Listen: Air France Pilots Panic as Plane Temporarily Loses Control During Paris Airport Approach
© Sputnik / Mikhail Kutuzov
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In May 2021, international carrier Air France and manufacturer Airbus were ordered by a Paris court to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 crash of Flight 447, which killed 228 people - the deadliest incident both in Air France’s history and involving an Airbus A330.
Panic gripped the pilots of an Air France Boeing 777 passenger aircraft on Tuesday as they were preparing to land in Paris, when suddenly they couldn’t control the aircraft during a critical moment.
The airliner was on final approach to Charles de Gaulle airport on Tuesday morning, having flown overnight from New York’s JFK Airport. However, at about 4,000 feet altitude and just moments before they should have touched wheels to tarmac, they encountered a problem.
A recording of their communications with air traffic control at the airport that was obtained by Air Live captured the distress of the moment.
The pilots can be heard breathing heavily as they struggle with the controls and try to keep the plane on course. When air traffic control inquires what’s going on, the pilot yells back “stop, stop!” and says he’ll call the controllers back.
However, calm and control quickly returns to the cabin and the pilots explain to the tower that they had been unable to control the aircraft for a moment and are going to pull up and come around for another pass at a different runway. At its lowest altitude during the incident, the plane was just 1,100 feet off the ground.
The tower controllers can be heard saying that they tracked the aircraft’s course deviation as it dipped to its port side - which also appeared on flight tracking websites.
Air France Flight AF11, a Boeing 777, deviates from its final approach to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport on April 5, 2022, after briefly losing flight control. Image is from Radarbox.
Air France confirmed the incident to the UK Daily Mail, saying the plane “aborted their landing sequence and performed a go-around due to a technical incident during the approach.”
"The crew mastered the situation and landed the aircraft normally after a second approach,” the airline added. “Air France understands and regrets the discomfort felt by customers.”
"The go-around is defined by the authorities, aircraft manufacturers and Air France as a normal procedure," they further noted. "The crews are trained and regularly instructed in these procedures, which are used by all airlines to guarantee the safety of flights and passengers, which is an absolute necessity for Air France."
No one was injured in the incident.
