Aircraft

One of the lighter moments in the Airbus technical press briefing that took place this week in Toulouse was the release of the first images of the first rabbit to outrun an A380.

A photographer capturing the ferry flight of MSN002 to Hamburg Finkenwerder on 8 November last year for outfitting also caught a buck in his lens. The European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) was on the runway as the aircraft (F-WXXL) decelerated after its flight. The bunny managed to make it to safety.

© Airbus

In early 2001, the International Fund for Animal Wellfare led an international campaign against  Airbus over its plans to extend the Finkenwerder facility for A380 completions. The site required filling in around 200Ha (420 acres) of the Mühlenberger Loch, the largest freshwater tidal ecosystem in Europe. However the presence of rabbits in the ecosystem has never been a cause of concern. Wild rabbit is considered a delicacy in Germany.

The slide came as part of the A380 flight tests status presentation presented by Claude Lelaie, senior vice president of operations for Airbus. Further analysis of the newly revised A380 schedule will be presented in the 20-26 June edition of Flight International magazine.

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