~~~~~~~~~~~~~Those Egyptian Airlines Again~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fire grounded Egyptian plane at Paris airport
PARIS (AFP) - An Egyptian charter company Airbus was grounded at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport after an engine caught fire and a hole was discovered in the fuselage, a French newspaper reported Saturday. The A-320 Airbus belonging to the Egyptian Lotus Air company and chartered by the Marmara tour operator, had carried 134 French tourists and five crew members from Cairo on Thursday, the Parisien reported.
An airport official at Terminal Three observed smoke coming from a rear engine of the plane amid a strong smell of burning, the paper said. None of the normal alarms had been triggered aboard the plane, it added. A security official at the airport grounded the plane after the pilot refused to file an accident report and said he was preparing to take off again immediately for Egypt. A hole 40 centimetres (16 inches) in diameter was discovered in the fuselage while two lengths of electrical wire were found on the runway, according to the report.
A police enquiry was immediately opened, and the plane's black boxes were being examined, the Parisien said. Earlier this month, an Egyptian Flash Airlines Boeing 737 crashed in the Red Sea, killing all 148 on board, including 134 French nationals. French Transport Minister Gilles de Robien has since called for the creation of a "security label" for charter companies used by tour operators, which would identify those charter firms offering the best safety guarantees.
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/breakingnews/view.asp?msgID=4536 Well that's weird. I remember a very similar incident that occurred about a month ago.
That story also had the plane with the hole in the fuselage. The nervous pilot thought it was no problem, he wanted to take off again!
(Note to self: Don't ever fly on Egyptian airliner)