A319 Flight Crew reported soon after takeoff the aircraft alerted a VENT SKIN VALVE FAULT. Flight crew diverted and landed safely.
Synopsis
A319 Flight Crew reported soon after takeoff the aircraft alerted a VENT SKIN VALVE FAULT. Flight crew diverted and landed safely.
Narrative
Maintenance may have made an error during deferral due to VENT AVIONICS SYS FAULT ECAM. VENT AVIONICS SYS FAULT ECAM was present when we boarded the aircraft. Operations opted to defer; we accomplished departure pretty close to departure time. The deferral was per MEL 21-XX-X-X but that deferral may not have fit the defect. We believe the defect may have been in the exhaust and not the inlet; but we thought that maintenance had selected the correct deferral. Soon after take-off the aircraft alerted VENT SKIN VALVE FAULT. The ECAM restricted operation to 10000 ft.; and depressurization; so we leveled off; communicated with ATC; Ops; Dispatch; Cabin Crew (Briefing completed); Passengers; and landed in ZZZ. The aircraft was over landing weight; so [a request for priority handling was made] prior to the (otherwise uneventful) landing.1) The decision to divert to ZZZ was based on the runway length available (12000 ft.) and the resources of the ZZZ Airport Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) and Company base in case of overheated brakes; tires that may blow; etc. 2) Communication was very limited via Commercial Radio VHF patch; we were hoping to speak with Maintenance Control but were unable. ACARS comm with Dispatch is all we had; and the messages we received were extremely short and had very limited information. Landing data was sent but glitched; possibly due to different destination info in our FMGC from what was being sent; resulting in ACARS inop during a critical period. 3) There was never a safety threat due to the mechanical defect; so we took the option to ZZZ to prepare for overweight landing; get the landing data and checklists complete from QRH; diversion; and overweight landing; and for the ZZZ base to prepare for ARFF trucks to position; etc. The fuel burn helped to reduce landing weight; helping toward the successful outcome landing without overheated brakes; and with the long final we were able to land gently and not cause stress to the aircraft. There was plenty of time to brief passengers and give brief to Flight Attendants (FAs). Regarding the [request for priority handling]; we felt it prudent due to overweight landing procedure and the need for the longest arrival runway in use on the ATIS at ZZZ which was X. We executed a visual approach backed up with the RNAV GPS X. After rollout; we had barely touched brakes and felt 100% confident the aircraft was safe to taxi to the gate.
Second reporter narrative
When we got to the airplane at the gate we saw an ECAM VENT AVIONICS SYS FAULT. Local MX was called out and attempted to reset but ultimately deferred the Avionics Blower Fan. We push back and shortly after take-off an ECAM VENT SKIN VALVE FAULT. We leveled off at 8000 ft.; and ran the ECAM. It led to us overriding the extract fan and depressurization of the aircraft. Dispatch asked if we considered diverting to ZZZ which we both agreed would be an acceptable idea and began preparing for the diversion and overweight landing. Communication was limited with Dispatch via radio and ACARS being so low which was a bit of a hindrance. While enroute we discussed [requesting priority handling] due to an overweight landing and requesting landing on the longest runway. We did [request priority handling] in an abundance of caution and safety. Once on the ground and reviewing the system display it showed amber 'XX' on the outlet valve with the inlet valve showing normal position. It may be possible that Maintenance deferred the wrong part of the original VENT AVIONICS SYS FAULT thus leading to an issue inflight.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.