On January 4th, a Boeing 777-300ER operated by Air France experienced
engine issues on a flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Los Angeles (LAX).
Flying over London, the crew made the decision to divert and return the aircraft
to Paris. Let’s look at this most recent Air France Boeing 777 incident in today’s video!
Operating flight AF72 from Paris to LA on January 4th, an Air France 777-300ER
registered F-GSQL had to return to its origin airport due to engine problems.
According to The Aviation Herald, the aircraft was flying at Flight level three-hundred (30,000ft)
about 20 nautical miles northeast of London when the crew quote-unquote "observed anomalies" with
one of the aircraft's GE90 powerplants. The crew then shut the engine down due
to a loss of oil pressure and descended to an altitude of Flight Level one-fifty.
Turning around and heading back to Paris, the aircraft reportedly dumped fuel on the way.
Then, based on flight tracking data, the jet flew just east of Rouen before
turning towards Le Havre. Flying in a large circle, the 777 then descended towards Paris,
completing a safe landing on runway 27L about 100 minutes after departure.
Air France reported that this aircraft's return to Paris was due to a problem with an engine oil
system. Meanwhile, FlightRadar24.com data shows that the January 4th iteration of
flight AF72 was canceled, with the next AF72 service taking place the next day.
At the time of this video’s production, the aircraft remains on the ground at
Paris Charles de Gaulle over four days after the incident.
The Boeing 777-300ER registered F-GSQL is a 17-year-old airframe
powered by two GE90-115B powerplants. The aircraft was delivered in 2006 and,
as of July 2022, had accumulated over 71,075 flight hours across 8,273 cycles
In its 17 years of service, F-GSQL has only had two other documented incidents. Data from
AeroInside indicates that the first took place on January 1st, 2015, when a passenger's seat
began to overheat on a flight from Paris to Washington Dulles. This resulted in the flight
diverting to Montreal. The Aviation Herald notes that maintenance crews electrically
deactivated the seat, and the aircraft continued its journey to Dulles without further incident.
The second incident took place much more recently, in November 2022.
Performing flight AF662 from Paris to Dubai, the crew reported experiencing a minor technical
issue whilst flying near Budapest, Hungary. Problems escalated, and the crew reported
smoke in the cockpit and cabin, which resulted in a diversion to Munich Airport in Germany.
It’s not just GSQL that has had issues.
Air France has had a run of bad luck with its 777 fleet - particularly over the past year.
The airline had another one of its 777s experience an engine issue in
July 2022 which also prompted a diversion.
The month prior, one of its 777s was struck by an ITA Airways Airbus A330
while on the ground at New York JFK. This infamous incident saw
the Italy-bound A330 deny any collision and continue its transatlantic journey to Rome.
Do you think the aircraft should have diverted to a closer airport in the London area? Or was
it fine to cross the english channel with one engine? Share your opinions by leaving a comment!