2022-09 · NASA ASRS report 1932726
A320 flight crew reported due an engine fuel leak they shut an engine down and diverted to the nearest suitable airport.
I was the Pilot Flying (PF) and my First officer (FO) Pilot Monitoring (PM). We were about to start our ZZZZZ arrival over ZZZ1. During our cruise systems check; we discovered the oil quantity indication on the ENG2 appeared to be lower than usual. ENG1;16 qt. ENG2; 6.5 qt. I decided to contact Dispatch for a Maintenance Control consultation. This communication with Dispatch was through SATCOM with a few failed attempts at least twice since we got the failure messages on the FMGC and the call dropping or a weak voice from the Dispatcher. I also tried through ZZZ1 Dispatch VHF XXX.X. When I did this; I accidentally tune the frequency on VHF 1 out from ZZZ Center; but flipped the ZZZ frequency back to it.When we finally got hold Maintenance Control through SATCOM; at that time the oil quantity was at 5.5 on ENG2. I explained our situation and concern with Maintenance Control and a possible engine leak and the trend of oil quantity; recommending to divert to ZZZ1 for a precautionary landing. At that present moment we had an ECAM advisory caution for ENG2 oil qty; 5 qt. Since Maintenance Control concurred with our plan for diverting to ZZZ1 we informed to ATC and continued our descent to divert. Another consideration to this decision was the marginal weather at ZZZ2; with light rain and low ceilings with a front coming into the area. The weather at ZZZ1 was VFR. The inflight and customers were briefed for the divert due to oil engine indication. We were vectored around for our sequence into ZZZ1; RNAV XXL. At this time; a priority was not declared yet.As we continued our descent at low power setting; the oil quantity ECAM advisory for ENG2 was still present and decreasing; 4.5qt. At that time; [priority handling was requested] and the inflight were briefed for a code yellow. We started the APU for systems redundancy. Once we were approximately 15 miles final and cleared for the RNAV XXL approach; our oil quantity for ENG2 was as low as 2qt at leveled off and temperature rising; I believe it was 138 C and increasing; if I remember correctly. It was evident; this was an oil engine leak and not an indication issue. Concerned about an engine damage and having an ECAM warning during short final a busy phase of flight; we performed a precautionary engine 2 shutdown; thrust lever 2 idle and engine master 2 off followed by completing the ECAM actions procedures. We continued the approach and the landing was uneventful. Once cleared of the runway; we briefly stopped at the taxiway for fire and rescue staff inspect the engine 2; if there was any visible damage. They discovered no damage but an apparent minor oil leak from the bottom of the engine. It took only a few minutes to asses this situation before we taxied to the gate. Upon arrival; we met with tech ops and gave them details of our situation. They commented that it was good we salvaged the engine; the oil leak was quite visible and evident once the cowlings were open. Finalizing my narrative; in spite of the circumstances; a rapid decreasing oil quantity on ENG2; [First Officer] and I did our best on bringing the airplane safely on the ground at ZZZ1 where the weather was favorable. It was an overwhelming situation trying to get hold of Dispatch or maintenance at the beginning due to the SATCOM connection issue and the time constraint. But at the end everything was accomplished safe and professional.However; in retrospect. I was really concentrated on getting the aircraft on the ground quickly once [priority handling was requested]. I would have emphasize on a potential precautionary engine shutdown during the approach briefing. It seemed that even though that my FO and I had a continuous dialogue and talking out aloud as we were descending to ZZZ1 we saw ourselves making a last minute decision for a precautionary engine shutdown. Perhaps doing the engine shutdown earlier would have gotten more time to review the contingencies for the flight. In-spite of how comfortable I feel flying the A320 this was a definitely a learning experience for me to manage my time accordingly.
During our flight from ZZZ3 to ZZZ2; somewhere close to top of descent; the Captain who was the Pilot Flying (PF) brought to my attention the oil quantity level for our number 2 engine. The oil quantity was significantly lower than engine number 1 by about 10 quarts and this was causing some concern. The Captain elected to contact maintenance and Dispatch with his concerns and loop them into the situation and determine an appropriate course of action. After conferring with Maintenance Control; we elected to divert to ZZZ1 which was close by instead of continuing on to our destination as the oil quantity kept decreasing significantly faster than a normal burn rate; as well as the advisory message on the ECAM showing 5 quarts of oil in engine number 2. While on the patch with Maintenance Control and during reduced workload I consulted the Quick Reference Handbook (QRH) to see if there was any specific guidance for low oil quantity but I was unable to find any. The weather in ZZZ2 also aided in our decision being marginal and ZZZ1 having better weather. ATC was informed of our decision and intention to divert to as well as the reason and we were given a further decent as well as answering the typical questions; 'were we [requesting priority handling] at this time?; reason for the divert decision; if we needed any assistance?'. At this time we elected not to [request priority handling]; but did request one shortly after in order to get priority handling and get the aircraft on the ground as quickly and safely as we could. The customers and in-flight were also briefed. While being vectored into ZZZ1 we noticed the oil quantity was still decreasing reaching as low as 2 quarts. While thinking aloud and in the interest of safety and not wanting the oil quantity to completely reach 0 quarts and to prevent any damage to the engine or have it malfunction during this critical phase of flight; we decided an engine shutdown would be the best course of action last minute and the associated ECAM actions were accomplished. This was done as not to add any more complexity to the situation and we continued in for a single engine landing which was accomplished by the Captain uneventfully and flawlessly. Upon exiting the runway CFR which was standing by inspected the number two engine and did let us know that there was some oil they could see on the cowling of the engine. We then elected to taxi to the gate under our own power where we were told maintenance would be waiting for us. After a quick inspection by the maintenance personnel; they did confirm that in fact there was an oil leak and even showed us where it was coming from as well as stating we did the right thing by shutting the engine down and preventing any damage to the engine.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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