The plane crash on landing took place around 2:50 a.m. this Saturday, September 22. There were no injuries. A BEA investigation has been opened. 21 commercial flights are canceled on departure and arrival from Montpellier.
The accident took place around 2:50 a.m. at Montpellier airport in a violent storm. The Boing 737 transporting mail from Paris Charles de Gaulle (it operates the Ajaccio, Montpellier Charles de Gaulle and return line daily at night) “slipped” upon landing to find its nose in the water of the Mauguio pond at the end of the track. More fear than harm, the three people on board are unharmed.
According to the first elements of the investigation which was entrusted to the Accident Investigation Bureau (BEA), the plane which would belong to a subsidiary of a foreign group would have aquaplaned on a wet runway on landing. But investigations are underway to determine the exact circumstances of this accident (speed, weather, weight, manoeuvre, authorization to land, etc.). The two pilots of foreign nationality will be heard in particular.
“it was very complicated at 5am to find buses”
This Saturday morning, at the terminal, the passengers of the first commercial flights to Athens or the United States via Charles de Gaulle canceled, were already there. They were directed via shuttles towards Marseille and then set off again towards their final destinations with delay. Montpellier airport was closed for the day and therefore 21 commercial flights were canceled on departure and arrival from Montpellier, i.e. 42 movements as well as all freight movements. Air France personnel, in particular, had been mobilized since dawn to redirect passengers to buses. These are the companies that take care of the passengers according to the information they receive from the authorities. “It was very complicated this morning at 5 a.m. to find people who respond. We have three chartered buses,” said one of the staff at 8:30 a.m. For Air France, 450 passengers would be affected during the day by diversions.
Air France had to find rerouting solutions for 450 passengers for the day.
DM
Anaïs, on the way to New York, shows relief in the queue to get on the bus: “We were going to take the Montpellier-Paris and then Paris New York. So we missed it then it was at 8:30 am. found a solution, we’re going to take off from Marseille. So they found us a bus. Fortunately, they found a solution for us”. Fortunately, no consequences on their hotel reservations at destination. “It was either that or we weren’t leaving,” says the young woman. “When we arrived it was marked ‘cancelled’ on the signs. But we didn’t have any information before arriving at the airport. We went to ask otherwise we would never have known why”.
In the line of the passenger bus for the 8:30 a.m. flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle, “my friends’ plane was supposed to leave at 10:50 a.m., explains Karsten, this American living here. We arrived at 8:15 a.m. at the airport. I saw the “cancelled” signs and no plane was going to leave from here. They will leave from Marseille then Charles de Gaulle then direction San Francisco. There will be a delay but it is not very serious because it was four hours to wait between flights. If we had waited longer here, I would have told my friends to take a train to Paris or Marseille, but it’s not safe because afterwards they can catch their connection. go”. Not sure that all the passengers who had to transit through Montpellier from other destinations had this chance, the incident being able to cause delays and cancellations on the air traffic in cascade.
A complete diagnosis before reopening
It is not yet known whether there was any damage to the runway or the light guidance system of aircraft on the ground. Investigations are underway, then maintenance will take over. The airport indicates that it will be necessary for the BEA to first give the green light and then civil aviation “after a complete diagnosis of the runway”, to have the damaged cabin of 90 tonnes (with fuel and load) removed from the aircraft. device, and this by special crane devices. The operation may take some time. Hence the decision to close the airport until further notice.
This type of accident is extremely rare. On the other hand, the rerouting of aircraft from or to Montpellier airport in the event of a weather risk is frequent (several times a month) under the control of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC). The episodes in the Cévennes, which should also be more frequent and more intense in the future, are part of these cases.
