AF A380 rtb

cyrusdvirus

Airplane forced to turn back over Atlantic November 30, 2009 -- Updated 1538 GMT (2338 HKT)

Air France had begun flying the brand-new A380 across the Atlantic only days before, Airbus said.STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Airbus airplane forced to turn back to New York 90 minutes into flight to Paris

Air France A380 turned back due to a "minor incident," airline says

Airbus declines to specify what caused the plane to turn back

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(CNN) -- An Airbus airplane was forced to turn back to New York 90 minutes into a flight to Paris, Air France said Monday.

The Air France A380 turned back due to a "minor incident," the airline said, refusing to say what the technical hitch was.

Airbus also declined to specify what caused the plane to turn back, saying the incident was an issue for the Air France maintenance team not the aircraft's manufacturer.

The pilots made the decision to turn back "in strict accordance with procedures and as a precautionary measure... following a minor technical problem in order to carry out ground checks," Air France said.

The plane landed at New York's John F. Kennedy International airport "without incident" at 10:17 p.m. ET on Friday, November 27, Air France said. The plane was serviced and later completed its transatlantic journey, the airline said.

Air France had begun flying the brand-new A380 across the Atlantic only days before, Airbus said.

Its inaugural commercial flight from Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport to JFK was on November 21.

Air France became the fourth airline to operate the superjumbo when it received its first A380 at the end of last month.


http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/11/30/france.airplane.glitch/index.html

alpha2zulu

Really though if it was just any other new Airbus it wouldent get any media attention.

I remember the new A332 for Aer Lingus, EI-DUO had to divert into ORD on its maiden commercial flight back into Ireland from SFO when it was brought into service. I very much doubt CNN showed any interest in that event:D

projectmayhem

Someone at Air France obviously cheated the plane to its destination by handling something illegally

TrackBarChaser

http://www.avherald.com/h?article=42380873&opt=0

Foggy43

This is what gatecrash is referring too.

http://www.france24.com/en/20091130-computer-air-france-new-york-airlines-safety-a380-technical-atlantic-navigation

The A340-600 and the A380 have been having problems with their navigation systems which I believe is the same on both aircraft.