EasyJet Flight 6074 (2006)
EasyJet Flight 6074
Electrical systems failure and loss of communications
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 'lost contact' with air traffic control. This could have been a consequence of an electrical failure. Or the flight crew could have chosen not to communicate by VHF radio, or been prevented from doing so. In the case of MH370 the aircraft also 'disappeared from radar', a reference to air traffic control reliance on secondary radar and a functioning transponder on each aircraft.
The story of EasyJet Flight 6074 has some similarities.
The aircraft was an Airbus A319-111 on a scheduled flight from Alicante in Spain to Bristol in the United Kingdom. While cruising at 32,000 feet an electrical systems failure caused various sub-systems to become inoperative. This included:
- the aircraft's radios
- the Captain's electronic flight instrument display
- the autopilot
- a system that monitors aircraft functions and provides messages to pilots, which Airbus refers to as an Electronic Centralised Aircraft Monitor or ECAM, and
- the Traffic Collision Avoidance System or TCAS.
Unlike MH370, however, EasyJet Flight 6074 landed safely.
Source: EasyJet Flight 6074 Wikipedia
See Also: Report on the serious incident to Airbus A319-111, registration G-EZAC near Nantes, France on 15 September 2006, Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), UK