7 of 8 German A400Ms grounded

Germany currently has 8 A400Ms delivered. Of the 8, only one is capable of flying missions. One aircraft flew Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen to Lithuania, and developed an oil leak before departing again. Two others are in scheduled maintenance, one is undergoing upgrades, and one is still in acceptance testing after delivery.

Airbus has had repeated problems with the A400, with fuselage cracks and engine gearbox issues. They're still developing a fix for the gearbox, as well as assisting with the German investigation into these problems. It's not clear if the oil leak the aircraft developed in Lithuania is related to the gearbox issue, or is a new problem, or just a one off problem. Airbus has already written 5 billion euros off from the program.

Only one of Germany's eight Airbus A400M military transport planes is currently ready for use, the German air force said on Thursday, days after one of the aircraft broke down during the German defense minister's visit to Lithuania.

A spokesman for the Luftwaffe said three aircraft, including the one stranded in Lithuania, were out for unscheduled repairs, with two more in planned inspections and one receiving scheduled retrofits. The seventh aircraft was still going through the acceptance process after arriving on Jan. 31, he said.

"Of course, we'd like to have more of the aircraft ready for use, but it's also normal that aircraft need to be inspected and maintained," the spokesman said.

German officials said on Thursday they were still investigating what caused an oil leak in one of the four engines on the aircraft that carried Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen to Lithuania, and whether it marked a new technical problem for Europe's largest defense project.

www.reuters.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

They break to easily

originally posted by: tikbalang
a reply to: Zaphod58

They break to easily

Gee, would that be a problem in an aircraft meant for the military ....

a reply to: tikbalang

Like many aircraft being built now, they're having a difficult development and IOT&E period. Just about everything being built now is far more complex than anything else in its class compared to previous aircraft.

Composites dont do well in high vibration areas like fuselages landing on rough landing strips.

a reply to: Blackfinger

Makes you wonder why they didn't consider using GLARE instead. Much more resistant to fatiguing and impact damage and pretty light too.

LEE.