• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Luxor Air Banned From Flying in France

Posted on: Sunday, 28 March 2004, 06:00 CST

PARIS - France has banned Egyptian airline Luxor Air from flying in the country after one of its planes took "a completely abnormal" flight path at low altitude over a French city, the head of civil aviation said.

Luxor Air's flying rights in France were suspended during an investigation into a March 21 flight from Luxor , Egypt, to Nantes in western France, Michel Wachenheim, director-general of France's Civil Aviation Authority, said late Saturday.

The plane, an MD-83, made a 1.2-mile deviation as it came in for landing and overflew the urban center of Nantes at an altitude of 660 feet - a "very low" altitude and "completely abnormal trajectory with respect to its normal flight path," Wachenheim said.

None of the 104 passengers and 10 crew aboard were injured.

After landing safely on its second attempt, the plane left Nantes quickly. "Visibly, they were very rushed," Wachenheim said.

France's Bureau of Accident Investigation has asked Egyptian authorities for information about the flight crew, and background on the plane and airline, which is a small privately owned company.

France has notified other European countries about the investigation.

More News in this Category