Berlin: The German air force has begun a detailed inspection of an Airbus A400M military transport plane at a base near Hanover to determine what caused one of its four engines to break down during the defence minister’s visit to Lithuania.
A spokesman for Luftwaffe said a three-person Airbus crew flew the plane back to Germany’s A400M base in Wunstorf yesterday since German pilots are not licensed to fly the plane using only three engines.
One of the engines sprang an oil leak during a visit by Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen to German troops in Lithuania, forcing her to switch planes in what a ministry spokesman described as a “very aggravating” incident.
It left Germany with just one of eight A400Ms ready for use, another embarrassing setback for a programme that is already years behind schedule and has cost Airbus over €5bn in writeoffs.
Most of the other planes are out for repairs, inspections and maintenance, some of it planned and some unscheduled.
