An Aircalin Airbus A330-900neo was approaching Tokyo Narita International Airport suffered flap issue which prompted the crew to stop their descent at 4000 feet. The problem resulted in the aircraft performing a faster-than-normal landing.
The aircraft was forced to stay at Narita Airport for just over 24 hours.
According to reporting by The Aviation Herald, the incident which happened on December 18th, with the New Caledonian carrier Aircalin was flying one of its Airbus A330-900s, registration F-ONET, from Noumea to Tokyo Narita. The flight, SB800, had 173 people on board.
The jet was on approach to Narita when the crew stopped the descent at 4000 feet, reporting problems with the aircraft’s flaps. The jet entered a hold between 4000 feet and 5000 feet while the crew worked through the applicable checklists and prepared for landing.
35 minutes later, the A330 made a safe landing on Narita’s runway 34L at a higher than normal speed, 160 knots overground. According to an Airbus publication, the A330-900’s final approach speed, under normal conditions, is 141.9 kt at a Maximum Landing Weight (MLW) of 191 000 kg (421 083 lb).
The aircraft was on the ground for over a day as technicians worked through the problem. As a result, the return flight to Noumea, SB801, was canceled and carried out the following day, December 19th.
Since the incident and subsequent repair, F-ONET has been operating safely, with services to Papeete, Auckland, and Sydney.
It is recorded that this isn’t the first time/ issue reported regarding Aircalin’s A330-900 registered as F-ONET. In fact, soon after its initial delivery in October 2019, the crew started reporting a strong smell of oil in the aircraft’s cabin, even reporting headaches after flights.
Aircalin subsequently returned the new A330-900 to Airbus on October 29th for an investigation into the foul smell. The aircraft was flown to Toulouse for examination and returned to Aircalin in December 2019.