3 December 2013

Air France flight AF-521 , Boeing 777-200 registration F-GSPE from Cape Town , South Africa to Paris , France with 281 people on board took off from Cape Town and was in the initial climb when the crew reported that they cann't retract the nose gear.The crew stopped the climb at FL100 dumped fuel and diverted back for a safe landing on runway 19

On 10 December 2013 the French BEA in their weekly buletting reported that the aircraft departed from Cape Town International Airport (FACT) on an international
scheduled flight with flight number AF521. After take-off the nose landing gear would not retract. After investigation the crew realised that the nose landing gear safety pin had not been removed. This was confirmed with the ground engineers after the crew analysis. Approximately 47.8 tons of fuel was dumped 25 nm South of FACT VOR. A Phase 2 was declared for the Serious Incident. Aerodrome rescue and fire-fighting personnel (ARFF) were placed on alert and await the aircraft on the side of the runway. The aircraft performed a normal approach and an uneventful landing followed approximately one hour after take-off

 

F-GSPE

© Carlos Enamorado

 

First flight:08-01-1999

Age:14.9 years

 

Cape Town airport