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| AIR FRANCE A380-861 F-HPJF (MSN 064) |
On the 1st June 2009, the Airbus A330 serving the flight stalled and did not recover, eventually crashing into the Atlantic Ocean at 02:14 UTC, killing all 228 passengers and crew. There were three air crew and nine cabin crew. Among the 216 passengers were 126 men, 82 women and eight children (including one infant). The Brazilian Navy recovered the first major wreckage, and two bodies, from the sea within five days of the accident, but the initial investigation by France's Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) was hampered because the aircraft's flight recorders were not recovered from the ocean floor until May 2011, nearly two years later.
The BEA's final report, released at a news conference on the 5th July 2012, concluded that the aircraft crashed after temporary inconsistencies between the airspeed measurements—likely due to the aircraft's pitot tubes being obstructed by ice crystals, which caused the autopilot to disconnect, after which the crew reacted incorrectly and ultimately caused the aircraft to enter an aerodynamic stall, from which it did not recover. The accident is the deadliest in the history of Air France, as well as the deadliest aviation accident involving the Airbus A330.
The aircraft involved in the accident was a 4-year-old Airbus A330-203, with serial number 660, registered was F-GZCP. Its first flight was on the 25th February 2005, and it was delivered 2 months later to the airline on the 18th April 2005. At the time of the crash, it was Air France's newest A330. The aircraft was powered by two General Electric CF6-80E1A3 engines. On the 17th August 2006, the same A330 was involved in a ground collision with Airbus A321-211 F-GTAM, at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris. F-GTAM was substantially damaged while F-GZCP suffered only minor damage. The aircraft underwent a major overhaul on 16 April 2009, and at the time of the accident had accumulated about 18,870 flying hours.
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