A tool left inside the engine of an Airbus 330 caused a mid-air engine snag shortly after take off in India, forcing the Paris-bound aircraft to return to the Mumbai city airport early on March 12th. There were 212 people on board the Air France flight.
Air France has said the “foreign object” found in the engine hood had nothing to do with the engine dysfunction but others disagree.
About 10 minutes after the aircraft took off, the pilot reported smoke in the cabin and suspected a snag in one of the engines. The cockpit crew reported engine failure to the ATC tower and sought permission to land on priority. As per procedure, fire tenders, an ambulance and airfield vehicles were deployed, and the aircraft landed safely at 3.41am. Passengers were sent to a hotel.
A chisel-like tool used to lay a coating on engines to absorb its sound was found inside the engine hood, said sources from the DGCA who inspected the aircraft. The aviation safety regulator’s preliminary probe report said the tool inside the engine could have caused the dysfunction.
“It seems like the tool caused the snag and also disrupted the system used to maintain temperature and pressure within the cabin, which is why there was smoke,” said a source.
An aircraft maintenance engineer may have forgotten the tool during routine check, sources said.
An Air France-KLM spokesperson said: “An investigation will take place. The foreign object will be analyzed. According to available information, this object found in the engine hood has no link with the engine dysfunction.”
