Well, here’s something you (fortunately) don’t see every day… An Airbus plane lost some windows after takeoff. This has to be one of the strangest incidents we’ve ever seen.
Titan Air A321LR returns to airport due to missing window
According to reports aviation herald, the British Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating the events that took place on 4 October 2023. The incident involved an approximately two-year-old Titan Airbus A321LR with a registration code. G-OATW.
For those unfamiliar, Titan Airways is a British charter airline with a fleet of Airbus A320 series aircraft. The airline flies everything from British Government to Four Seasons. In fact, the jet involved in this incident was a jet with the livery of TCS World Travel, which operates all kinds of luxury travel. I think this plane has a stylish interior like the one below.
In any case, the plane was scheduled to fly from London Stansted Airport (STN) to Orlando International Airport (MCO) without passengers in order to reposition it for its next contract. The aircraft departed from Runway 22, but after takeoff the crew noticed excessive noise in the cabin.
Therefore, the decision was made to abort the climb at around 15,000 feet and return to the airport. In the end, the plane landed on the same runway at Stansted Airport, about 37 minutes after departure.
Upon landing, three windows in the cabin were discovered to be missing or loose. Additionally, the left stabilizer was also damaged, and it is believed that one of the windows that had come off hit the stabilizer. The incident is being investigated as an accident.
What is the cause of this incident?
Now this gets even more interesting. Prior to this flight, the aircraft had been in operation for the British government for over a year with different registration codes.Specifically, the plane had a registration code G-GBNIAnd a few weeks earlier, King Charles was on this very plane.
That government contract has finally been completed, and from 23 September to 2 October 2023 the plane will be transferred back to the standard Titan by the UK Government for maintenance, repairs and overhaul at London Southend Airport ( I was staying at SEN). Airline operations.
Aircraft maintenance often involves disassembling and putting a lot of things back together, and technicians are usually very diligent in this task, as small mistakes can have major consequences. Pay close attention.
One might think that whatever happened is probably related to the work completed, since it is the only element that has recently changed. Typically, windows don’t just come off inside an aircraft.
The tale of British Airways flight 5390 It certainly comes to mind. In 1990, a British Airways plane suffered an explosive decompression that tore the windshield panel from the plane’s frame and partially threw the captain from the plane.
The windshield had been installed only 27 hours earlier, and it was discovered that 84 of the 90 bolts used to secure the windshield were 0.026 inches too small in diameter.
Fortunately, no one was injured in this case and the plane landed safely. I’m curious to see what the investigation here turns out and how long the aircraft will be grounded.
conclusion
An Airbus A321LR operated by Titan Airways was scheduled to fly across the Atlantic Ocean recently, but ended up having to return to the airport due to excessive noise on board. Three of the windows were found to be missing or loose, and one was found to have hit the aircraft’s stabilizer.
The aircraft had just completed a contract with the British government and was undergoing maintenance prior to the flight. Investigators are currently looking into the cause of the incident, but most likely something happened in the weeks leading up to the flight.
What do you think about this incident?