A dead hedgehog that was at the origin of an airport mishap involving an Air France passenger plane nearly seven years ago has ended up costing the French government more than €3-million (about R23-million) in a court ruling on Tuesday.
On March 22 1998, the hedgehog’s carcass was lying at the end of a runway at the airport in the southern town of Marseille, attracting about 20 seagulls that were picking at it, oblivious to the Air France Airbus A320 roaring down on them ahead of take off.
The plane’s right engine sucked in the flock of hapless birds, destroying it and forcing the pilot to abort the take-off at the very last moment.
In its judgement, the court in Marseille ruled that the French government is responsible for keeping the runways clear of such perils and that its staff at the airport should have noticed “such a large group of birds” in the path of the jet.
It ordered the government to pay €850 000 to Air France over the incident, and €2,3-million to five insurance companies that had paid out after the accident. — AFP