For the second time in a month, Air France has had a near-miss. On May 22, a 777F taking off from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, was forced to recover midway through its roll due to an underestimation of the weight of the aircraft. The freighter was accelerating too slowly, raising concern that the freighter could strike its tail during rotation.
According to Reuters, sources familiar with the incident said the weight was miscalculated by as much as 100 tonnes, or about one-quarter of the aircraft’s maximum takeoff weight. The pilots had to override the automated system and power up the two engines to get the Mexico-bound plane off the ground. Suffice it to say, the crew has been taken off active duty.
As if Air France hasn’t had enough problems, a 777 with three dozen people on board, almost hit Mount Cameroon, sub-Saharan Africa’s highest peak, earlier this month. The aircraft was on a short flight from Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to Douala, Cameroon, when it ran into bad weather on May 2. At about 9,000 feet, the pilots diverted north to avoid a storm, but then they took the aircraft too close to the active, 13,225-foot-high volcano. That crew has also been taken off duty for more training.