Pierre Colombet of the Quatuor Ebène has shared this experience with colleagues and friends:
Mes collègues du quatuor et moi-même avons failli disparaître avec 200 autres personnes dans un accident d’avion à Bombay: quelque minutes après le décollage des flammes de plusieurs mètres sont sorties du réacteur gauche, puis il s’est arrêté. Demi-tour express à Bombay, atterrissage avec un seul moteur, et une surcharge de 30 tonnes de fuel. Pas de blessés, mais une leçon: il faut profiter de la vie! Tout cela à cause d’un mécanicien qui aurait laissé deux outils dans le réacteur… Retour à Paris en famille après 38 heures de voyage, et une belle frousse.
I and my colleagues from the Quartet almost disappeared with 200 other people in a plane crash in Bombay. Some minutes after takeoff, flames of several meters long shot out of the left engine. We made an emergency return to Bombay, landing with one engine, and a overload of 30 tonnes of fuel. There were no injuries, but (I learned) a lesson: one should enjoy life!
All this because a mechanic left two tools (below) in the reactor… Back in Paris with family after 38 hours of travel, and a nice scare.
Last year, I had the distinct pleasure of having breakfast and interviewing Pierre and the other extraordinary young men in this quartet. I am so glad to hear that they are safely home from their travels and looking forward to their next NY appearances.
When was this? Haven’t heard about any incident in Mumbai. I’d avoid an aircraft with a ‘reactor’ too!
NDTV quotes Agence France-Presse as having been told by a spokesperson for Air France that the engine problem on flight AF 217 “was not a particularly unusual incident.”
Terrible story ! Thank goodness they are safe !
Just one clarification : “disparaître” in French means “to die”. The translation of the first sentence would be better as “… nearly died…” rather than “nearly disappeared”.
Damn what a weird thing to happen