A330 captain experiences a hydraulic G system low level ECAM during descent. During approach; the gr...

Narrative:

About 35 minutes from landing we got a hydraulic G system low level ECAM. We did the ECAM actions. We continued to slowly lose fluid. On the initial approach phase we slowed; turned the pumps back on; and lowered the landing gear without incident and then turned the pumps back off. I turned the pumps back on since we still had fluid in the system and I wanted the gear doors shut so we would have nose wheel steering to clear the runway; if possible. We got additional ecams during the approach as the last of the fluid was lost; so I declared an emergency and informed tower that we would likely not be able to clear the runway due to loss of nose wheel steering. After an uneventful landing we were able to clear the runway using green [system] hydraulic accumulator pressure; but soon exhausted that and needed to be towed the remaining distance to the gate.mechanics said it looked like a leak in the area of engine 1 green engine driven pump. The previous crew had written up a similar fault on this aircraft on the previous leg; which occurred during their approach/landing. [I suggest] more thorough troubleshooting by maintenance.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A330 Captain experiences a HYD G SYS low level ECAM during descent. During approach; the green system fails and an emergency is declared. A normal landing ensues. The previous crew had written up a similar fault on this aircraft on the previous leg.

Narrative: About 35 minutes from landing we got a HYD G SYS low level ECAM. We did the ECAM actions. We continued to slowly lose fluid. On the initial approach phase we slowed; turned the pumps back on; and lowered the landing gear without incident and then turned the pumps back off. I turned the pumps back on since we still had fluid in the system and I wanted the gear doors shut so we would have nose wheel steering to clear the runway; if possible. We got additional ECAMs during the approach as the last of the fluid was lost; so I declared an emergency and informed Tower that we would likely not be able to clear the runway due to loss of nose wheel steering. After an uneventful landing we were able to clear the runway using green [system] hydraulic accumulator pressure; but soon exhausted that and needed to be towed the remaining distance to the gate.Mechanics said it looked like a leak in the area of engine 1 green engine driven pump. The previous crew had written up a similar fault on this aircraft on the previous leg; which occurred during their approach/landing. [I suggest] more thorough troubleshooting by Maintenance.

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	968824
Time
Date	201109
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZZ.Airport
State Reference	FO
Environment
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A330
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Descent
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Hydraulic System Lines Connectors Fittings
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

A330 captain experiences a hydraulic G system low level ECAM during descent. During approach; the green system fails and an emergency is declared. A normal landing ensues. The previous crew had written up a similar fault on this aircraft on the previous leg.