Loss of hydraulic system. Loss of nose wheel steering. Hawaiian A330 returns to Honolulu. Real ATC

[@As_A________Commenter]

I flew the 330 years ago and had a similar incident just after takeoff. There are three redundant hydraulic systems, Green Yellow & Blue. The green system is the faulty one here as that is what supplies pressure to the nose wheel steering, the same system that I had failed after takeoff. It is the largest of the three, and has pumps driven by both engines, a separate electric pump, and in case of total failure the ram air turbine (a small propeller that swings down and airflow spins a pump). The 330 is still very flyable on the other two, but there are some landing considerations. With green system gone, normal braking system will be lost so you must use the backup alternate brakes, also some of the ground spoilers will not deploy which also helps reduce lift and slow the plane on landing. Fuel dumping is an option, but not all 330’s are equipped with this feature, so the plane may be quite heavy requiring more runway to stop. Also the flaps and slats extend much slower, requiring more distance to slow the plane on final approach. Without nose wheel steering, on initial landing the rudder will still provide directional control, but the slower you get the less authority you have. In my case we had to revert to using small opposite braking inputs to keep the plane rolling straight down the runway, not something you get a lot of practice doing on a big jet. We had suspected a leak as there were no indications of the pumps failing, and there was a concern that if hydraulic fluid were to leak out onto the hot brakes which had to stop an overweight plane, there was a possibility of a fire. Fortunately the emergency trucks could find no evidence of an external leak. The actual reason for the failure was found to be caused by a maintenance procedure that was just carried out prior to the flight. Anyways excellent job to the flight crew, I know exactly what they had on their hands and the challenges involved with getting it back on the ground, including a long wait to be towed back to the gate! Well executed !

[@user-microburst]

Why return to airfield??

[@As_A________Commenter]

@@user-microburst Well, in my case the landing gear (which is also on the green system) never retracted, so we were definitely not going to continue. I suspect this flight was not the same fault origin or sequence of events as they continued their climb to 10,000 feet, however flying out over the ocean with a main hydraulic system failed is not an ideal prospect when you can return to your maintenance base.

[@user-microburst]

@@As_A________Commenter most likely the company told them to return

[@As_A________Commenter]

@@user-microburst the would certainly communicate with the company, but in these situations the company doesn’t tell them what to do. The decision to return is up to the pilots.

[@trungtinnguyen2857]

You talked about the back up alternate brakes, but how do you trigger the back up ?

[@davestfx8249]

If it was a hydraulic leak, they would have to stop the leak and clean up the fluid before moving the aircraft otherwise there could be extensive contamination 1:18 sound about how long it would take to stop the leak cleanup hook up the tow tractor eyc

[@S_Paoli]

I thought the tower said the tow was coming in a minute and half or something? why were they stranded there for 1 hour and 18 minutes? 🤔

[@SuperMcfly12]

It probably just got cleared to taxi right before he said that. They are slow and it’s a fairly long haul out there. Plus maintenance probably met the plane out there so that may have added time.

[@silmarian]

They probably took time to make sure they wouldn’t do more damage or to patch something up enough to tow. Taking an hour to do it safely is better than closing the runway for several hours.

[@Michael_K_Woods]

It’s the most Hawaiian thing to take forever to get work done.

[@drmayeda1930]

@@silmarian As shown in the illustration, there is only ONE runway for the larger aircraft. This is a very old airport. Tucked away in a corner someplace might be the instructions for water landings by seaplanes with floats not wheels

[@Joe-Guybee]

Nothing and I mean nothing goes fast in Hawaii.

[@7ryan]

“Hawaiian 4L 4R 4 Heavy” Lol

[@EdMalek]

It is always interesting to see the effects that a sudden increase in workload have on human factors. Even basics like situational awareness and communications are highly impacted.

[@nobudzful6552]

Professionals doing it right!

[@gladtbx]

Was on this exact plane on Christmas day😂

[@MrHappyMickey]

WOW, interesting, my sister was on this flight.

[@the92r]

UAL344 last night out of HNL had to return due to emergency...but wasnt reported anywhere

[@craig7350]

Do they get another lei when they deboard the aircraft.

[@ksbear2]

1:05 ... How can you stop your "descent" when you're "ascending"? Both the tower and flight crew used that term .😵‍💫

[@PercyPruneMHDOIFandBars]

Aviate, navigate, communicate. They had other thing on their minds, a slip is understandable. 😉

[@Jim-fp3kt]

I had a green system hydraulic loss in a A321 one night. After landing coming to a stop and shutting the engines down(apu on) I think the tug had us in a parking spot on the ramp in less time than if it had been a normal landing and taxi in.😂

[@markcardwell]

Bout right

[@fredfred2363]

A blocked runway on a pacific island is never good... There aren't many other places to put down.

[@fredsroberts]

There is 3 other runways at HNL, and there is ITO over at Hilo, OGG on Maui, and KOA at Kona. Plenty of places in Hawaii.

[@horationately]

@@fredsroberts if they were in a real pinch they could also hit JRF or even Kaneohe Bay or Wheeler if it really got bad.

[@paulsteinman7250]

6 hours of fuel remaining doesn't sound right.

[@blackduckfarmcanada]

How long is a flight HNL to LAX?

[@chrisbungostudios]

@@blackduckfarmcanadaAbout 5 hours. Add a little extra fuel for the route being a very long ETOPS route where there is nowhere to go if there's a problem except back to Hawaii or on to California. In addition to the usual 30 minutes or so reserve fuel and that's how you get to about 6 hours of fuel.