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Home » Air France » Onboard Explosion Rocks Air France 777-300ER, Forces Diversion
Air France

Onboard Explosion Rocks Air France 777-300ER, Forces Diversion

Matthew Klint Posted onSeptember 18, 2021November 14, 2023 21 Comments

a group of people sitting in an airplane

An Air France Boeing 777-300ER enroute from Beijing to Paris returned to Beijing after an explosion onboard purportedly sent passengers scrambling.

Onboard Explosion On Air France 777-300ER, Smoke, Burning Smell Prompts Diversion

Air France 393 had left Beijing Capital Airport (PEK) at 3:45am and was enroute to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), a journey of just under 11 hours.

Just after takeoff, a loud explosion occurred onboard and a burning smell permeated the rear of the economy class cabin. Passengers onboard first reported a “whistling sound similar to wind blowing through the window” and five minutes later a bang that sent “small flying flakes” through the cabin.

Flight attendants pinpointed the smell to row 52 and ripped seat cushions away in an effort to locate the source of the explosion. With fire extinguishers in hand, they pulled off an air vent, but could find no fire. Despite the lack of flames, the smell worsened and the captain decided to divert, turning the plane around back toward Beijing and declaring a mayday.

“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Air France 393, we have fire on board, we are turning left to land back on 36 left, immediate landing, fire on board.”

The aircraft, a 17-year-old 777 registered under F-GSQD, arrived back in Beijing at 4:00am despite a full tank of fuel onboard.

As the plane landed and taxied to a waiting crew of emergency officials, cabin temperatures began to rise and the smell worsened. Some passengers reported black smoke onboard. Even so, passengers were not evacuated by emergency slide but in a conventional way.

While Air France has only blamed the diversion on a “technical incident,” initial reports suggest a ruptured air conditioning duct was the source of the burning smell.

Air France promptly dispatched another aircraft for Beijing and the full flight of over 300 passengers will shortly be heading for Paris.

A cabin fire on Air France flight AF393, which was scheduled to take off from Beijing to Paris on Sat morning, sent the plane back to the Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing Daily reported. No injuries have been reported and the airline has not revealed detailed info. pic.twitter.com/nfnBDprgyj

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) September 18, 2021

CONCLUSION

An Air France 777-300ER was forced to divert after an explosion occurred onboard shortly after takeoff and the cabin filled with a burning smell. No passengers were injured and Air France has yet to explain the precise reason behind the incident.

(H/T: Paddle Your Own Kanoo)

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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21 Comments

  1. Donald Shepard Reply
    September 18, 2021 at 2:19 pm

    Yikes!
    Another reason to always be in the front of the plane. 😉

  2. Dave Edwards Reply
    September 18, 2021 at 3:17 pm

    It’s probably UA-NYC spewing his racist hatred on blacks, calling them uneducated for not getting vaccinated. He figures the louder he yells the more that will see him as educated. When he realized everyone was laughing, he exploded.

    • Pete Reply
      September 18, 2021 at 3:55 pm

      I want to explode internally every time I intubate a racist white person like Dave in the hospital…but I’m torn between satisfaction of the success of evolution versus the annoyance of having my time wasted.

      • Dave Edwards Reply
        September 18, 2021 at 5:24 pm

        So how do you feel about blacks being the highest group of unvaccinated by percentage in the US dying? And what are your thoughts on why they are refusing in such high numbers? Do you also wish death on them as well?

        • UA-NYC Reply
          September 18, 2021 at 11:03 pm

          Idiot – you and your MAGA mouth breathing cohorts are the issue – not Black Americans

          https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/nbc-news-poll-shows-demographic-breakdown-vaccinated-u-s-n1277514

          And here are the American adults who say they’ve already been vaccinated — broken down by demographic group:
          All adults: 69 percent
          Whites: 66 percent
          Blacks: 76 percent
          Republicans: 55 percent
          Republicans who support Trump more than party: 46 percent
          Republicans who support party more than Trump: 62 percent

          • William Y.
            September 19, 2021 at 2:17 am

            This is COVID-19 misinformation, Matthew. This poll from the paid troll UA-NYC is out to spread misinformation.

            Here’s real data. Now ban that paid troll.

            https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/us-vaccine-demographics.html

          • UA-NYC
            September 19, 2021 at 8:30 am

            LOL yes…NBC such misinformation.

            Again – the Trump slurping mouth-breathers are the issue, as they are the core of the “won’t get vaccinated” population

      • Dave Edwards Reply
        September 18, 2021 at 5:34 pm

        And by the way, if you really work in a hospital other than cleaning patients who s*** themselves I suggest you quit. Or announce who you are so you can be reported for your poor attitude toward patients. No wonder most Americans hate hospital workers and realize how overpaid they are. Like you most whine and complain about doing their job they get overpaid for. You and human garbage like you are why HC is so expensive.

      • Jan Reply
        September 18, 2021 at 7:20 pm

        I only wish you don’t actually work in a hospital and/or just pure trolling, because that is an actually disgusting comment.

        • Dave Edwards Reply
          September 19, 2021 at 7:53 am

          I agree, I hope Pete does the right thing and resigns immediately. The sad thing is he isn’t alone. The HC industry is filled with people like him who hate their job and have zero concerns for patients.

    • UA-NYC Reply
      September 18, 2021 at 11:00 pm

      What an effing racist twat you are – you literally called French people dirty in a prior post (and we all know you mean Black French people).

      • Dave Edwards Reply
        September 19, 2021 at 7:11 am

        Wrong racist. The French people are dirty, the women don’t shave their underarms, they are nasty. It has nothing to do with black or white, just a bad country. The only racism I see is NY arresting black woman for failure to show their papers, something you are proud of. As I said before, I seriously doubt anyone has the thoughts you promote and it’s a game for you. You are a sad, sad individual.

        • UA-NYC Reply
          September 19, 2021 at 8:32 am

          Of course, it’s a blind random allegation from you.

          Meanwhile, news sources indicate their colleagues started the assault

          https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/18/nyregion/carmines-vaccination-fight.html

          Stick to The Villages and you’ll be happy

          • Dave Edwards
            September 19, 2021 at 5:56 pm

            No clue if I’m richer than you but I can prove I’m worth closer to $10M than $1M. I own homes in Florida and Tahoe (the NV side obviously), and the Florida home isn’t in the Villages. I retired at 55 in the past 2 years and flew over 70,000 miles last year and am over 80,000 this year so far. All for pleasure because that’s the reward for smart life choices and hard work over the years, along with simple investing in Mutual Funds. I think people like you UA are the lowest of the low but I could be wrong. If you want me to prove all of this let’s get Matt involved. I’m willing to prove to him who I am and what I have. Are you?

          • Jill
            September 30, 2021 at 12:28 am

            Wait so are you a troll?

  3. Stuart Reply
    September 18, 2021 at 3:41 pm

    Any pilots experiencing this sort of emergency are certain to have Swissair 111 on their minds and want on the ground as quickly as possible.

  4. James Reply
    September 18, 2021 at 7:13 pm

    Yes, you mean the misguided comment by Matthew: despite a full tank of full onboard.

    • Stuart Reply
      September 18, 2021 at 7:37 pm

      Not sure how that is misguided. I took it as Matthew remarking on the urgency to land without jettisoning fuel. Not that he questioned it.

      • Matthew Klint Reply
        September 18, 2021 at 7:37 pm

        He meant I misspelled “fuel” as “full.” My bad.

  5. emercycrite Reply
    September 18, 2021 at 11:28 pm

    This was obviously a plot by AUKUS to take down both France and China.

    • David S Reply
      September 19, 2021 at 4:41 am

      Yep – It is obvious. Those Australian terrorists are at it again.

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