A320 flight crew reported they shut down an engine due to low oil pressure indication and diverted to a nearby airport.
Synopsis
A320 flight crew reported they shut down an engine due to low oil pressure indication and diverted to a nearby airport.
Narrative
During cruise at FL360 the crew received an ECAM Caution message that the number 1 engine had low oil pressure. There were no ECAM actions associated with this ECAM caution message so the message was cleared and the QRH referenced. There is a note in the QRH that states that if the ECAM message is in amber but the oil pressure indicates red that the crew may elect to keep the engine running as long as other engine parameters are in normal range. Low oil pressure was initially observed to be in the caution range (amber arc) on the engine page of the lower ECAM. After several seconds the oil pressure slowly dropped into the Warning range (red arc) and then began making large fluctuating movements sometimes going to zero PSI for several seconds. The observed conditions indicated by the oil pressure gauge is what led to the engine ultimately being shutdown. The engine was shut down and secured with reference to the QRH. At this time ATC was advised and a lower altitude requested. Cabin crew was notified. Dispatch was contacted and a recovery airfield was coordinate between the crew and dispatch. Customers were notified of our situation and told of our diversion. Aircraft was flown single engine and landed at ZZZ airfield. Aircraft was inspected by CFR (Crash Fire Rescue) after landing and then taxied to the assigned gate without further incident. After arrival at the gate the deplaning of customers was coordinated with Airport Operations and the aircraft was deplaned. The flight deck was also visited by attending contract maintenance in ZZZ where we learned that the oil pressure indications we saw were caused by a faulty and broken electrical connection. While there were times that procedurally; checklist and sop items became disjointed and even missed; ultimately items became trapped by the crew and accomplished. The QRH was stopped and restarted at least twice while coordinating and communicating with ATC and cabin crew. In hindsight this event felt urgent especially due to the intermittent low to zero oil pressure indication. My concern in the moment was that the low oil pressure would lead to a catastrophic engine failure. The crew continued to work through all of the requirements of the situation and as a result the approach checklist was not accomplished until well into the arrival phase of our flight. Aircraft control was predominantly maintained by the first officer except during engine shut down where the Captain guarded the thrust lever and engine switches.
Second reporter narrative
The Captain and I were operating a flight from ZZZ1 to ZZZZ. Approximately 45 minutes into the flight we noticed an Amber E1 low Oil Pressure ECAM message. Upon opening the ENG page we observed the oil pressure fluctuating from amber to red. I immediately referenced the QRH and read the steps out loud but did not complete the requested actions because I wanted to discuss our next steps with the Captain. We agreed shutting down the engine was safest solution to prevent a catastrophic failure. I remained pilot flying while the Captain advised ATC and notified our inflight crew. Shortly after we requested a lower altitude and started the QRH procedure to shut down and secure the Engine. Once the engine was shut down the Captain notified the customers about the situation and that we would be diverting. I remained pilot flying and worked the radios while the Captain was on a SAT call with dispatch where It was decided we were to divert to ZZZ which I then requested from ATC. After a successful single engine landing; Crash Fire Rescue completed a visual inspection of the aircraft on the runway and again before entering the ramp area. Arriving at the gate we were met By ZZZ ops; Contract Maintenance; and a Crash Fire Rescue representative.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.