Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Paris France
Thursday, January 22, 2004 1:40 UTC

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On January 22, 2004, about 0140 universal coordinated time (UTC) a Lotus Air Airbus A320-214, Egyptian registry SU-LBE, experienced an auxilliary power unit (APU) compartment fire while on approach to Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. The airplane was owned and operated by Lotus Air, Cairo, Egypt, under the pertinent commercial provisions of the Egyptian civil aviation regulations. The airplane sustained substantial damage. None of the 2 flight crew, 1 additional crew, 3 flight attendants, or 135 passengers were injured. The flight originated at Cairo as a nonstop flight to Paris. The accident is under the jurisdiction of, and is being investigated, by the Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses (BEA) of France. Additional information can be obtained from the BEA at: Batiment 153 Aeroport Le Bourget 93352 LeBoruget Cedex France Telephone 33 1 49 92 72 72

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/22/2004
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 140
Event Time Zone Coordinated Universal Time? Same as GMT
Event City Paris
Event State --
Event Country FRANCE
Zipcode of the event site --
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 500000N
Event Location Longitude 0050000E
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport --
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions --
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 141
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency Foreign
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) --
NTSB Notification Source
NTSB Notification Date Jan 31 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2312
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 9 2004 4:02PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number --
NTSB Number LAX04WA114
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Non-U.S., Commercial
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire --
Aircraft Explosion --
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Airbus
Aircraft Model A320-214
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number --
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft --
Number of Engines --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed --
ELT Activated --
ELT Aided Location of Event Site --
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name --
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City --
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode --
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? --
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? --
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Cairo
Operator State --
Operator Country EG
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight International
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board --
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code HECA
Departure City CAIRO
Departure State --
Departure Country EG
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code CDG
Destination City Paris
Destination State --
Destination Country FR
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 9 2004 4:02PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --