I guess this is modern day Darwinism again

http://www.tothepointnews.com/content/view/3207/85/

That is just amazing

compters eh !!!! omg

Check out the rest of the site before you believe any of it. For "Pro-American" read white supremacist!

adrian

They do seem to emphasise time and again that it was an ARAB crew

yeah, the photos might be real, but when i was reading it, i wasn't convinced...

Why are there blokes dressed as Santa with a crashed aeroplane ?

It's difficult to believe that something on this scale could happen & it not hit the headlines somewhere. Car manufacturers cant keep their new model under wraps while it's being developed & they're actually trying while this is a major incedent & not planned for at all. Even though it's not at a public airport there'd be enough folk about for this to get out somehow.
The photos may be genuine but has the story been made to match? It's a big 4-engined airliner but is it the new Airbus? I would'nt know it from another really!

Looks as though some of this may be true, but the anti-arab bits seem to be somebodys fantasy. Do a search for it & there's plenty about it including the Airbus press release:
http://www.airbus.com/en/presscentre/pressreleases/pressreleases_items/07_11_16_accident_airbus_facility.html
Or mabye that's fake too!

[Edited on 23/9/08 by hillbillyracer]

Dont believe a single word of it!! For starters i dont believe any flight crew would be given a brand new plane without a member of Airbus / current pilot there to oversee the tests. Total bowlocks i recon!!

There is also the small matter of the largest airliner being the A380 and not the A340-600 but never mind hey!!

Editted to say - i'm amazed. There is some truth in the OP's link report (even if it was 6 months late!!)

linky!!

[Edited on 23/9/08 by Paul TigerB6]

Some more discussion here

Cheers

Fred W B

Toulouse is an international airport, all be it a small one. I've flown into there 3 times and you can see the Airbus factory and assembled planes (some still unpainted) on the opposite side of the runway.

adrian

what a right mess they've made of that plane...and the first I've heard of it.

I saw the A380 for the first time down in Heathrow last wednesday, yip it's a monster. A bit unattractive from the front but still a cool plane.

See extract below from Aircrew buzz website. Dated 16 Nov 2007

Same story but ever so slightly different "facts"

"New A340-600 in ground accident at Toulouse
A brand new A340-600 aircraft was badly damaged when it ran through a blast barrier at the Airbus Saint-Martin facility at Toulouse, France. There were no fatalities, but five people were injured. The accident happened late on the afternoon of November 15, 2007.






































The aircraft, which was painted in Etihad Airways livery, was undergoing pre-delivery tests on the ground at the Airbus facility at the time of the accident. According to a news release issued today by Airbus, engine-run-ups were being carried out on the A340-600, MSN 856, which was due to be delivered to Etihad in just a few days.



At the time of the accident, there were nine people on board the aircraft, including two Airbus staff, and seven employees of Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT). Five of those nine people were injured, but as of today only the two Airbus employees and one ADAT employee remained hospitalized. None of their injuries are reported to be life-threatening.



Etihad Airways confirms that there were no Etihad staff involved in the accident.



Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies is a maintenance service provider to Etihad Airways. ADAT was formerly known as GAMCO."

The accident did happen and was reported at the time. The aircraft had completed ground engine trials and was leaving the run up area.

See link below for airbus press release on the day

Airbus Press Release