Jump to content
MalaysianWings - Malaysia's Premier Aviation Portal
Georg Burdicek

Air France A330 F-GZCP Flight AF447 GIG-CDG Crashed Into the Atlantic Ocean All 228 POB Killed

Recommended Posts

A bit like MS Windows also lah. Error? Illegal operation? Time for an update.

 

MS Windows is a big NO-NO for aeroplane.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm guessing it was proven that icing doesn't occurs at that altitude. But apparently after this incident, goes to show that even at high altitudes, icing is still there. So, it's not really a business game or a tombstone mentality. Things happens, and like what Tony said, we do not live in a perfect world.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

At this point.. anything is possible cause.. but lets not speculate until the truth is known. Just pray that the boxes are found.. :good:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I so hope this is a big time terror story rather than a sensor story

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I so hope this is a big time terror story rather than a sensor story

 

I certainly hope so.

 

A bomb, or sabotage, or otherwise a human factor, is much safer for other A330 and their crew and passengers.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Air France chief questions sensor role in crash

By Tim Hepher

 

PARIS (Reuters) - Air France is not convinced so far that faulty speed sensors were to blame for the loss of one of its planes over the Atlantic, but is replacing old sensors as a precaution, the airline's chief executive said on Thursday.

 

Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told reporters that Air France was in a state of shock over the worst disaster in its 75-year history and expected more information about what happened within a week.

 

An Air France Airbus 330 crashed into the sea on June 1 en route from Brazil to Paris, killing all 228 aboard.

 

Brazil said three more bodies had been found on Thursday in the main area of ocean where search operations were being conducted, bringing the total number of bodies recovered to 44.

 

Air accident investigators have said the Airbus registered inconsistent speed readings just before contact was lost, raising speculation the pilots might inadvertently have flown at the wrong speed and precipitated the disaster.

 

Air France subsequently reported it had noticed temporary loss of air speed data on previous Airbus flights due to ice collecting in the sensors, known as pitot tubes, and said it was speeding up a pre-planned replacement programme.

 

"As circumstances would have it, the first replacements arrived practically on the eve of the accident, on the Friday," Gourgeon told a news briefing, adding: "I am not convinced that speed sensors were the cause of crash."

 

The French air accident agency has said it is too early to pinpoint any possible cause for the crash, saying there were only two certainties -- that the plane had hit stormy weather before the crash and that the speed readings were incoherent.

 

A French lawyer representing families of some of the victims said they planned to take legal action to gain access to files from the investigation.

 

She said in a statement they felt information had been withheld and that there had been a delay in issuing an alert after the plane disappeared.

 

AIRBUS REASSURANCES

 

Airbus denied a French newspaper report that it was considering grounding its fleet of A330 and A340 planes following the disaster, saying they were safe to fly.

 

Gourgeon said the planemaker had reassured clients that all three types of speed sensors available for its jets were safe, including the one used on the crashed A330.

 

Industry sources said the planemaker had also ruled out for the time being that there was an electrical power failure or loss of cockpit instrument display on the Air France jet.

 

Air France said at the weekend it had noticed the icing problems on the speed sensors in May 2008, although Gourgeon said these "incidents" had not been deemed catastrophic.

 

The airline said tests had later convinced it that probes developed for another model would be more efficient and that it had decided to go ahead and start fitting them from April 27 without waiting for further testing proposed by Airbus.

 

The speed sensors on the Air France A330 were supplied by France's Thales, which has produced two versions of the pitot tube for the Airbus aircraft. A third model made by U.S. firm Goodrich have not been called into question.

 

The crashed plane had an earlier Thales model, which is being replaced by a more recent probe.

 

Brazilian and French search teams are searching for bodies and plane debris in the Atlantic some 1,000 km from Brazil's northern coast. A nuclear-powered French submarine is leading the search for the plane's flight recorders.

 

Gourgeon said more information about the crash would be available once autopsies had revealed the exact cause of death and after experts had scrutinised the debris.

 

"I think we will have a little bit more information in a week," he said.

 

(Additional reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey, Peter Murphy)

Copyright © 2008 Reuters

 

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...ec=Worldupdates

Edited by LeeTZ

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Woman who arrived late for doomed Air France flight killed in crash

June 12, 2009 - 11:56AM .

An Italian woman who arrived late for for the Air France flight that crashed in the Atlantic has been killed in a car accident.

 

Johanna Ganthaler had been on holiday in Brazil with her husband and missed Air France Flight 447 after turning up late at Rio de Janeiro airport on May 31, The Times online has reported.

 

All 228 people aboard lost their lives after the plane crashed into the Atlantic four hours into its flight to Paris.

 

The ANSA news agency reported that the couple, from Bolzano-Bozen province, had managed to pick up a flight from Rio the following day.

 

Ms Ganthaler died when their car veered across a road in Kufstein, Austria, and swerved into an oncoming truck. Her husband was seriously injured, The Times reported.

 

 

AFP reports: Air France Airbus jets experienced at least five incidents last year in which airspeed probes malfunctioned, two of which caused stall alarms, according to a company report.

 

A probe into last week's loss of flight AF447 from Rio to Paris, in which an A330 jet plunged into the Atlantic with the loss of all 228 people on board, has focused on the contradictory speed readings from its "pitot probes".

 

Air France and Airbus insist there is not yet any proof the pitots were to blame for the catastrophe, but accept that automatic error messages sent before the plane went down showed they were malfunctioning.

 

Airbus has urged pilots of the A330 and A340 to update themselves on the emergency procedures to take if the probes give contradictory readings, and Air France has accelerated its program to replace the suspect pitots.

 

According to an internal Air France safety report dated September 12, 2008 which was obtained by AFP and authenticated by Air France pilots, the speed probes caused problems five times on flights last year.

 

To protect the anonymity of pilots involved in the incidents, the Air France report does not give the dates when the problems happened.

 

They concerned flight AF279 between Tokyo and Paris, a flight between Paris and Antananarivo, flight AF101 between Guangdong and Paris, AF422 between Paris and Bogota and a flight between Paris and New York.

 

"These are all serious incidents," said Guy Ferrer, an official from the Alter pilots union, which represents some Air France flight crews. "They are all linked to the pitots in conditions of icing or turbulence."

 

Since last week's crash, aviation experts have said that if the pitots give false speed readings to the cockpit it can cause the autopilot to shut down and in extreme cases the plane to stall or fly dangerously fast.

 

According to the report, maintenance crews found after the Tokyo to Paris flight that drainage holes in three pitot tubes were blocked, and that this would explain how they iced up and gave fluctuating speed readings.

 

Plane maker Airbus was "given a full report" into this "because of similar problems encountered on the A330 and A340 fleet" and "often encountered on the A320 fleet" on which the probes have been replaced.

 

On the Antananarivo flight the pilot heard the alarm signifying "IAS discrepancy", which sounds when airspeed data is unclear, followed by the warning "stall stall stall", indicating the plane was about to go down.

 

The pilots regained control in that case, but French officials have speculated that in last week's accident, which took pace in a fierce thunderstorm, faulty speed data may have contributed to catastrophe.

 

Flying between Paris and Bogota, a pilot reported "losing two speed measures ... with stall alarm". The crew was about to issue a "mayday" crash warning when the problem resolved itself and screens returned to normal.

 

"It's very stressful. It's an alarm that sounds and a large flashing panel that you can't shut off. It's possible that crews take inappropriate action because of these alarms," said Ferrer.

 

According to experts, at high altitude such as that at which AF447 was flying, the margin of airspeed within which a plane can safely manoeuvre, the so-called "coffin corner", is much reduced.

 

Only 55 to 75 km/h separates the lowest safe speed, below which the plane stalls, and the highest, above which it becomes impossible to control and might plunge or break up.

 

Air France made no immediate comment on the report, but an earlier leaked document also seen by AFP and acknowledged as genuine by the airline noted "a certain number of incidents" with speed probes.

 

http://www.theage.com.au/world/woman-who-a...90612-c5l9.html

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
FINAL DESTINATION?? Scary! You can't seem to escape death it seemed...

 

At one time, the Final Destination movie make me afraid of flying because I saw that movie 1 month before my trip to Europe. The first thing that run in my mind before my first 744 ride was, "God, plz don't become my trip like the Final Destination Movie...." Very scary...

 

About the lady, well it's her time to go now. Like Kenneth said, we all can't seen to cheat death. No body can't change it....

Edited by Fizree Helmi

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Bodies prove jet crash not caused by terrorists

 

By John Lichfield

Monday June 15 2009

 

Autopsies on the bodies recovered after the Airbus disaster in the south Atlantic suggest there was no explosion or fire -- and therefore no terrorist attack.

 

But two weeks after Air France's AF447 fell from the sky between the Brazilian and West African coasts, the mystery of what happened to the plane and the 228 people on board remains largely unsolved.

 

Problems

 

The automatic messages sent from the aircraft in its dying minutes suggest problems with speed sensors, and also with the rudder in the tail.

 

However, French investigators are still uncertain whether these were symptoms, or the principal causes, of the difficulties which overwhelmed the Airbus 330-200 flying from Rio to Paris on the night of 31 May and 1 June.

 

Autopsy reports on the first 16 bodies recovered from the ocean seem to have dismissed the theory that the aircraft was the victim of a terrorist attack.

 

Details of the autopsies leaked to the Brazilian press indicate that the bodies showed no sign of burning or damage from an explosion.

 

The bodies were recovered whole, which is also said to be unusual after a mid-air explosion. X-rays revealed no evidence that the bodies had been penetrated by shards of metal.

 

The 50 corpses discovered so far were recovered in two groups over 50 miles apart. This suggests to some aviation experts that the aircraft may have disintegrated, fully or partially, in mid-air. Aviation experts said that, in theory, if the rudder moved too far at speed, it could break off and take the "vertical stabiliser" -- or main part of the tailplane -- with it. The tailplane is the largest piece of wreckage from the A330-200 to have been recovered so far.

 

Submarine

 

However, the experts also point out that there was nothing in the automatic message which proved that the "rudder limiter" had failed, causing the crash.

 

A French nuclear submarine is still searching for the plane's flight recorders or "black boxes". The location "pings" sent out by the boxes will cease in about two weeks' time.

 

hnews@herald.ie

http://www.herald.ie/world-news/bodies-pro...ts-1774105.html

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Autopsies on the bodies recovered after the Airbus disaster in the south Atlantic suggest there was no explosion or fire -- and therefore no terrorist attack.

That simple conclusion/assumption goes some way to illustrate how fixated we are nowadays with the stereotyped terrorist attack doesn't it ? :p

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
That simple conclusion/assumption goes some way to illustrate how fixated we are nowadays with the stereotyped terrorist attack doesn't it ? :p

 

But in this case, somehow we hoped it was a terror attack or somekind of human related error because if it was a plane problem.. and it's still a mystery out there.. anything can happen to other A330 bro!!

Edited by Ignatius

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
That simple conclusion/assumption goes some way to illustrate how fixated we are nowadays with the stereotyped terrorist attack doesn't it ? :p

The must-end-with-a-bang theory. ;)

The findings simply say there was no mid-air explosion, I reckon the "not terrorist attack" part is just a media thing to polish the article.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Received this link, and it shows what kind of weather the A332 had to endure :blink:

 

http://www.weathergraphics.com/tim/af447/

 

SCARY !!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Received this link, and it shows what kind of weather the A332 had to endure :blink:

 

http://www.weathergraphics.com/tim/af447/

 

SCARY !!!

Almost 20 minutes in extreme weather conditions! Wonder why the crew didn't divert...

First guess is they've "seen it, done it".

Second guess, press-on-itis.

:mellow:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Excerpt from:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...-explosion.html

...

 

Post mortems carried out on 16 of the first 50 bodies found floating in the sea reportedly have no trace of burn marks or smoke, supporting the theory that the accident was not the result of a blast.

 

Their clothes had been stripped off, presumably in the rush of air as the plane fell from as high as 35,000ft.

 

Pilots of the Airbus A330 en route from Rio to Paris did not even have time to make a mayday call before their plane plunged into the sea.

 

Although an explosion is unlikely, investigators believe flight AF 447 broke up in the air because of the location of victims' bodies found in the water.

 

Two trails of bodies were discovered, more than 50 miles apart, which suggests the jet broke up before impact.

 

They had no water in the lungs - which would have indicated drowning.

 

...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

In my mind, the relative silence of Airbus in this tragic crash does not inspire confidence in their products, particularly the A330/ A340 series.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Post mortems carried out on 16 of the first 50 bodies found floating in the sea reportedly have no trace of burn marks or smoke, supporting the theory that the accident was not the result of a blast.

 

Their clothes had been stripped off, presumably in the rush of air as the plane fell from as high as 35,000ft.

 

Pilots of the Airbus A330 en route from Rio to Paris did not even have time to make a mayday call before their plane plunged into the sea.

 

Although an explosion is unlikely, investigators believe flight AF 447 broke up in the air because of the location of victims' bodies found in the water.

 

Two trails of bodies were discovered, more than 50 miles apart, which suggests the jet broke up before impact.

 

They had no water in the lungs - which would have indicated drowning.

 

...

This is just like CI611. And the most disturbing thing is that we don't even know what caused the ultra modern plane to broke up mid-air yet :(

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
This is just like CI611. And the most disturbing thing is that we don't even know what caused the ultra modern plane to broke up mid-air yet :(

CI611 is the flight between TPE and HKG in 2002 right? According to Air Crash investigation (new series), the a/c broke apart mid-air because of a tailstrike wound in HKG from 20 years ago!

CI did a shonky job when they repaired the tailstrike and it was not done according to Boeing's recommendations and guideline.

 

Come to think of the commonality between China Airlines of Taiwan and Air France is that they both are unsafe satistically......

Edited by S V Choong

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
CI611 is the flight between TPE and HKG in 2002 right? According to Air Crash investigation (new series), the a/c broke apart mid-air because of a tailstrike wound in HKG from 20 years ago!

CI did a shonky job when they repaired the tailstrike and it was not done according to Boeing's recommendations and guideline.

 

Come to think of the commonality between China Airlines of Taiwan and Air France is that they both are unsafe satistically......

 

Ya, came back and haunt them 20 years later. However, I never suspected Air France's safety record.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There should be some kind of reasons that broke up in mid air. Is the plane really related to its structural, then there will be huge numbers of A330s in the world risking passenger and crews' life~

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Ya, came back and haunt them 20 years later. However, I never suspected Air France's safety record.

Initially, I had the same attitude towards AF until.... I read the following....

 

Incidents and accidents of Air France

This section needs additional citations for verification.

Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2009)

 

In Air France's 70-year history, 13 of the reported accidents involved loss of life.[47]

 

Selected accidents and major incidents:

 

 

1940s

On 27 October 1949, boxer Marcel Cerdan, violinist Ginette Neveu, some members of the Barnum & Bailey Circus and Walt Disney Studios chief merchandiser Kay Kamen[48] died when an Air France flight crashed into a mountain after two attempts to land at the São Miguel Island airport in the Azores. [49]

 

1950s

On the nights of 12 and 14 June 1950, two Air France Douglas DC-4s (registration F-BBDE and F-BBDM, respectively) crashed into the sea off Bahrain while landing, with a combined loss of 86 lives. The first accident claimed the lives of 40 of the 53 occupants and the second 46 out of 52. Both aircraft had operated the Karachi, Pakistan, to Bahrain portion of Air France's Saigon, Indochina - Paris sector. The accident investigators concluded that the pilot in command did not maintain his correct altitude until the runway lights became visible during the approach to Bahrain in the first accident, and that the pilot in command did not keep an accurate check of his altitude and rate of descent during the approach procedure in the second accident.[50]

 

On 3 February 1951, a Douglas DC-4 (registration F-BBDO) operating Air France's Douala, Cameroon, to Niamey, Niger, sector hit the 13,354 feet high Cameroon Mountain near Bouea, Cameroon, west of Douala, at a height of 8,500 feet (2,600 m). The aircraft was destroyed, killing all 29 occupants. The mountain was probably only partially visible from the flight deck due to the mist surrounding it. Although the pilot immediately turned to the left, the plane hit the steeply rising terrain with its left wing. The accident investigators concluded that the crew followed an inaccurate procedure and relied on imprecise navigation. The investigators furthermore determined that the crew did not check the draft. Moreover, they cited the crew's error of judgement and over-confidence when flying over the mountain mass as additional contributory factors.[51]

 

On 3 March 1952, a SNCASE Languedoc (registration F-BCUM) operating a passenger flight from Nice Le Var Airport to Paris Le Bourget Airport crashed shortly after takeoff with the loss of all 38 lives on board. Soon after takeoff from Le Var Airport, the aircraft began banking to the left. This increased progressively until the aircraft flipped over on its back and crashed. The accident investigators attributed the accident to the aircraft's blocked ailerons to the left, as a result of a mechanical fault related to the design.[52]

 

On 29 April 1952, a Douglas C-54A (registration F-BELI) operating a German internal service from Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport to Berlin Tempelhof Airport came under attack from two Soviet MiG 15 fighters while passing through one of the Allied air corridors over East Germany. Although the attack had severely damaged the plane, necessitating the shutdown of engines three and four, the pilot landed safely at West Berlin's Tempelhof Airport. An inspection of the aircraft at Tempelhof revealed that it had been hit by 89 shots fired from the Soviet MiGs during the air attack. There were no fatalities among the 17 occupants (six crew, eleven passengers). The Soviet military authorities defended this attack on a civilian aircraft by claiming the Air France plane was outside the air corridor at the time of attack.[53]

On 1 September 1953, a Lockheed L-749A Constellation (registration F-BAZZ) operating the Paris-Nice portion of a passenger flight to Hong Kong crashed into Mount Cemet, France, with the loss of all 42 lives on board. The accident occurred while the flight deck crew was preparing to land at Nice's Côte d'Azur airport, the aircraft's first scheduled stop. The accident investigation established "controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)" as the cause.[54]

 

On 8 April 1957, a Douglas C-47B (registration F-BEIK) operating an Algerian passenger flight from Biskra lost height after takeoff and crashed a mile beyond the airport's runway with the loss of all 34 lives on board.[55]

 

On 31 May 1958, a Douglas C-47A (registration F-BHKV) operating a non-scheduled Algerian passenger flight from Algiers to Colomb-Béchard crashed near Molière with the loss of all 15 lives on board.[56]

 

1960s

On 29 August 1960, a Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation (registration F-BHBC) operating flight AF343 from Paris to Abidjan, Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire), via Dakar, Senegal, crashed into the sea with the loss of all 63 lives on board while the aircraft's flight deck crew made a second attempt to land at Dakar's Yoff Airport.[57]

 

On 10 May 1961, a Lockheed L-1649A Starliner (registration F-BHBM) operating the Fort Lamy (now N'Djamena), Chad, to Marseille Marignane portion of Air France's Brazzaville, Congo - Paris sector as flight AF406 crashed in the Sahara desert near Edjele, Algeria, with the loss of all 78 lives on board. The aircraft was cruising at an altitude of 20,000 feet (6,100 m) when its empennage failed. This caused it to break up in flight and crash in the Sahara desert. The accident investigators believed that the empennage separated from the rest of the aircraft as a result of the detonation of a nitrocellulose explosive device.[58]

 

On 12 September 1961, a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III (registration F-BJTB) operating the Paris Orly-Rabat-Casablanca sector as flight AF2005 crashed near Rabat's Sale Airport with the loss of all 77 lives on board. At the time of the accident meteorological conditions in the local area were thick, low fog. The poor weather conditions reduced horizontal visibility and ceiling. The pilot informed ATC that he wanted to attempt a break-through over the NDB. The aircraft was destroyed by fire when it impacted the ground, killing everyone on board. The accident investigators cited the commander's error in reading his instruments as the most likely cause.[59]

 

On 3 June 1962, a chartered Boeing 707-328 (registration F-BHSM), Chateau de Sully, flying from Orly Airport, Paris, France, to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, Atlanta, USA, crashed at Orly during takeoff. 130 out of 132 people on board were killed. Two flight attendants sitting in the rear section of the aircraft were saved. The investigation found a faulty servo motor, which had led to an improper (and non-adjustable) elevator trim. Brake marks measuring 1,500 feet (457 m) were found on the runway, indicating that the flight deck crew tried to abort takeoff. The aircraft rolled right while only seven feet (two m) from the ground, causing its right wing to hit the ground. It crashed 50 yards (45 m) from the runway and exploded.[60] Of the passengers 106 were Atlanta art patrons who had finished a tour of European capitals. Ann Uhry Abrams, the author of Explosion at Orly: The True Account of the Disaster that Transformed Atlanta, described the incident as "Atlanta’s version of Sept. 11 in that the impact on the city in 1962 was comparable to New York of Sept. 11." This was the deadliest crash in Air France history until the crash of Air France Flight 447. [61]

 

On 22 June 1962, Air France flight 117, operated with a Boeing 707-328 (registration F-BHST), crashed into a forest on a hill at an altitude of about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) during bad weather, while attempting to land at Point-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, West Indies, killing all 113 on board. The aircraft was attempting a non-precision NDB approach. A malfunctioning VOR station and poor NDB reception due to thunderstorms were blamed for the accident. The airframe had acculumated only 985 hours of flying at the time of the accident. [62]

 

On 6 March 1968, a Boeing 707-328C (registration F-BLCJ) operating the Caracas-Point-à-Pitre sector of Air France flight 212 hit the southern slope of La Soufrière Mountain at an altitude of 3,937 feet, 27.5 km SSW of Le Raizet Airport with the loss of all 63 lives on board. When ATC had cleared the flight deck crew for a visual approach to Le Raizet's runway 11, the crew had reported the airfield in sight. Flight 212 started to descend from FL90 and passed Saint Claude at an altitude of about 4,400 feet (1,300 m). The accident investigators cited the probable cause as a visual approach procedure at night in which the descent was begun from an incorrectly identified point. Charlie Juliet had flown for 33 hours since coming off the Boeing production line, and was on her second revenue service (her maiden passenger flight was the previous day's outbound journey from Paris).[63]

 

On 11 September 1968, a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III (registration F-BOHB) operating the Ajaccio, Corsica - Nice sector as flight AF1611 crashed into the sea near Cap d'Antibes off Nice with the loss of all 95 lives on board. The accident occurred while the flight deck crew attempted an emergency landing at Côte d'Azur Airport, following the detection of a fire in the aircraft's rear cabin 21 minutes after takeoff from Ajaccio. The accident investigators believed that the fire had started in the right lavatory and galley area.[64]

 

On 4 December 1969, a Boeing 707-328B (registration F-BHSZ) operating the Caracas-Point-à-Pitre sector of Air France flight 212 crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff from Simon Bolivar International Airport with the loss of all 62 on board.[65]

 

1970s

On 12 June 1975, a Boeing 747-128 (registration N28888) operating the sector between Bombay (now Mumbai), India, and Tel Aviv, Israel, of flight AF193 to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport was destroyed by fire on the ground at Bombay's Santa Cruz Airport, following an aborted takeoff. The aircraft's tyre on its right-hand main undercarriage had failed while the flight deck crew was executing a 180 degree turn at the beginning of Santa Cruz Airport's runway 27. When the flight deck crew began its takeoff run, another tyre failed. At that point the plane's wheels and braking assembly came into contact with the runway, starting a fire. The crew aborted takeoff. The ensuing delay in shutting down the engines, as well as the improper deployment of the airport's fire service, caused the fire to spread, leading to the plane's total destruction. There were no fatalities among the 394 occupants (18 crew and 376 passengers).[66]

 

Operation Entebbe: On 27 June 1976, an Airbus A300 (registration F-BVGG) operating flight AF139 from Tel Aviv to Paris via Athens was hijacked shortly after departing Athens. After refuelling in Benghazi, Libya, the hijackers demanded it be flown to Entebbe, Uganda. One hostage was freed in Benghazi and in Uganda another 155 non-Israeli and/or non-Jewish hostages were released. The flight crew remained with the hostages after Captain Bacos insisted he was responsible for them. After several days of negotiating and diplomatic interventions, Israel launched a commando raid into Entebbe to free them. During the assault all six of the hijackers were killed as were three hostages. The leader of the assault was also killed. One hostage was unaccounted for. She had been taken to Mulago Hospital prior to the assault and later killed on Idi Amin's orders.[citation needed]

 

1980s

On 18 January 1984, an explosion in the cargo hold of a Boeing 747 en route from Karachi, Pakistan, to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, shortly after departing Karachi blew a hole in the right rear cargo hold. The resulting loss of cabin pressure necessitated an immediate descent to 5,000 feet (1,500 m). The aircraft returned to Karachi without any fatalities among the 261 occupants (15 crew and 246 passengers).[67]

 

On 26 June 1988, Air France flight 296, Airbus A320-111 (registration F-GFKC) crashed near the airfield of Mulhouse Habsheim, in the Franco-German border region of Alsace. The accident occurred during an airshow while the flight deck crew was performing a flypast at low height and speed. The aircraft overflew the airfield in good weather. Seconds later the aircraft struck treetops behind the runway and crashed into a forest, as a result of flying too low and too slow. Three passengers died and about 50 were injured.[68]

 

1990s

On 24 December 1994, Air France flight 8969, an Airbus A300B2-1C (registration F-GBEC) was hijacked in Houari Boumedienne Airport in Algiers, Algeria, by four terrorists who belonged to the Armed Islamic Group. The terrorists apparently intended to crash the plane over the Eiffel Tower on Boxing Day. After a failed attempt to leave Marseille following a confrontational firefight between the terrorists and the GIGN French Special Forces, the result was the death of all four terrorists. (Snipers on the terminal front's roof shot dead two of the terrorists. The other two terrorists died as a result of gunshots in the cabin after approximately 20 minutes.) Three hostages including a Vietnamese diplomat were executed, 229 hostages survived, many of them wounded by shrapnel. The almost 15-year-old aircraft was written off.[citation needed]

 

On 5 September 1996, turbulence caused injuries to three passengers on a Boeing 747 in mid-air near Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. One died later from injuries received from an in-flight film projection screen. [69][70]

 

On 20 April 1998, the Air France flight from Bogotá's Eldorado Airport, Colombia, to Quito, Ecuador, using an aircraft leased from TAME and flown by Ecuadorian crew, crashed into a mountain near Bogotá. All 43 passengers and 10 crew died.[71][72]

 

On 5 March 1999, an ex-UTA Boeing 747-2B3F (SCD) freighter (registration F-GPAN) carrying a revenue load of 66 tons of cargo on flight AF6745 from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Madras Meenambakkam, India, via Karachi, Pakistan and Bangalore HAL Airport, India, crash-landed, caught fire and burned out. Meenambakkam ATC had cleared the aircraft for an ILS approach to the airport's runway 07. The crew abandoned the approach due to technical difficulties. The aircraft circled to attempt a second approach. At the end of the second approach, the aircraft's nose struck the runway while touching down because its nose gear was either not down or not locked. The plane skidded and came to rest 7,000 feet (2,100 m) down the 13,050 ft. runway. After it had come to a standstill, the crew noticed smoke on the flight deck and began to extinguish the flames. Soon after, flames erupted in the aircraft's front section. One crew member managed to escape from the flight deck via a rope ladder. The remaining four crew members were rescued by the airport fire service from the rear, before the flames engulfed the entire aircraft. The fire service was unable to extinguish the fire and the aircraft burned out.[73][74]

 

2000s

On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde (registration F-BTSC) charter departing from De Gaulle airport in Paris bound for New York's JFK Airport crashed into a hotel just after takeoff in Gonesse, France. All 109 people on board died, along with four people on the ground. According to the accident investigation report, the probable cause was the destruction of one of the aircraft's main wheel tyres, as a result of passing at high speed over a part lost by a pre-departing Continental Airlines DC-10 during the takeoff run. The piercing of one of the fuel tanks by a piece of the exploding tire ignited the leaking jet fuel and caused a loss of thrust in engine number one and two in quick succession.[75]

 

Flight 358 at Toronto Pearson International AirportOn 2 August 2005, Air France Flight 358, an Airbus A340-300 (registration F-GLZQ) overshot the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport during a thunderstorm. The plane continued for 300 metres before coming to rest at the bottom of a ravine at the end of the runway adjacent to Highway 401. All 297 passengers and 12 crew survived but the plane was completely destroyed by fire. The investigation predominately blamed pilot error when faced with the severe weather conditions. Class action law suits over the incident are ongoing.[citation needed]

 

On 1 June 2009, Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330-203 (registration F-GZCP) from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 228 people onboard lost contact with air traffic control while over the Atlantic Ocean, 300km (186 miles) north-east of the Brazilian city of Natal.[76] F-GZCP is confirmed crashed and it is also confirmed that all passengers and crew members were killed due to the crash.[77]

 

Hijackings

Air France has been the target of several hijackings. These hijackings occurred in the following sequence:

 

1973 Marseille

1976 Benghazi (Operation Entebbe) - see below - and Saigon

1977 Benghazi

1983 Geneva

1984 Geneva, twice

1989 Algiers

1993 Nice

1994 Algiers - see above

1999 Paris.

On 24 December 2003, three Air France flights bound for Los Angeles International Airport were cancelled because of fears that terrorists were targeting these flights

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France

Edited by S V Choong

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Not to mention that AF was the first airline to registered a full hull loss with fatalities for Airbus 320-100, BAE Aerospace Supersonic Concorde and very recently, Airbus A330-200. It does seem no much safer than ... say CI or KE.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...