An Air France Boeing 777-300ER operating from Paris to Mauritius made a return to Paris Charles de Gaulle due to a technical problem on 2 November 2024.
Air France flight AF470, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER was en route from Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport to Mauritius Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU).
Air France AF470 Paris-Mauritius
Whilst the aircraft was en route over Croatian airspace, flight crew reported a technical issue on the flight deck.
According to the online source Aviation Herald, flight crew experienced the problem with the airspeed selector on the aircraft’s Mode Control Panel (MCP).
As a result, flight crew elected to make a precautionary return to the origin airport and a direct track to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport was initiated. The aircraft subsequently landed without further incident on runway 08L Paris Charles de Gaulle, approximately 3.5 hours after its initial departure.
Flight Details
Flight data shows that the flight AF470 had made an on-time departure out of Paris CDG at 1028 local time on 2 October.
The flight had then set course normally, climbing to the flight level FL310 for the south-westerly service to Mauritius. The flight then conducted the turnaround from cruising flight whilst in transit through Croatian airspace.
The aircraft conducting the AF470 service to Mauritius 777-300ER, registered F-GSQX. This is a 17.4 year old wide-body aircraft belonging to the national carrier Air France.
It has been in operational service with the airline since its initial delivery from the factory in June 2007.
The Mode Control Panel (MCP) is an interface that allows pilots to interact with the aircraft’s autopilot and autothrottle systems. It provides a way to select and control various flight modes, such as:
- Autopilot modes: These control the aircraft’s pitch (vertical movement) and roll (horizontal movement).
- Autothrottle modes: These control the aircraft’s thrust and speed.
The MCP typically consists of a series of buttons and switches that allow pilots to:
- Engage and disengage the autopilot and autothrottle systems.
- Select specific flight modes for different phases of flight, such as takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, and landing.
- Adjust the aircraft’s vertical speed (rate of climb or descent).
Set target speeds and altitudes for the autopilot and autothrottle to maintain.
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