‘I saw flames’: Air France plane makes emergency landing in Lyon after technical fault

An Air France Airbus A320 carrying 173 passengers flying from Paris Orly to Ajaccio was forced to make an emergency landing at Lyon-Saint-Exupéry airport on Saturday, December 20, after a technical incident. 

Air France described the issue as a “technical problem that did not affect the aircraft’s airworthiness.” The crew opted to divert the flight as a precaution. The plane touched down at 18:25 local time, with no injuries reported.

Passengers reported strong vibrations and flames on one wing. Some described cockpit alarms and lights activating simultaneously, prompting fears of a crash. 

"I saw large yellow flashes - they were flames. The plane dropped, then we realised it was an emergency landing," one passenger told ICI RCFM.

Air France stated the landing proceeded normally, and all passengers were subsequently rebooked on a flight departing Lyon at 22:39 for Bastia, arriving at 23:50. 

From Bastia, passengers were transferred by bus to Ajaccio, reaching their destination at 03:00 on Sunday.

An aviation expert told French media the incident was possibly a “compressor stall” or “engine surge,” where air pockets in the engine cause vibrations that require the crew to shut it down. 

“Once the engine was shut down, the vibrations ceased. The aircraft landed normally on one engine,” the expert said, emphasising to AFP that while flying on a single engine is not standard, such incidents are rare and typically resolved safely.

Air France said that there had not been an engine fire and that no smoke alarm was triggered.