Engine in-flight shutdown - 926 km north-west of Sydney, New South Wales, on 15 August 2007

At approximately 1405 Eastern Standard Time on 15 August 2007, an Airbus Industrie A330-300 aircraft, registered PK-GPF, was about 926 km north-west of Sydney, NSW enroute to Denpasar, Indonesia when the right (No-2) engine low oil pressure warning activated. The flight crew shut down the engine and commenced a descent to flight level 240 while they advised air traffic control (ATC) of the event and requested a clearance to return to Sydney. Air traffic control cleared the crew to descend and to track directly to Sydney.

After landing, the operator's contracted maintenance staff inspected the No-2 engine, a Rolls-Royce RB211-Trent 700 series. They found that oil was leaking from the braided section of the flexible oil pressure tube that supplied oil to the oil pressure transmitter for that engine.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) inspected the oil pressure tube in conjunction with the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch and the engine manufacturer. That inspection revealed that the tube had fractured, probably due to high cycle fatigue in a stress concentration area.

The aircraft operator has since commenced a modification program on all of its Airbus A330 aircraft to fit an additional retainer bracket and associated hardware to the flexible oil pressure transmitter tube in an effort to prevent similar occurrences.