5 Injured During Ground Tests of AirbusTOULOUSE, France (AP) — Five people on board an Airbus 340-600 were injured Thursday during technical tests of the plane on the ground at a French airport, the company said.
Airbus gave no details of the accident.
The company said the four-engine plane, which is scheduled to be delivered to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, had been undergoing engine tests outside Toulouse, the southwestern French city where the European plane-making consortium is based.
Please stay tuned to Flightblogger for details to follow. This page will update. Updates after the jump.
6:58 PM - London: Airbus North America has confirmed the incident. According to Airbus there were no fatalities. An official statement has not yet been released by Airbus.
7:06 PM - London: Early reports suggest that the A/C seems heavily damaged. Aircraft MSN856 was meant to be delivered within 8 days. The accident happened after 5pm. 80 firefighters on site shortly after. There was no fire or explosion.
7:09 PM: F-WWCJ, MSN856 - PHOTO
7:30 PM: Airbus Statement:
TOULOUSE:INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT AT AIRBUS FACILITY \
AIRBUS press release #1
Issued at 15 November 2007, 20:15
Accident at Saint-Martin Airbus site
Toulouse: Airbus deeply regrets to confirm that an accident occurred at its Saint-Martin site in Toulouse this afternoon.The accident occurred at 5:00 pm local time, when engine-run-ups were being carried out on an A340-600, MSN 856, which was due to be delivered to Etihad in the coming days.
There were nine persons on board out of them five people sustained injuries. There are no fatalities.
At this time, recovery operations are still in progress and Airbus staff is working closely with the emergency services and local authorities at the site.
Airbus expresses its sympathy to the families and friends of the persons concerned.
Airbus will provide the full support to the official investigation authorities in France.
8:09 PM: PHOTO FROM THE SCENE
Copyright Getty Images
Click for larger
10:20 PM:
November 15
9:47 AM:
The Morning Aftermath
Photo Courtesy DR
Scary. The damage looks extensive, however, given the incident happened at the factory, perhaps the chances of the airframe being repaired are greater than if this had happened at another airfield?
Ouch, ouch, ouch!!!! What happened? Did someone release the parking brake, while the engines were run at full thrust? Hope everyone got out OK.
That thing is done for. All the king's horses and men won't put that back together.
First A340 NG hull loss.
my goddd. new born baby damaged so much. its so pathetic for aircraft lovers. sympathies for those who are injured. my doubt is how did it really happened?? is this a pilot error???
Wow. This isn't good.
I don't think there's much of a chance of this aircraft ever being repaired. The front section (cockpit and a little behind it) seems to have "fallen off" (for lack of a better term) of the rest of the aircraft in the images.
Does anybody know how this happened?
"Given the incident happened at the factory,,,," - Gimme a break! That is definately a write-off!
Hi Leelaw, Nah I do not think this one will be repaired. I thin Airbus will take off the engines, wings, tail (cockpit) equipment and dump the fuselarge.
Not a shadow of doubt; a write off. And a disaster. I certainly hope the injured crewmen will recover fully. If so, they have been lucky. What happened? Somebody fell over the pedestal when it jumped the chocks? Somebody knocked unconscious? Time will tell I guess.
It doesn't need to be PILOT error. As this was a ground test run, it can also be done by ground engineers, if of course licenced to do so.
Although repairs would be extensive, you'll never know... But I'd put my money on: scrapheap... Shame.
Well it should have been delivered! I guess the instructions were not written in French...
Last words on the CVR.."WATCH THIS GUYS""
Holy cow. What a terrible end for such a beautiful aircraft. Glad to hear there were no deaths, at least to this point.
Must have jumped its chocks. Don't they tether these things for full bore runs?
Is there something wrong with the brakes of the A340? This is the '..th' time one of these planes is getting into trouble. No abs? No trust-reverse? Bad treaded tyres? As this happened at TLS it may nog be too much of a burden to rebuild the front end of the fuselage, but i think Emirates will offer a discount on payment for this specific aircraft....
The nose might be able to be replaced. Remember the TWA 707 that had its nose blown off by the Palestinians in the 1970s or thereabouts? Boeing replaced that nose in the desert, flew the plane out, finished repairs in Rome and the plane served TWA for many years to come.
Also, the is supposed to be a video somewhere on the net of the entire accident. Anyone find it?
It is finished not damaged. Though...sorry.
Forgive my ignorance, but WHY would you perform
an engine test in a revetment, when towing it out to an allocated and closed taxiway/runway would ensure enough space for sure stoppage in the event of human error?
LAME - Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer - Don't tend to facilitate on a ground run-up test. Apart from being certified to exercise their profession, as pilots do, they need extra type training just to work on the aircraft, and another specific type training and emergency procedures just to run that specific test.
I think this must have been a series of malfunctions all together. One single malfunction rarely leads to an incident/accident.
HOPEFULLY ALL INJURED PERSONS WILL BE OK, SO i HOPE.
Ca fait vraiment mal au coeur de voir un si bel avion flambant neuf dans un tel état. Quel gâchis! En plus même si visiblement certaines parties sont préservées elles ont tout de même été choquées et ont pris un coup de vieux voire pire ont des minis défaillances qu'on ne verra peut-être pas. En tous cas à la place d'Etihad je serais bien dégouté de recevoir un avion neuf avec des pièces récupérées d'un accident, qui quoiqu'on en dise sont de fiabilité moindre qu'à leur sortie de l'usine!
I am so glad all will be ok - This accident is just one of many to which I cannot trust Airbus.
It's a good job the design of the blast screen had a slope feature, a vertical wall would have been a disaster!
P.S I did a factory tour the previous day, she looked great then, great there is no fatalities.
performance problem .... a A 310 would have made it over the fence
Hate to disappoint, but the aircraft is, in fact, repairable and will certainly be repaired. I speak from personal experience.
Good brakes, but certainly not great ones1111
It looks like the Pilot didn t see the speed bump!
I thought the whole purpose of the jet blast deflector was to "deflect" the airflow up and away. Don't you normally point the aircraft "away" from the wall when you want it to deflect the jet wash?
I doubt you could get anyone to buy this aircraft even if it were repaired. Maybe they can get the parts from the Iberia A340 ....
That is sad...
Having had the better part of a day to examine the photo, it has become apparant that the Airbus A340 warranty should cover this. As I understand the Airbus warranty covers everything until it gets... "OVER THE FENCE"
last on CVR, (this is france you know) "Hold my glass of wine and watch this!"
Forest Gump....Stupid is as Stupid does sir.
Write off. Sell your Airbus stock now.
The position during a testrun setup depends on the direction of the wind, that's why it's possible to point towards the wall!!!
More shots of the same..
New details... note the "irrecoverable" statement.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21820939/
Something similar happened to a 747 at a maintenance base. Two engines were turned off...the two that run the hydraulic system... the airplane started moving, but no brakes! They ran it into a concrete ditch.
Could not have happend to a better group...........
Outstanding.
an effort in new french stol technology? take a running start and ramp it into the air.
WOW!
that is a lot o damage tail, winglets both r/s eng nacels, belly all the way back to the t box, cockpit, cabin, galley, aft center bogie stessed, elevator those boys in abu dahbi will never touch that bird unless they get half off, elec nightmare maybe good cargo bird,
gladd all are recovering
mike
HOMER: Anybody can do an engine run-up Bart. Let me show you how this is done, you stupid kid.
BART: "Oh really nice going Dad"
Jenks what on earth are you wittering on about... Its brand new and was doing an engine run facing the blast deflector the wrong way. Dodgy tyres have nothing to do with it and thrust reversers wouldnt be deployed anywhere near quick enough...
My guess is the unexpected bump from going over the chocks made the pilots feet jump off the rudder pedals and he couldnt react quick enough to stop.
ps Why would Emirates demand a discount?
BUY BOEING
I'm just glad it wasn't me doing the ground run.
FROM : AIRBUS FLIGHT SAFETY DEPARTMENT TOULOUSE
SUBJECT: A340-600 - MSN 856 - ACCIDENT IN PRODUCTION OUR REF.: F-WWCJ AIT 2 DATED 20th OF NOVEMBER 2007 PREVIOUS REF: F-WWCJ AIT 1 DATED 16th OF NOVEMBER 2007
THIS AIT IS AN UPDATE OF PREVIOUS AIT N°1 CONCERNING THE A340-600 PRODUCTION AIRCRAFT MSN 856 INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT IN AIRBUS PRODUCTION FACILITIES IN TOULOUSE ON THE 15TH NOVEMBER 2007 AT 17:00 LOCAL TIME.
THE FOLLOWING IS THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS ACCORDING TO THE RECORDERS, WHICH HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR RELEASE BY THE FRENCH INVESTIGATION AUTHORITIES (BEA).
FOR ABOUT 3 MINUTES BEFORE THE END OF THE EVENT, ALL FOUR ENGINES EPR WAS BETWEEN 1.24 AND 1.26 WITH PARKING BRAKE ON AND WITHOUT GROUND CHOCKS.
THE ALTERNATE BRAKE PRESSURE WAS NORMAL. (WITH PARKING BRAKE ON, BRAKE PRESSURE IS SUPPLIED BY ALTERNATE).
13 SECONDS BEFORE THE IMPACT THE AIRCRAFT STARTED TO MOVE. WITHIN 1 OR 2 SECONDS THE CREW APPLIED BRAKE PEDAL INPUTS AND SELECTED PARKING BRAKE OFF. THESE ACTIONS LED THE NORMAL BRAKE PRESSURE TO INCREASE TO ITS NORMAL VALUE.
2 SECONDS PRIOR BEFORE THE IMPACT, ALL 4 ENGINE THRUST LEVERS WERE SELECTED TO IDLE.
THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE CONTAINMENT WALL AT A GROUND SPEED OF 30 KTS.
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF ANY AIRCRAFT SYSTEM OR ENGINE MALFUNCTION.
AIRBUS REMINDS ALL OPERATORS TO STRICTLY ADHERE TO AMM PROCEDURES WHEN PERFORMING ENGINE GROUND RUNS
ENGINE GROUND RUNS AT HIGH POWER ARE NORMALLY CONDUCTED ON A SINGLE ENGINE WITH THE ENGINE IN THE SAME POSITION ON THE OPPOSITE WING OPERATED AT A LIMITED THRUST SETTING TO AVOID DAMAGE TO THE AIFRAME
WHEEL CHOCKS ARE TO BE INSTALLED THROUGHOUT THE TEST.
YANNICK MALINGE
VICE PRESIDENT FLIGHT SAFETY
AIRBUS
Anyone need a tail section? Airbus has one on hand that is sligtly scrached.
11 seconds from the aircraft started to move until thrust levers was selected to idle?? I would have been on them immediately.
Wowwwww.... , I am so sorry , the beautiful baby died..... A-340-600. i hope the airbus groupe help them to fully repair. Thx Airbus group.
AIRBUS IN THE WIND
Sung to the tune of Elton John's "Candle in the Wind"
Airbus Industrie
A Socialist - Catastrophe
A source of make work jobs, for Europe's unemployed slobs.
Titanic of the sky
You know it was - never meant to fly
Bomb on a cloud, the British should be - so proud!
And it seems to me, you build your planes
With a can of Elmer's glue
Never caring how the parts fit
When the day is through
And scrap dealers will always love you
From deep inside their hearts
Ten million beer cans can be made
From Airbus fuselage parts.
What's that freakin' stench?
Never mind - its just the French
The stink of pride of Europe's most useless tribe
Engine run up test
You know you guys - you are the best!
For Heaven's sake, secure the parking brake
And it seems to me, you build your planes
With a can of Elmer's glue
Never caring how the parts fit
When the day is through
And scrap dealers will always love you
From deep inside their hearts
Ten million beer cans can be made
From Airbus fuselage parts.
Crash test dummies die
Before the plane - can even fly
The world should fear - the German - engineer
Forgot to chock the wheels?
What the hell - the engines squeal
No need a wrecking crew, just punch the Airbus through
And it seems to me, you build your planes
With a can of Elmer's glue
Never caring how the parts fit
When the day is through
And scrap dealers will always love you
From deep inside their hearts
Ten million beer cans can be made
From Airbus fuselage parts.
That last comment says it all about what was not done, but should have been done. "WHEEL CHOCKS ARE TO BE INSTALLED THROUGHOUT THE TEST." Should've chocked the jet.
No chocks were used, four engines were on hi power instead of just one at a time, and when the aircraft started moving the Airbus Techs spent all the available time pushing harder on the brake pedals when they should have retarded the throttles first. I assume that the wheels were already locked with the park brakes, going manual made no difference except to increase brake pressure on the locked brakes. The locked tyres were probably skidding on the tarmac through insufficient traction which was not enough to resist the thrust of four engines together. Perhaps the fuel load had been burnt off during the run lightening the load on the tyres. Would chocks have helped if the tyres were not rolling?
No chocks were used, four engines were on hi power instead of just one at a time, and when the aircraft started moving the Airbus Techs spent all the available time pushing harder on the brake pedals when they should have retarded the throttles first. I assume that the wheels were already locked with the park brakes, going manual made no difference except to increase brake pressure on the locked brakes. The locked tyres were probably skidding on the tarmac through insufficient traction which was not enough to resist the thrust of four engines together. Perhaps the fuel load had been burnt off during the run lightening the load on the tyres. Would chocks have helped if the tyres were not rolling?
New aerial photograph of accdent scene:
http://www.myaviation.net/search/photo_search.php?id=01220767&size=large
My guess is that it is the centre main gear making the skid. The position of the aircraft offset to the starboard is consistent with the engine impact paint marks which slide sideways in the same direction. (see original photos.) No idea why the outboard main gear was not making skid marks, apart from the outboard brakes being deactivated or the outer wheels being airborne???
What do you think?
Anybody with one iota of sense who is connected with avaition (I have 40 years in Commercial aviation) knows that every aspect of this engine ground run was incorrect and those among us with practical aircraft experience will be aware of the anomalies.
I hope the perpetrator/s of this crass incompetence are duly dealt with by all associated factions.
"Nine people on board — including seven Etihad employees — and a person on the ground were injured, three of them seriously, Airbus and government officials said."
who was in the cockpit?
Make peace, not war!