The shots that hit the Air France plane were linked to a disagreement between an agent of the Directorate General for Territorial Surveillance and his chief. No one was injured.
On Saturday evening, an Air France repatriation Airbus A330-200 plane registered F-GZCK was damaged by gunfire at Pointe-Noire airport in the Republic of Congo. No one was injured after the shots, as the plane was parked with no crew or passengers: the flight had arrived earlier from Paris as AF373V and was scheduled to depart this Sunday at 10:00 local time.
The aircraft was placed under the surveillance of the Air Transport Gendarmerie and an Air France security provider. The airline filed a complaint about the damage caused to the plane and an investigation has been opened by the local authorities.
The plane was to make repatriation flight AF4145 between Pointe-Noire, Bangui (Central African Republic) and Paris-Charles de Gaulle on Easter Sunday. The flight has been postponed for 24 hours to allow a replacement Boeing 777-200 aircraft registered F-GSPG to arrive from Paris-Charles de Gaulle as flight AF380V.
Passengers have been taken care of on-site.
In Brazzaville, the Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Claude Gackosso transmitted “his deep regrets after this serious incident” to his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Apparently, the incident is linked to a disagreement between an agent of the Directorate General of Territorial Surveillance and his chief. The officer who fired was under the influence of alcohol. It was a Kalashnikov shot in the air that hit the plane.
Air France A330 damaged after being fired upon at Agostinho-Neto Airport in the Republic of Congo. No injuries reported. https://t.co/g88nMtDbtc pic.twitter.com/tdAfBNJcrf
— Breaking Aviation News (@breakingavnews) April 12, 2020
Air France Airbus A330-200 (F-GZCK), was hit by gunfire by an intoxicated sergeant at Pointe-Noire Airport (FCPP), Rep. Congo. Numerous bullets punctured the underbelly. AF sent a relief aircraft B772 (F-GSPG) to pick up stranded passengers. @airplusnewshttps://t.co/3xK465RdAy pic.twitter.com/SOMQTGssah
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) April 12, 2020
