Page 121 - Demo

119when the Air Electronics Operator (AEO) told us that a hydraulic system failure light had just illuminated on his panel. The Victor had two, entirely independent, hydraulic systems, so %u2018no sweat%u2019 really, other than the inconvenience of having to return to Gan and get it fixed. We advised Gan that we were returning for a precautionary landing, and had just settled down on our new heading when the AEO came on the intercom again, and said that the other hydraulic failure light was now on too. This was serious and, as far as the experienced members of the crew knew, a first-ever for the Victor.We ran through the emergency drills twice for good measure, and then made a %u2018Mayday%u2019 (aircraft in distress) call to Gan. A double hydraulic failure required us to land as soon as possible, as there was an increased danger of fire and ultimately the possibility of losing control of the aircraft. However, when you%u2019re at 40,000 feet over the middle of the Indian Ocean, you are not exactly flush for options; it had to be Gan.On a personal level, I was quite comfortable with the situation, as I knew that Gan had a long runway, albeit with the sea at either end, and the emergency services would have plenty of time to prepare for our arrival. I was somewhat less comfortable when we got the Gan weather: frequent tropical squalls with heavy rain, and a crosswind that was on the limit for the Victor. It%u2019s now appropriate to explain that the Victor had a 30 foot diameter braking parachute that was deployed on landing as the primary means of slowing down, but it caused the aircraft to act like a wind vane in a crosswind, and you needed to use nose-wheel steering, rudder and sometimes differential brake to keep it pointing along the runway. With a double hydraulic failure, we had no nose-wheel steering, and only around 8 applications of brake in total. With nowhere else to go, we started our descent, and commenced jettisoning fuel to make the aircraft lighter, and therefore easier to handle and stop. On the way down, we got a weather update; the runway was flooding, and needed around 15 minutes to drain between squalls, which were arriving every half hour or so. I should add that, although the runway had been constructed to deal with this sort of eventuality, it tended to clear the middle portion fairly quickly, but take some time to drain the edges.