An Air Canada flight en route to Florida was forced to return to Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this month due to a flight control issue.
The Air Canada Rouge Airbus A320 was headed to Fort Myers Southwest Florida International Airport on April 12 when it stopped its climb at 7,000 feet and contacted air traffic control.
Common cruising altitude for most commercial airplanes is between 33,000 and 42,000 feet.
“We’re just dealing with a little issue here,” the pilot says, shortly after the flight’s 8:17 a.m. departure. The incident was reconstructed by YouTube aviation channel, You can see ATC.
The pilot then declares PAN PAN, which is short for “possible assistance needed” and is used to communicate an urgent but non-emergency situation.
“We are dealing with a flight control issue right now. So we are PAN PAN, PAN PAN, PAN PAN for now. And if you could keep us in the area. And most likely, we are gonna plan to come back to Toronto,” he says.
The pilot later explains that “it’s a flap control issue. We’ve got no flaps.”
Flaps are hinged panels on the wings that increase lift, reduce stall speed and shorten takeoff and landing distances.
The plane can be seen doing multiple laps just north of Pearson as it prepares to return to the airport.
“It’ll be a long landing. Probably at the end is where we’re gonna meet the safety vehicles,” the pilot says.
The plane, with 164 passengers on board, landed safely at 9:14 a.m.
Earlier in April, a separate Air Canada flight, arriving in Toronto from Punta Cana International Airport, also declared PAN PAN as the pilot warned of a “‘jammed stabilizer and multiple failures.”
The pilot of AC935, an Airbus A330-300 carrying 290 passengers, could be heard telling traffic control that the plane was “still operating reasonably normally,” despite the failures.
The stabilizer helps to control the angle of the aircraft’s pitch, as well as its balance and stability during flight. It can become jammed due to mechanical failure, damage from external debris or issues with the aircraft’s hydraulic or control systems.
“About half an hour from landing, our pilots received a flight deck notification related to a pitch control system, which triggered other related warnings,” Air Canada later told National Post in a statement. “The crew requested priority for landing and followed standard procedures to land the aircraft normally.”