A319 captain experiences a left engine bleed leak ECAM with the engine anti ice on. The captain elec...

Narrative:

On departure at FL300 with engine anti-ice on in icing conditions ECAM indication of a bleed air leak on left engine. The bleed air valve faulted and auto shut. I was the pilot flying and took over ATC communications while first officer ran the ECAM checklist. Malfunction remained and destination weather was reported as 1/2 mile visibility with mod snow and freezing fog. Contacted dispatch and maintenance control advised them of situation and solicited input. Maintenance control referred us to flight manual procedures. Due to the known icing conditions in our planned destination and the continued leak indications we decided to return to our departure [airport]. I declared an emergency with ATC due to the potential hazard of a bleed leak. I briefed the purser about the malfunction and intention to return. I received priority handling from ATC and made a normal approach and landing to the runway.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A319 Captain experiences a left engine bleed leak ECAM with the engine anti ice on. The Captain elects to return to the departure airport after declaring an emergency; due to icing conditions at destination.

Narrative: On departure at FL300 with ENG anti-ice on in icing conditions ECAM indication of a BLEED AIR leak on LEFT engine. The BLEED AIR valve faulted and auto shut. I was the pilot flying and took over ATC communications while First Officer ran the ECAM checklist. Malfunction remained and destination weather was reported as 1/2 mile VIS with MOD snow and freezing fog. Contacted Dispatch and Maintenance Control advised them of situation and solicited input. Maintenance Control referred us to Flight Manual procedures. Due to the known icing conditions in our planned destination and the continued leak indications we decided to return to our departure [airport]. I declared an emergency with ATC due to the potential hazard of a BLEED LEAK. I briefed the Purser about the malfunction and intention to return. I received priority handling from ATC and made a normal approach and landing to the runway.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Attributes
ACN	931755
Time
Date	201102
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A319
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Intake Ice System
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 165 Flight Crew Total 11700 Flight Crew Type 2500
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

A319 captain experiences a left engine bleed leak ECAM with the engine anti ice on. The captain elects to return to the departure airport after declaring an emergency; due to icing conditions at destination.