Another Airbus Setback
Another setback for the Airbus A-380 has occurred. only a few minutes into a test flight, the monster, double-decker aircraft had to return to the airport when a problem occurred in the landing gear.
"Shortly after take-off the crew noted a discordance between two light signals, making it impossible to know whether or not the main landing gear was lowered," said a spokeswoman for the aircraft manufacturer Airbus on Tuesday.
"That sparked the launch of a security mechanism stopping the undercarriage from being retracted, and it returned to land without difficulty in Toulouse."
The plane, which left the southwestern French city of Toulouse at 0500 GMT to Tozeur in southern Tunisia, was forced to turn back after just 34 minutes, airport authorities in Tozeur said earlier.
The technical glitch is the latest of several to be detected on board the A380, the world's biggest commercial airliner, whose deliveries worldwide have been seriously affected.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), which owns 80 percent of Airbus, announced in June that deliveries would be delayed by six to seven months because of a production problem involving wiring connections.
Only nine of the aircraft are to be delivered in 2007, an announcement that caused EADS share price to slump and led to top management changes at both Airbus and its parent company.
Just another reason not to fly in one of these enormous aircraft until they have many more flight hours. That is if the seating arrangements for over 800 passengers doesn't keep you away.
Foto Phun, World news | Gaius Tuesday, 29 August , 2006
By Guy, Tuesday, 29 August , 2006 @ 8:54 am
In that my feelings about flying closely parallel those of John Madden, I don’t think it’ll be a problem for me. The one big difference…I don’t own my own bus.