Accident to the Airbus A320 registered F-HBNJ operated by Air France le 20/08/2025 near Ajaccio AD
Flight through an area of severe convective turbulence, during descent
During the descent in a layer of clouds, the flight crew were late in detecting echoes on their flight path on the airborne weather radar. This late detection did not leave them time to analyse these echoes and define an avoidance strategy. The aeroplane entered an isolated convective cell at around FL 260 and flew through an area of severe turbulence accompanied by hail.
As the airborne weather radar data (parameters and display on ND) is not recorded, the investigation was not able to explain the reason for the flight crew’s late detection of the convective cell. The weather radar was functional, the convective cell had developed around 45 min before the aeroplane flew into it, and it was particularly associated with moderate to severe liquid water precipitation according to the altitude. The centre of the cell remained below FL 230 until around 12:10. When the aeroplane flew through it six minutes later, it was rapidly developing vertically which explains the severity of the turbulence.
This convective cell could have been indicated by the eWAS system, a secondary tool available to the flight crew. In the absence of a recording, the investigation was not able to determine the content of the eWAS information available to the pilots before the turbulence.
The cell was present in the 4Me system, a secondary screen, available to the air traffic controllers on the ground. The investigation was not able to determine if the controllers in position had consulted this information. No information about the convective cell was given to the crew.
When the “Fasten seatbelt” light was switched on in the cabin, the cabin crew decided to carry out the checks for landing and made the associated announcement to the passengers without mentioning turbulence. The purser indicated that she wanted to optimise the cabin
preparation time.
The severe turbulence was not preceded by light turbulence. It suddenly started at the beginning of the cabin checks. The cabin crew and passengers who were not sat down with their seatbelts fastened, were thrown into the air and then to the ground, which explains the serious injuries and their state of shock.
The substance of the discussions between the cabin crew and the pilots, between the end of the turbulence and the arrival on the apron did not include a concrete appraisal of the injuries suffered during the flight, the subject having been postponed. The captain chose not to inform the air traffic control services of the situation encountered in flight in order to stay concentrated on the management of the end of the flight. This lack of information during the flight meant that the deployment of the emergency services was not optimal and led to the total engagement of all the ARFF personnel for approximately fifteen minutes at the destination airport.