The aircraft was able to turn around and land safely.
Bad start to the weekend for the 48 passengers on an Air France flight connecting Paris Orly to Perpignan. One of the engines of their aircraft suffered damage, ten minutes after takeoff. One “air jamaccording to the company resulted in a strong explosion followed by the emission of flames. If the problem did not endanger the lives of the crew members or those of the passengers, the latter experienced a great fright.
In concrete terms, the plane had taken off at 8:45 p.m. Friday evening and was flying at an altitude of more than 1,000 meters, above Nogent-le-Rotrou, when “a ball of fire“was visible”a few seconds“followed”a loud noise from the right side of the plane», Says a passenger in the columns of La Dépêche du Midi.
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Then the passengers felt a “strong shaking“, adds the young woman, before the pilot announces that”we just lost an engine, we’re going back to Paris“. The lapse of time separating passengers from Orly is particularly stressful: “people were praying», «I see myself dead“… says the witness. According to her, even the crew members did not lead off, some collapsing in tears. Finally, the procedure is followed scrupulously and the plane can land at 9:15 p.m. in Orly where it is awaited by several fire engines.
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“No danger for passengers”
On the Air France side, we understand that this episode was particularly stressful for the people on board: “the explosion and the very short presence of flames at night can be frightening“, admits the company. This is indeed an extremely rare problem. Rare, but known and worked: “our teams train to manage this type of damage on a regular basis. The steps to follow are known“, adds Air France.
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“The engine did not explode or even catch fire“, details the company. Rather, it is a “air jamwhich would have resulted in an engine failure. Despite tracking the device, such incidents can still occur. The plane was able to continue flying on one engine without difficulty, the time to return to its departure airport.
If the passengers could not take off again the same day, the arrival would have been too late at Perpignan airport, a new departure was offered the next day.