On board the aircraft, Tim Vanhoutte, 52, from Boechout, told Het Laatste Nieuws about this unexpected incident. “We had been flying for about three and a half hours over Africa when the pilot announced that he had to turn around because one or more missiles had crossed our path, just in front of our plane or the one in front of us. This was a real shock,” he says.
An Air France plane tries five times to land in Tenerife but fails due to strong winds
Despite the concern, the passengers remained calm. “As we looked out the window, we saw another airliner returning parallel to ours about 500 meters away,” adds Tim. After jettisoning its excess fuel above Reims — in order to land safely in Paris — the plane touched down safely. Tim and his wife Kristina De Hert were able to return to Madagascar that same evening, this time flying over Saudi Arabia. “We finally started our vacation, even if one of our suitcases remained in Paris,” he says with a smile.
