Airbus Updates No.1673

Incident: France A388 over Greenland on Sep 30th 2017, fan and engine inlet separated

By Simon Hradecky, created Saturday, Sep 30th 2017 17:52Z, last updated Sunday, Oct 1st 2017 14:51Z An Air France Airbus A380-800, registration F-HPJE performing flight AF-66 from Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) to Los Angeles,CA (USA) with 497 passengers and 23 crew, was enroute at FL370 about 200nm southeast of Nuuk (Greenland) when the fan and inlet of the #4 engine (GP7270, outboard right hand) separated from the engine. The crew descended the aircraft to FL310 and diverted to Goose Bay,NL (Canada) for a safe landing about 2 hours later at 12:41L (15:41Z). Emergency services reported hydraulic fluid leaking from the engine. A runway inspection discovered debris on the arrival runway, which needed to be cleaned before the runway could be reopened. A passenger reported there was a loud thud followed by vibrations. The passengers report they were kept on board of the aircraft until arrival of the replacement aircraft because the airport does not have stairs to accomodate the A380. The airline reported the aircraft diverted to Goose Bay following serious damage to one of the four engines. Flight and Cabin crew handled the serious incident perfectly. Teams are being dispatched to Goose Bay to assist the passengers, the airline is working to re-route the passengers to Los Angeles via their connecting platforms in North America. The airline later reported that airline staff reached Goose Bay and now takes care of the passengers. Two flights were dispatched to Goose Bay to pick up the passengers and take them to Los Angeles. An Air France Boeing 777-300 registration F-GZNO arriving from Montreal,QC (Canada) reached Goose Bay at about 02:50L (05:50Z) and is estimated to depart Goose Bay at 04:15L (07:15Z). An additional Boeing 737-300 registration C-GNLQ leased in from Nolinor arrived 3 hours ago and already departed Goose Bay as flight NRL-580 to Winnipeg,MB (Canada) and further to Los Angeles. On Oct 1st 2017 the Canadian TSB reported they have dispatched a team of investigators to Goose Bay to collect evidence and assess the occurrence. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AFR66/history/20170930/0820Z/LFPG/KLAX The engine seen in flight (Photo: Chris): The engine seen in flight (Photo: Miguel Amador): The engine seen in flight (Photo: Rick Engebretsen):