What happened
On April 13, 2011, an Air France Airbus A330-211, registration F-GZCB, was performing a scheduled international passenger flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Caracas, Venezuela. During the approach to Caracas-Maiquetía Simón Bolívar airport, the aircraft encountered significant wind variations, including shifting winds and gusts. The pilot flying (PF) conducted the approach manually without the use of auto-thrust.
As the aircraft descended, the crew experienced several deviations from stabilized approach criteria, including vertical speed exceeding 1,000 ft/min and airspeed fluctuations. Despite these deviations, the crew continued the approach. The aircraft subsequently experienced a hard landing with a vertical speed of approximately -1,200 ft/min and a normal acceleration of 2.74 g.
During the subsequent turnaround in Caracas, the aircraft was inspected by maintenance technicians. Although the pilot recorded a "hard landing" in the technical log, the technicians relied on internal company technical notes rather than the full Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM). Because a specific automated report (R15) had not been generated by the aircraft's data management unit, the technicians concluded that no further deep inspection was required and released the aircraft for service.
On the return flight to Paris, during the initial climb, the crew was unable to retract the landing gear. Several cabin conditioning alarms also triggered on the ECAM. The pilot decided to return to Caracas, landing at a weight near the maximum certified limit. Upon parking, extensive damage was discovered on the right landing gear and the fuselage structure.