Date:	Friday 31 March 2017
Time:	17:23
Type:	Airbus A319-111
Owner/operator:	EasyJet
Registration:	G-EZIM
MSN:	2495
Year of manufacture:	2005
Engine model:	CFMI CFM56-5B5/P
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 130
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	None
Category:	Incident
Location:	near Isle of Man Airport, Ronaldsway, Isle of Man (IOM/EGNS) -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:	Isle of Man-Ronaldsway Airport (IOM/EGNS)
Destination airport:	Bristol Airport (BRS/EGGD)
Investigating agency:	AAIB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
An EasyJet Airbus A319-111, registration G-EZIM, performing flight U2-458 from Isle of Man to Bristol, UK, was in the initial climb out of Isle of Man's runway 26 when the crew stopped the climb at 5,000 feet reporting smoke in the cockpit and returned to Isle of Man for a safe landing on runway 26 about 10 minutes after departure. The incident was considered serious enough to warrant an AAIB Investigation, and the following is the summary from the AAIB Report:

"The aircraft departed from Bristol Airport for the Isle of Man Airport and the flight crew operated Pack 1 in accordance with MEL 21-52-01G. The flight was uneventful. On the return flight, about 90 seconds after takeoff from Runway 26 at Isle of Man Airport, the commander noticed what looked like mist coming from the vent above his windshield. He described it as being light grey and that it was followed almost immediately by an “acrid burning smell much akin to a match just being struck.” He turned to the co-pilot to ask if he could smell anything and noticed that the mist behind his seat was dense enough to highlight rays of sunshine entering the cockpit.

The cabin manager (CM) reported that, about 30 seconds after liftoff, he and another cabin crew member seated at the front of the aircraft noticed that the cabin smelt of burning and seconds later the cabin began to fill with “grey/hazy smoke”.

The commander asked the co-pilot to transmit a MAYDAY call to ATC of “smoke in the cockpit” and requested a level-off at FL50. The commander then handed control to the co-pilot and noticed that the cabin attendant light was flashing on the Audio Control Panel on the centre pedestal, indicating that the cabin crew were trying to call them. The buzzer had probably been drowned out during the initial radio exchange with ATC. He gave the “Attention crew at stations” call over the public address (PA) which is a standard call to indicate to cabin crew that the flight crew are aware of a potential emergency situation but are unable to respond immediately due to cockpit workload.

The flight crew discussed their options but the density of the mist was sufficient to convince the commander that an ECAM warning, most likely for ‘avionics smoke’, was almost inevitable. They advised ATC that they intended to return to the Isle of Man and were given a downwind heading. The co-pilot retained control while the commander spoke to the CM over the interphone, who confirmed that smoke was present in the cabin and that the passengers were anxious. The commander gave the CM a NITS2 briefing, including that there might be a slim possibility of an evacuation should the situation worsen. He then made a similar announcement to the passengers over the PA stating than an evacuation was unlikely.

While approaching the end of the downwind leg for a tight base turn the smoke began to dissipate but the smell remained so the crew elected to continue with the MAYDAY instead of downgrading to a PAN. The commander resumed control at about 2,000 ft and an uneventful landing was made to a full stop on the runway. He made contact with the fire service who stated that they could not see anything unusual so they escorted the aircraft to the stand. The total flight time was about 11 minutes".

=Damage sustained to airframe=
Per the AAIB Report "None". The same aircraft was also involved in an earlier separate incident on 1 September 2014 as Easy Jet flight EZY8529 from London Gatwick to Naples, which encountered severe turbulence and diverted to Rome Fiumicino. Two crew members were injured (see separate ASN entry).

1. AAIB Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5aa7de7240f0b66b5fb4b85b/Airbus_A319-111_G-EZIM_04-18.pdf
2. https://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/smoke-in-cockpit-forces-plane-back-214419
3. https://www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/G-EZIM/
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Man_Airport

This Airbus A319-111 was built in 2005, and was UK civil registered from new as G-EZIM on 17 June 2005. The aircraft was delivered to London Luton Airport, and operated by easyJet from new (June 2005) until 28 January 2021. The same aircraft was also involved in an incident on 1 September 2014 as Easy Jet flight EZY8529 from London Gatwick to Naples, which encountered severe turbulence and diverted to Rome Fiumicino. Two crew members were injured (see separate ASN entry).

As at 28 April 2020, the airframe had accumulated a total of 46,720 flying hours on the airframe. The registration was cancelled on 28 January 2021 as \"Transferred to another country or authority UNITED STATES OF AMERICA\". The aircraft became US registration N2301U with United Airlines from 28 January 2021 until the US registration was cancelled on 2 March 2023.

Other occurrences involving this aircraft


1 September 2014	G-EZIM	Easyjet	0	near Naples		min
Turbulence

G-EZIM: Airbus A319-111 of easyJet at London Luton (LTN/EGGP) 6 February 2020

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-May-2024 05:40	Dr. John Smith	Added
17-May-2024 05:41	ASN	Updated [Source, Accident report]