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An A320 flight crew returned to their departure airport when the latch mechanism on the forward cargo door failed and the cabin altitude started to climb.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 941302 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201103 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.ARTCC |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | A320 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Climb |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Cargo Door |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
Climbing through 14;500 ft we got an ECAM forward cargo door warning light and at the same time noticed an increase in the cabin rate of climb. We called center and requested a descent to 9;000 ft while we completed the ECAM for the problem. When we leveled at 9;000 we had enough differential pressure from the bleed system that the cabin remained below 7;000 ft. At that point we sent a message to operations that we were going to return and have maintenance look at our problem. We also advised the flight attendants. We sent a 2nd message to operations advising them that we would be landing overweight. We went through the QRH and fom to cover all events of the landing. The first officer did a great job in helping with this.after landing we taxied to the gate where maintenance advised us the forward cargo door latch mechanism was broken. He said a new latch was coming over from the hanger and that it would take about an hour and 1/2 to install. We made all log book entries and I called operations for a new release. All operations normal after latch mechanic fixed.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: An A320 flight crew returned to their departure airport when the latch mechanism on the forward cargo door failed and the cabin altitude started to climb.
Narrative: Climbing through 14;500 FT we got an ECAM forward cargo door warning light and at the same time noticed an increase in the cabin rate of climb. We called Center and requested a descent to 9;000 FT while we completed the ECAM for the problem. When we leveled at 9;000 we had enough differential pressure from the bleed system that the cabin remained below 7;000 FT. At that point we sent a message to operations that we were going to return and have Maintenance look at our problem. We also advised the flight attendants. We sent a 2nd message to Operations advising them that we would be landing overweight. We went through the QRH and FOM to cover all events of the landing. The First Officer did a great job in helping with this.After landing we taxied to the gate where Maintenance advised us the forward cargo door latch mechanism was broken. He said a new latch was coming over from the hanger and that it would take about an hour and 1/2 to install. We made all log book entries and I called operations for a new release. All operations normal after latch mechanic fixed.
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.