An Air France jetliner in Cameroon nearly flew near an active volcano on May 2. The crew of the airliner was avoiding a storm when passengers and crew nearly found themselves crashed into the side of the volcano.
Air France Flight 953 was traveling from Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to Douala, Cameroon, on a 44-minute flight en route to Paris. The vehicle had 36 people on board at the time of the incident, including 23 passengers, 10 members of the cabin crew and three pilots.
The Boeing 777 jetliner sounded an automated alert, warning the pilots to pull up after the jet came too close to the active volcano. Immediately following that alarm, the flight crew directed the aircraft to quickly climb from 9,000 to 13,000 feet.
"This proximity was detected by the EGPWS system (enhanced ground proximity warning system, that gives more detailed information than the GPWS). This system generated an alarm in the cockpit to which the pilots responded immediately by applying the appropriate procedure. Pilots receive regular training in this type of maneuver. The flight continued on to Douala without any further incidents," Air France reports.
When the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System is activated, pilots are trained to quickly add speed and pull back on the control stick in order to gain lift before the aircraft hits the ground. Air France had been criticized for inaction in implementing the use of the device in their aircraft until 1992, when an Air Inter flight crashed into Mont Sainte-Odile in France.
No one was injured during the early May incident in bad weather, which Air France officials are referring to as a near-disaster. The flight continued as planned following the near-miss with the volcano.
The United Nations aviation agency, responsible for setting rules about aviation investigations, states that such an incident may be ruled "serious" if and only if an accident is narrowly avoided. The BEA, France's civil aviation agency, has announced it is classifying this incident in that category of near-misses.
Mount Cameroon, which stands 13,255 feet high, is a massive active volcano located near the Gulf of Guinea. The mountain, which last erupted in 2000, was only climbed by people for the first time in 1840. It is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako, which is the proper name of the taller of its two peaks. It is the highest point in sub-Saharan Western and Central Africa.
Air France announced it has provided the flight crew with additional information concerning the landscape around Douala and provided those crew members with additional support.
Photo: Mathieu Marquer | Flickr
