French aviation investigators are looking into a “serious incident” involving an Air France flight from New York that suffered flight control problems on approach to its landing in Paris.
The Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) said on Wednesday it has opened a safety probe and information from the so-called black box flight data and voice recorders is being checked.
In a tweet, it said the Boeing 777 suffered flight control problems on its final approach to the capital’s Charles de Gaulle airport on Tuesday.
⚠️ (1/2) Serious incident to the @BoeingFrance #777 @AirFranceFR registered F-GSQJ on 05/04/22 at @ParisAeroport #CDG / Instability of flight controls on final, go-around, hard controls, flight path oscillations / @BEA_Aero opens a safety investigation.
— BEA ✈️ ⚙️🔬🇫🇷 (@BEA_Aero) April 6, 2022
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A website maintained by aviation enthusiasts, AIRLIVE.net, posted audio of what it said were exchanges between air traffic control and pilots wrestling with the aircraft before finally landing trans-Atlantic flight AF011.
In the recording, a person identified by the website as a pilot is heard saying to an air traffic controller they had to abort their initial landing attempt because “the plane did just about anything”.
Air France said it could not confirm the authenticity of the recording.
Flight tracking websites showed the plane made a loop around the airport before landing.
It descended, climbed again and then finally came back down to land.
In a statement, Air France confirmed that the flight crew “aborted their landing sequence and performed a go-around”.
“The go-around is defined by the authorities, aircraft manufacturers and Air France as a normal procedure. The crews are trained and regularly instructed in these procedures, which are used by all airlines to guarantee the safety of flights and passengers,” it said.
The airline said the flight crew “landed the aircraft normally after a second approach”.
Without specifying how many people were on the plane, it added: “Air France understands and regrets the discomfort felt by customers.”
