A B737-300 had to be towed to the gate after suffering the loss of 'A' system hydraulics following landing.
Synopsis
A B737-300 had to be towed to the gate after suffering the loss of 'A' system hydraulics following landing.
Narrative
After a normal landing we exited the runway and joined the taxiway where we lost hydraulic 'A' system pressure. The nose wheel steering was not responding so I brought the aircraft to a stop and complied with the QRH 'Hydraulic System-A Failure' and 'Hydraulic Pump Low Pressure' checklists.We advised Ground and Company Operations of our situation and that we would need to be towed to the gate. The airport operations dispatched the emergency equipment. We started the APU and shut down engine number two because the hydraulic leak was apparently coming from the right side of the aircraft. I made contact with the Flight Attendant and made a PA to the passengers to let them know what was going on and that we would have to wait for a tug to tow us to the gate. We waited approximately 25 minutes for the tow crew to arrive. I made two additional PAs to the passengers to reassure them that everything was fine; one was while a fireman in his silver fire suit inspected the right side of the aircraft.Once the tow team arrived we shut down engine number one and were towed to the gate. Maintenance advised us that we had had a leak in one of the ground spoilers on the right side of the aircraft. I made an appropriate logbook discrepancy entry and advised Dispatch. We were assigned another aircraft and continued our trip.
Second reporter narrative
My initial statement to the Captain was; 'Hydraulics; do you have nose wheel steering?' There was a jink in Taxiway C coming up that required a left turn and he immediately stated he didn't and brought the aircraft to a stop with the wheel brakes.Dispatch wasn't in the loop for over 30 minutes until we were finally under tow to the gate. I thought Dispatch would be getting updates from Operations; but learned that wasn't the case.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.