Air Transat Flight 961

Air Transat Flight 961 was an Air Transat flight operated by an Airbus A310 from Varadero, Cuba to Quebec City, Canada on March 6, 2005. The aircraft experienced a structural failure in which the rudder detached in flight. The flight crew were able to regain enough control of the aircraft to return safely to Varadero. As of 2020, the Airbus A310-308 is no longer in service.

The investigation that followed determined that the manufacturer's inspection procedure for the composite rudder was not adequate. Inspection procedures for composite structures on airliners were changed because of this accident.

Event

Flight 961 was a routine scheduled commercial flight carrying 262 passengers and 9 crew from Varadero, Cuba to Quebec City on March 6, 2005. It was operated by an Airbus A310-308 registered C-GPAT. It was delivered new to Emirates in 1992, but had been sold to Air Transat in 2002, when it was re-registered. At 2:48 am EST, Flight 961 took off from Varadero, Cuba. The flight climbed to its initial cruising altitude of 35000 ft and the flight attendants began the in-flight service. Then, suddenly, at 3:02 am, the aircraft began a dutch roll after a bang shuddered the aircraft violently. The plane climbed until the crew overcame the aircraft upset by descending. The crew attempted to divert to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, but Air Transat operations told the crew that returning to Varadero would be the more prudent option. There were no warnings on the flight deck indicating a rudder problem or a yaw damper problem. The plane landed safely at 4:19 am. Upon parking at the gate, the crew did a walk around inspection to identify the cause of the upset. The inspection revealed that the entire rudder had broken away from the vertical stabilizer of the aircraft.