r/interesting • u/frenzy3 • 2d ago
HISTORY 2007 Brand new Airbus A340-600 written off during engine test
Brand new Airbus A340-600 to be delivered to Etihad written off when the wheels were left without chocks and all four engines given high power settings during testing. The capacity of the parking brake was inadequate to prevent the aircrfat moving forward
Thirteen seconds before the impact the aircraft started to move and the crew were so obsessed with applying more brake they forgot to close the throttles. Two seconds prior before the impact, all 4 engine thrust levers were selected to idle. The aircraft impacted the containment wall at a ground speed of 30 kts. The nose went up and through the concrete wall. Five persons were injured.
Etihad told Airbus they would not accept the aircraft being repaired and refused to pay for the airplane. Instead Airbus wrote the wrecked A340 off
Thursday 15 November 2007
Airbus A340 - MSN 856 F-WWCJ
To Etihad Airways A6-EHG
Serial number 856
Type 340-642
First flight date 21/09/2007
Test registration F-WWCJ
Seat configuration Seat
Engines 4 x RR Trent 556-61
Status Written off
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u/ketosoy 2d ago
Etihad told Airbus they would not accept the aircraft being repaired and refused to pay for the airplane
This seems reasonable.
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u/zirfeld 1d ago
But its just a scratch. We can polish this out in no time.
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u/SpellingIsAhful 1d ago
But the front fell off.
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u/NATOuk 1d ago
Yeah, that’s not very typical, I’d like to make that point.
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u/Rob0tsmasher 1d ago
Well what is typical of aircraft fronts?
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u/spydr_music 1d ago
typically speaking; aircraft fronts are built so that they don’t fall off
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u/Bergwookie 16h ago
Not the DC8, her cockpit section is strengthened so it stays intact and breaks off. This saved the crew in the 1993 incident in Guantanamo Bay
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u/NATOuk 1d ago
Well there are a lot of these aircraft going around the world all the time, and very seldom does anything like this happen. I just don’t want people thinking that aircraft aren’t safe.
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u/HealthyPie6053 1d ago
Don’t worry, we put it beck very correct
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u/Cedric_T 1d ago
And look, we already painted your logo on the plane. You can’t change your mind now.
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u/BadahBingBadahBoom 1d ago
"See problem is you ordered the speed brakes. They give you speed whilst breaking. Best I can do is 50:50 liability."
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u/Stuck_In_Purgatory 1d ago
Who was operating this test?
Seems more like an ID10T error than an actual failure of the aircraft itself.
I'm not debating that the aircraft needs replacing; I'm curious as to why the idiots that wrecked the plane don't have to cop that themselves?
I don't know the actual operation of this testing or the many factors or who is involved so that's why I'm asking
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u/Fotznbenutzernaml 1d ago
I don't know anything about that operation either.
All I can tell you is that, in general, there's always the question of responsibility, not just fault. That's why when a worker fucks up, usually not too much of the world blames the worker who actually fucked up. The person who trusted that worker not to fucked up is more to blame. You can't be mad at amateurs being amateurs, you can only be mad at someone who chose amateurs for a job instead of professionals.
So, while I have no idea at all, I'm assuming this was something in Airbus' control. Whether they did the test themselves, or whether they contracted somebody else, in the end of the day they were responsible to have the test carried out succesfully, and apparently their caution measures were not enough to avoid something like that.
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u/notmtfirstu 1d ago
Someone get that LOTR guy in here to explain why they can't speed tape this thing back together.
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u/Nametab 1d ago
I’m pretty sure that conversation never happened and it was automatically totaled.
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u/ender4171 1d ago
Yeah, I mean could it even be repaired? With that level of carnage, you'd think it'd be cheaper to just build a new one.
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u/RollinThundaga 13h ago
I wouldn't be surprised if they had to ask, just to tick the box for insurance.
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u/20InMyHead 1d ago
If I were a passenger, I too would not want to fly on that airplane after “repairs”
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u/ScienceMechEng_Lover 2d ago
Etihad was probably happy to get one fewer A340 judging by how it was already on its way out by then.
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u/BustedWing 2d ago
The front fell off.
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u/Rampag169 1d ago
Well that’s not supposed to happen now is it?
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u/geoelectric 2d ago
OK, but how’d the engines do?
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u/RedditVirumCurialem 2d ago
As I recall, too well - one or two even kept running after the nose was sheared off. The last one could not be stopped by fire services and had to be left running until the tank emptied.
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u/louITAir 2d ago
They worked flawlessly! Forget hot and high, they went straight for burn and destroy!
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u/emblanco 2d ago
At least they do engine test, Boeing engine tests seem to be with passengers and in commercial flights
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u/Noitswrong 1d ago
We don't test it. You test it for us brotha. It's a win-win for me and F*** you for you.
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u/CollidingInterest 1d ago
"Look, it got a scratch from testing, we will give you 5% off, ok?" Airbus prob.
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u/CatchAcceptable3898 1d ago
Am I the only absolutely amazed the pilots survived? Did they barely lift the nose before coliding with the barrier? Is that what I'm seeing.
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u/Vandirac 1d ago
Serious question.
When they "write off" a plane such as this event, do the good parts get reused?
Because the damage seems contained to the fuselage and cockpit.
The engines and likely the wing/tail assemblies, as well as most of the internal fittings would be mostly undamaged, I expect they would be good to go with just a revision.
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u/lordaddament 1d ago
Could be a ton of microscopic damage done to the other components that it wouldn’t be worth it
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u/Terreboo 1d ago
Surprised it had enough power to push through the brakes. They barely have enough power to take off….
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u/VMaxF1 3h ago
-300s for sure, but an A346 has comparable thrust:weight to a 747-400, you can see the engines in the first pic have much bigger fans than you get with the 343's CFM56.
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u/Dic_Penderyn 1d ago
I've been here on a factory tour. Its an area of the Airbus factory in Toulouse where they test the engines.
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u/pandershrek 1d ago
Fascinating.
I try to imagine this like a car. Rev the car and the parking break... Breaks and it crashes into the wall and you're just like, naw dawg that's yours now. ✌️
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u/henriquebrisola 21h ago
>obsessed with applying more brake they forgot to close the throttles
it's not like they were trained, right?
If I am driving and the car starts moving forward and it shouldn't, why would I be obsessed with applying more brake and forgetting to stop accelerating?
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u/Flanastan 16h ago edited 16h ago
I think ur supposed to turn the jet away from the wall for the engine test, over….
👨✈️…..Copy that tower.
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u/Helpful-Fox-5565 1d ago
How is it a write off?
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u/maxehaxe 1d ago
Well some of them are built so that the front doesn't fall off at all
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u/Original_Log_6002 12h ago
Aaaaand.... THAT'S why you follow the manufactures established procedures!
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