Advertisement

Airbus turbulence almost crashes private German business jet

DPA/The Local
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Airbus turbulence almost crashes private German business jet
An Airbus A380. Photo: DPA

The turbulence of a giant Airbus A380 nearly brought down a small German business jet in January, aviation authorities have revealed.

Advertisement

The two jets were flying over the Arabian Sea on January 7th when the incident took place, the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU) revealed on Tuesday.

The Airbus A380 and the Challenger 604 flew past each other at the regulation altitude difference of 300 metres. But 48 seconds later, when the planes were already separated by a distance of 27 kilometres, the small jet hit the turbulence caused by the Airbus.

The 20-tonne machine spun several times on its axis and dropped 2,500 metres before the pilot was able to wrestle back control and land the plane in Oman.

Four passengers and a stewardess, all of whom were not wearing safety belts, were injured. The plane was also seriously damaged in the incident.

“We need to now clear up what measures could prevent something similar happening in the future,” said BFU spokesman Germout Freitag.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also