On November 26, Ryanair flight FR5871 from Malaga to Zagreb encountered an incident after landing. According to information provided to AvioRadar, hydraulic oil leaked when the thrust reverser on engine number 2 was deployed. Passengers, including an AvioRadar reader, reported hearing a loud bang near the second engine (the right engine, viewed from the ground with the aircraft’s nose pointing upwards).
According to airfleets.net, the aircraft involved was an Airbus A320-232, registration 9H-LMB, serial number 2859, with 18.4 years in service. The aircraft is owned by Lauda Europe, a Ryanair subsidiary, and previously operated for the Brazilian airlines TAM and LATAM before being delivered to Laudamotion (now Lauda Europe).
Ryanair confirmed the incident in a statement to AvioRadar, describing it as a minor technical issue: “This flight from Malaga to Zagreb (26 Nov) experienced a minor tech issue upon landing. Passengers and crew disembarked normally, and the aircraft was towed back to the hangar for further inspection by Ryanair engineers. It has since returned to service (29 Nov).“
The hydraulic oil leak originated in the yellow hydraulic system, powered by the hydraulic pump of the second engine. The Airbus A320 is equipped with three hydraulic systems—green, blue, and yellow—each responsible for operating specific components of the aircraft. In this enhanced version of the A320, the yellow hydraulic system controls the nose gear steering (on classic versions, this is managed by the green system), flaps, parking brake, alternate braking system, baggage compartment door, thrust reverser for engine 2, yaw damper 2, one of the three rudder actuators, one of the two hydraulic stabilizer motors, one of the two actuators on the right elevator, and spoilers (air brakes) 2 and 4. A loss of pressure in the yellow hydraulic system affects all these functions.
Evidence of the oil leak is further supported by the temporary closure of Franjo Tuđman Airport, which was shut down for an hour after the incident to clean the runway of the spilled oil. The airport’s public relations service confirmed this to AvioRadar: “Zagreb International Airport can confirm that on November 26, 2024, after the landing of flight FR5871, a hydraulic oil leak occurred on the runway. The MZLZ technical services acted according to the prescribed procedure for such situations and after cleaning the runway, traffic continued without interruption.”
As Ryanair itself confirmed, the aircraft in question returned to service on the third day after the incident, on November 29.
