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Airbus Incident – Toulouse, November 2007 |
14-07-2010 |
 There have been numerous online references to a particular incident in Toulouse in 2007, which keep repeating the same wrong information. So – to set the record straight, Etihad would like everyone to know the following:
- The incident at Toulouse in November 2007 involved pre-delivery testing of an Airbus A340-600 aircraft that was due to be delivered to Etihad Airways at a later date.
- Etihad did not own the aircraft at the time of the incident – it was completely owned by Airbus.
- The pre-delivery test phase is conducted under the authority and sole responsibility of the manufacturer (Airbus, in this case). The testing was undertaken by Airbus employees, with Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies personnel present in an observer capacity.
- There were no Etihad employees directly involved in the testing or the incident itself.
- Airbus’s own engineers were undertaking an unscheduled pre-flight Fuel and Oil leak test on the engines and did not follow correct procedures as specified in the Aircraft Maintenance Manual.
- The engine testing was done in high power with all engines running and without chocks (wooden or rubber blocks set behind or in front of wheels of the aircraft), resulting in the aircraft moving even thought the brakes were applied.
- Once the engineer realised the aircraft was moving, he focused on braking, but did not reduce the engine thrust until the moment the aircraft hit the jet blast barrier. The impact resulted in extensive damage to the aircraft.
- This aircraft was not, in fact, delivered to Etihad.
- The BEA (Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses) report into the accident at Toulouse was published in 2008 and if you would like full details, is available from the BEA.
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On the Record
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