination; the 'left CSD low oil' EOAP (Electronic Overhead Annunciator Panel) illuminated along with associated destabilized AC electrical bus problems. As the appropriate QRH procedures were complied with; ATC was notified and assisted with direct routing and vectors. Since a second source of electricity was established from the APU; an emergency was not declared and our flight was continued to original destination without incident.After landing; the APU air switch was selected on to augment the engine bleed air. I then switched it off to wait a couple more minutes to prevent ingesting leaking hydraulic fluid from the thrust reversers into the APU inlet. Upon switching the APU air switch off I noticed an unusual momentary electrical power shift. Preliminary maintenance evaluation was that the APU was too weak to sustain stable electrical power to the AC busses. This APU problem made it impossible to defer the left generator for the return trip. This unknown APU issue also increased the probability of being unable to satisfactorily power the AC bus(es) inflight after losing an engine generator which would have forced an emergency landing to the nearest suitable airport.
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.