PARIS — An Air France Boeing 777-200 bound for Ottawa was forced to return to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) shortly after departure today following a pressurization system malfunction that prompted the crew to declare an emergency.
Flight AF328, operated by a 24-year-old Boeing 777-200ER (registration F-GSPU), lifted off from runway 26R at CDG at 13:22 local time. As the aircraft climbed northward toward its transatlantic cruising altitude, the flight crew halted the climb at 22,000 feet after encountering an issue with the cabin pressurization system.
The crew promptly squawked 7700 (the international transponder code indicating a general emergency) to request priority handling from air traffic control.
To ensure a safe landing weight, the crew initiated a U-turn, descended to 15,000 feet, and executed a fuel dump over designated airspace before steering back toward Paris.
The aircraft safely touched down back on runway at CDG just 1 hour and 15 minutes after takeoff. No injuries were reported among the passengers or crew.
Following a thorough maintenance inspection on the ground, technicians cleared the aircraft for service. F-GSPU departed Paris once again at 17:07 local time and is currently en route to Ottawa International Airport (YOW), where it is expected to land at 18:21 local time.
