PARIS (CNN) – French aviation safety investigators have opened an investigation after an Air France Boeing 777 plane approaching Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport was involved in a “serious incident,” according to BEA, the French bureau that Plane crashes and flight safety studied.
In an audio recording by air traffic control, which French officials say is of the incident, a pilot says: “The plane was just out of control.”
The incident happened on Tuesday, April 5, after a BEA tweet which reported “flight control instability on end, go-around, hard controls, flight path oscillations”. The BEA did not give CNN any further details about what caused the incident or why it was deemed “serious,” adding that it would have to wait until the investigation was over. The tweet said the agency was analyzing flight data from cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders known as black back boxes.
But it authenticated an audio recording posted online of communications between the flight’s pilot and the control tower.
The recording was edited to isolate the audio of the flight and made available online by privately owned, aviation-focused website AIRLIVE, which tells CNN it had direct access to Paris Charles de Gaulle air traffic control recordings.
Response from Air France
Air France said on Wednesday it understands and regrets customers’ discomfort. Spokesman Mathieu Guillot said the pilots responded appropriately to the situation by circling and making a second attempt to land.
“Air France confirms that the crew of flight AF011 on April 4, 2022 from New York JFK to Paris-CDG aborted their landing sequence and performed a go-around during the approach.
“The crew landed the aircraft normally after a second approach. Air France understands and regrets the customers’ discomfort,” Air France said.
The go-around is defined as a normal process by authorities, aircraft manufacturers and Air France. Crews are trained and regularly briefed on these procedures, which are used by all airlines to ensure the safety of flights and passengers, which is Air France’s top priority.”
What can be heard in the BEA recording
In the BEA recording, a voice that appears to be a pilot can be heard saying “stop, stop” while an alarm sounds in the cockpit.
“I’ll call you back, I’ll call you back,” the male voice tells the air traffic controllers, who instruct him to “stop the approach…immediately.”
The pilot is then heard communicating the decision to abort the landing to the controllers.
“We drove around because we had a problem with the orders. The plane was just out of control,” the voice is heard saying. “We are ready to continue the final approach with radar guidance. Give us time to manage the situation and then guide us with a tailwind.”
Description of a passenger
As the plane approached the airport, there were “two or three sudden jolts,” passenger Pierre-Loïc Jacquemin told BFMTV, CNN’s French affiliate.
“People were screaming in the cabin,” he said at the time of the incident.
“Then the plane came back up. We circled the airport for 10 minutes and the second try was really smooth. We didn’t get jostled like the first time,” the passenger added.
Flight came from JFK International
The nearly seven-hour Air France Flight 11 from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport was aboard a French-registered Boeing 777, tracking data from aviation websites FlightAware and FlightRadar24 showing the landing of the 17-year-old plane show after the second try.
Boeing spokesman Paul Lewis referred questions about the incident to the BEA.
Because it is a US-made aircraft, an official investigation into the incident would involve the involvement of the US National Transportation Safety Board.
The board has appointed an officer to take part in the French-led investigation, NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson told CNN. He said the French BEA is in contact with the NTSB.
This development does not necessarily mean that NTSB officials will physically travel to Paris.
The US Federal Aviation Administration did not initially comment on the incident either.
It is unclear how many people were on board the plane at the time of the incident.
Image above: A file photo of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport