Monday, December 3, 2007

Airbus test accident









Airbus passenger jet ploughed into a wall during testing at the planemaker's headquarters in Toulouse on Thursday November 16 2007.

Five workers injured when the A340-600 broke free and hit a noise-reduction wall during engine tests.

The 75 metre aircraft lay at an angle against the parapet surrounding the testbed with its cockpit sheared off. It was to have been delivered to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways next week.

The 359-seat A340-600 -- Airbus's largest model before the introduction of the A380 -- is powered by 4 Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines, each delivering 56,000 pounds of thrust.

The damaged aircraft is one of six ordered by Etihad which have yet to be delivered. The airline has two in operation.

The ground test accident was the first of its type at Airbus, owned by European aerospace group EADS.

Seven people were killed when an Airbus 330 crashed on take-off on a test flight at Toulouse airport in June 1994.

No comments: