Engine failure: Turkish A330 circled near Istanbul for four hours
On September 8, 2021, Turkish Airlines wanted to fly with TC-JOB as TK42 from Istanbul to Johannesburg. Shortly after takeoff, an engine malfunction was detected. This was accidentally captured on video by a passenger. The Airbus A330 circled near Istanbul for more than four hours to burn off excess fuel. The fuel level was very high due to the fact that a flight to Johannesburg lasting over nine hours was planned. The TC-JOB landed safely at Istanbul Airport around four hours and 25 minutes after takeoff. As can be seen in the video embedded below, the left engine malfunctioned during the climb. Flames were visible. The pilots noticed this and initiated an immediate emergency shutdown of the affected engine. Whether the fire extinguishing system was used or not is currently unclear. In any case, the captain decided to land back at Istanbul Airport. A common procedure in such situations. However, the aircraft was too heavy and had to get rid of excess fuel. The decision was made against so-called fuel dumping over the sea and the fuel was burned by circling for around four hours over the Black Sea near Istanbul. It is unclear whether a dumping device is even available. In such situations, the question is whether fuel dumping and a faster landing or burning fuel is the better solution. The captain has to make such a decision, taking all parameters into account. In the case of the Airbus A330, the dumping device is not included as standard, but can be installed as an extra at an additional cost.
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