Scoop  World

[In the manner of Snopes the following story is a little misleading. The incident reported was not blacked out - it just happened a long time ago. This Der Spiegel article - quickly found via Google - shows that the incident in question occurred in November 2007. It is republished here as it is interesting and doubtless will be widely forwarded via email - The Scoop Editor.]

French news blackout to prevent Arab embarrassment

By Mike Smith

What’s a few $200 million between friends, even at a time like this?

"Dear Mike, I couldn’t believe this ‘til I read it twice,..."

This brand spanking new Airbus 340-600, is the largest passenger airplane ever built, It sits outside it's hangar in Toulouse , France, without a single hour of airtime on the clock....

Click to enlarge
Then

Enter the Arab flight crew of Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT) to conduct pre-delivery tests on the ground, such as engine run-ups prior to delivery to Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi . The ADAT crew taxied the A340-600 to the run-up area.

Click to enlarge

They took all Four engines to takeoff power with a virtually empty aircraft. Not having Read the run-up manuals, they had no clue just how light an empty A340-600 really is.

Click to enlarge

The take-off warning horn was blaring away in the cockpit because they had All 4 engines at full power. The aircraft computers thought they were trying to take off, but it had not been configured properly (flaps/slats, etc.)

Click to enlarge
Then one of the ADAT crew decided to pull the circuit

breaker on the Ground Proximity Sensor to silence the alarm.This fools the aircraft into thinking it is in the air.

Click to enlarge

The computers automatically released all the brakes - and set the aircraft rocketing forward !! !!!! With the following result..........

Click to enlarge

The Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technology crew had no idea that this is a safety feature so that pilots can't land with the brakes on.

Click to enlarge

Not one member of the seven-man Arab crew was smart enough to throttle back the engines from their max power setting, so the $200 million brand-new aircraft crashed into a blast barrier, totalling it.

Click to enlarge
The extent of injuries to the crew is unknown due to the news blackout in the major media.

Click to enlarge

This was because coverage of the story was deemed insulting to Muslim Arabs.

Click to enlarge
Finally, the photos are starting to leak out.

Click to enlarge
£200 million aircraft meets wall.

Wall wins.

(But their secret is safe with us

and all our other email pals....)

ENDS

© Scoop Media

 

World Headlines