The engine of a plane from Paris to Perpignan caught fire in mid-flight this Friday evening. A passenger on board, Sarah gives her testimony to The Dispatch.
Panic on board on the Air France flight which linked Paris to Perpignan this Friday evening. The Airbus A318 took off at 8:45 p.m. from Paris Orly airport. Shortly after takeoff, the right engine caught fire at an altitude of 1,020 meters, causing major tremors in the aircraft.
The 48 passengers on board, as well as the crew members experienced a traumatic episode. Sarah, 27, was on the plane: “The takeoff had taken place 10 minutes earlier, we were flying over Nogent le Rotrou (in Eure-et-Loir, editor’s note), according to the geolocation screen. I saw a ball of fire for a few seconds then I heard a loud noise on the right side of the plane,” says the young woman, who quickly realized that an engine “had just broken down.”
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The plane then begins to pitch: “everything is shaking, people have started to panic. The comings and goings of the flight crew worries some people”, says Sarah. The crew members, including one of the stewardesses, quickly lost control of her emotions. The passenger allowed herself to ask her the problem, her answer will not comfort her: “We have a problem with an engine…” she retorts, before collapsing in tears.
“At that moment, my brain disconnects”
The pilot then announces: “We have just lost an engine, we are returning to Paris.” One of the stewardesses takes the floor to calmly explain the situation and the emergency procedure to follow: as soon as the pilot says the word “suitable”, the passengers will have to take the safety position.
Sarah remembers: “The fear appears on the faces, the crew passes among the passengers to make sure that everyone has understood the procedure and also checks that our belts are well fastened”. The crew “specifies that it will be necessary to use the back door to evacuate the device. At that time, my brain disconnects and I tell myself that it is serious”, describes the young woman.
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While the plane is on the return trip, the aircraft continues to pitch. “People were praying, I heard ‘Lord’, ‘Jesus Marie Joseph'”, is moved the passenger. “I grab my passport, telling myself that for the identification of the body, it will be easier.”
The plane then begins its emergency landing, and begins to fly very low. The pilot’s announcement is heard over the loudspeakers: “SUITABLE, SUITABLE”. The 27-year-old passenger sees the crew, who had taken their place in the back of the aircraft, and in turn begins to shout “IDOINE” continuously for many minutes and while spinning with their arms. “Everyone has their head between their legs.” she describes. “I see myself dead, I imagine my loved ones crying…”, worries the young woman, before raising her head through the window and seeing the landing strip.
An impressive phenomenon but without risk
According to the company, the loss of an engine is a “rare technical problem” but “possible”. The Air France spokesman explains that it is a phenomenon “quite impressive for the passengers because it makes a big explosion then there are flames, but it does not last long, once the pumping is effective, the flames disappear. Our teams are trained and trained in this type of situation. The safety of passengers is an absolute imperative and this has been respected.”
Philippe Lacroute, a representative of Air France pilots, himself an airline pilot, confirms this. “The users were not in danger. The engine surge is a known failure and controlled by the manufacturer’s processes and by the personnel who train twice a year on a simulator”, assures the expert to our colleagues from the newspaper The Independent.
Relief for passengers when the wheels touch the ground. “Everyone starts clapping kissing.” recalls Sarah “except for one person who starts screaming, crying, in the midst of an anxiety attack, we take turns to calm them down…”.
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The spokesperson told the newspaper The Independent that “the plane landed safely at 9:15 p.m. local time and the passengers were taken care of by Air France personnel. On the runway, at least 20 vehicles, police and firefighters were ready to intervene. “A firefighter takes me in his arms and starts to sob” resumes Sarah. “On the road to go to the hotel, I collapsed in tears. I called my mother to tell her that I love her and then I joined my husband. I thought of him every second!”
The story ends well for everyone on board. Safe and sound, they were taken care of by the company in hotels near the airport, before leaving this Saturday morning for Perpignan. The passengers finally reached their destination, this time with complete peace of mind.