Yesterday, during a test flight off the coast of France, an Air New Zealand Airbus A320 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. The crash left 1 dead and six others are missing. Air New Zealand’s A320 was approaching the airport at Perpignan, in southern France, when the incident occured. The aircraft was being flown to the airport at Perpignan for servicing. Reports say that the aircraft was in the process of being returned to Air New Zealand from XL Airways (German based) following a two year lease. Air New Zealand refit the aircraft and was in the process of testing the A320 following the changes.
Apparently, there are quite a number of stories out there. According to The Sydney Morning Herald “A spokesman for XL Germany, told the Mail: ‘At first we heard the plane had managed an emergency landing on water but then the coastguard said the plane had broken apart.’” A worker at the airport said they saw the aircraft went “down direct in the sea.” The aircraft was built in 2005.
I’m not quite sure what to make of this. It makes me question whether Airbus has fixed problems previously noted from earlier crashes. If you recall from Air France flight 296, the A320′s first crash (and at an air-show), the OEB (Airbus’s posted Operational Engineering Bulletins) noted that the engines may not respond to throttle input at low altitude. If this A320 was on approach, as reported by the AP and other sources, it makes me wonder if the throttle did not respond. Flight 296′s crash had the nose pointed up, not down – which makes me believe it is something else. Airbus has a fine safety record, and it’s my guess that this had to do with some sort of pilot error or modifications. However, we won’t know until authorities publish a formal report about the incident.
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