Posted on 05/16/2008 8:02:23 PM PDT by shield
The brand spanking new Airbus 340-600, the largest passenger airplane ever built, sat in its hangar in Toulouse, France without a single hour of airtime. Enter the Arab flight crew of Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT) to conduct pre-delivery tests on the ground, such as engine runups, prior to delivery to Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. The date was November 15, 2007.
The ADAT crew taxied the A340-600 to the run-up area. Then they took all four engines to takeoff power with a virtually empty aircraft. Not having read the run-up manuals, they had no clue just how light an empty A340-600 really is.
The takeoff warning horn was blaring away in the cockpit because they had all 4 engines at full power. The aircraft computers thought they were trying to takeoff but it had not been configured properly (flaps/slats, etc.) Then one of the ADAT crew decided to pull the circuit breaker on the Ground Proximity Sensor to silence the alarm.
This fools the aircraft into thinking it is in the air.
The computers automatically released all the brakes and set the aircraft rocketing forward. The ADAT crew had no idea that this is a safety feature so that pilots can't land with the brakes on.
Not one member of the seven-man Arab crew was smart enough to throttle back the engines from their max power setting, so the $80 million brand-new aircraft crashed into a blast barrier, totaling it.
The extent of injuries to the crew is unknown, for there has been a news blackout in the major media in France and elsewhere. Coverage of the story was deemed insulting to Moslem Arabs. Finally, the photos are starting to leak out.
Don’t know if you’ve seen this one yet.
And a new roll of pin stripe tape...
If this is indeed the true story behind this... Gotta admit, it’s hysterical.
Damn...Better check the "Planefax" report...
That’s gonna be on hell of an expensive “mulligan”...
Just a tad unrelated..back in the 80’s the crack Egyptian special forces tried to rescue hostages aboard a flight that was hijacked by the PLO. Everyone died in a scorched earth blaze of gunfire.
The joke was...What’s worse than being hijacked by the PLO? Being rescued by the Egyptians.
Wonder what this switch does...
Perhaps sheetheads should stick to 7th century modes of transportation and leave the flying to the Crusaders....
"The brand spanking new Airbus 340-600, the largest passenger airplane ever built"
Largest? Hardly. I believe the 747-400 is larger and the A380 is definitely larger. There are also many number of other aircraft that are larger......
The fact that the crash was caused by complete idiots who didn’t bother to look over the manuals before they firewalled the throttles suggests people from a country at or near the equator. Something in those first 25 degrees seems to be a problem.
After a trip to the body shop, it will be resold to North Korea under a salvage title. It will fly sideways like a car with a bent frame. The windshield will leak, and there will be an annoying whistle coming from around the window frames. Something deep inside will always rattle, but no one will be able to track down the problem.
no apologies needed. I hadn’t seen it. thanks for putting it up.
Etihad Airbus Crashes Into Wall During Testing
Nine on board, including seven Etihad employees. Four hospitalized. Three sustained serious injuries, including one person not on the plane.
Some Bondo and paint and all will be well.
Bookmark
Which is news, that they did it, or that they were Arab idiots? :>)
Brilliant!
The firefighters look like Santa.
Righto - the A380 is three times the footprint of this plane.
Probably the article meant to keep google from eventually connecting this fiasco with their rollout of the A380.
Was Airbus so blind to the ME bling they can’t be bothered to check the flight crew taking her out for a spin around the block?
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