A380 Hits Airport Building During Test Fly

[stevemiddie]

Airbus aircraft wingtip nips Suvarnabhumi maintenance centre

BANGKOK: -- A wingtip of a latest technology Airbus 380 aircraft currently being tested by Thai Airways International (THAI) Saturday morning hit a hangar entrance door at the Suvarnabhumi airport maintenance centre as the plane was about to take off for Chiang Mai, causing a delay.

No injuries were reported in the accident which took place at 9.45am local time (0245 GMT) when the wingtip of the A380 hit the door of the THAI maintenance hangar at the airport east of Bangkok in Samut Prakan.

Several prominent personalities were on the test flight. Among them were Royal Thai Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Chalit Phukphasuk and a number of journalists. The ill-fated plane was due to fly to Chiang Mai and return to Suvarnabhumi airport later Saturday before proceeding to Toulouse, France.

The test flight was offered by Airbus Industrie as part of its marketing campaign for A380 for countries which have ordered for a purchase.

THAI president Apinan Sumanaserani said the accident did not result from pilot error, but that it may have occurred from the size of the aircraft which was larger than the safety line marked for aircraft making a U-turn.

Mr. Apinan said the plane could fly again after repairs which were expected to take about an hour.

--TNA 2007-09-01

A380 hits airport building during test flight

BANGKOK: -- A tip of an Airbus A380's wing scraped a repair building of the Suvarnabhumi Airport during its test fly on Saturday morning.

Airbus let Thai Airways International (THAI) uses the world's largest passenger plane in the trial flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.

The plane, which arrived in Thailand on Friday as part of an Asian tour to promote its sales, carried 150 VIP guests, businessmen and reporters on this special flight. It was scheduled to leave the airport at 9.45am.

Its tip hit the building when it was on taxiway, officials said.

There is no reports of injuries.

THAI president Apinan Sumanaseni said minor damage occurred at the jet's wing, and expected that it would take an hour to fix the damage. The flight would be resumed at 1pm.

The pilots was not blamed for the damage as Mr Apinan said the accident occurred because the jet is so large that it needs more space on the taxiway.

THAI ordered six A380 airbuses. They will be delivered in the next two years.

--Bangkok Post 2007-09-01

[UnknownPoster]

Holy crap!

The A380, on the way to the HK Airshow.

Oooops.

[TexasRanger]

Is this place jinxed or what?

[cdnvic]

Bugger, there's a lot of people waiting in CM for it to show up.

[britmaveric]

Might be pushing back the delivery date in Oct.

[cdnvic]

Might be pushing back the delivery date in Oct.

This isn't Singapore's aircraft, it's one of the testbeds.

[Sanpatong]

The bus driver fled the scene. When he was questioned about the incident later, he blamed the Farang pilot of the plane for hitting his bus.

[UnknownPoster]

Read an article in the ChinaView.

Sounds like it was being pushed back and hit a building and a coach.

The new airport is jinxed.

I'd be willing to bet the management will call in some Monks, burn some incense, maybe put up a statue or somthing.

That should fix it.

Edited September 1, 2007 by UnknownPoster

[britmaveric]

Ghosts at the airport again???

[cdnvic]

Read an article in the ChinaView.

Sounds like it was being pushed back and hit a building and a coach.

The new airport is jinxed.

I'd be willing to bet the management will call in some Monks, burn some incense, maybe put up a statue or somthing.

That should fix it.

2 Sticks of incense and small statue from Khun Hiso's Trading Co. - 150,000 baht

Expenses for AOT officials to attend ceremony - 540,319 Baht

A rear view mirror on your A-380 - Priceless

[Austhaied]

The bus driver fled the scene. When he was questioned about the incident later, he blamed the Farang pilot of the plane for hitting his bus.

:D

[TexasRanger]

The bus driver fled the scene. When he was questioned about the incident later, he blamed the Farang pilot of the plane for hitting his bus.

Thais' running away from their problems? Naaahhhh!

[xbusman]

Read an article in the ChinaView.

Sounds like it was being pushed back and hit a building and a coach.

The new airport is jinxed.

I'd be willing to bet the management will call in some Monks, burn some incense, maybe put up a statue or somthing.

That should fix it.

2 Sticks of incense and small statue from Khun Hiso's Trading Co. - 150,000 baht

Expenses for AOT officials to attend ceremony - 540,319 Baht

A rear view mirror on your A-380 - Priceless

Now thats funny!

[chevykanteve]

A380 wing hits building while taxiing

(BangkokPost.com) - A tip of an Airbus A380's wing scraped a repair building of the Suvarnabhumi Airport during its test fly on Saturday morning.

Airbus let Thai Airways International (THAI) use the world's largest passenger plane in the trial flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.

The plane - which arrived in Thailand on Friday as part of an Asian tour to promote sales - carried 150 VIP guests, businessmen and reporters. Its tip hit the building when it was on the taxiway, officials said.

There were no reports of injuries.....

The pilots were not blamed for the damage. Mr Apinan said the accident occurred because the jet is so large, needing more space on the taxiway......

In other words, fault does not lie with the employees of Thai Airways. Instead, it lies with the "taxiway" and the sheer size of the plane. Inasmuch as the building struck was probably erected during Taksin's prime-ministerial tenure, I'm surprised he didn't get blamed for the accident. True responsibility should lie with whoever is ultimately in charge of the Thai airports, as well as that individual's boss. But I forgot both their names.

[LifeConvo]

Could you guys make the headline any more hyped up?

Wasn't even during the "flight"!

[cdnvic]

Could you guys make the headline any more hyped up?

Wasn't even during the "flight"!

That's exactly how The Bangkok Post reported it

[chevykanteve]

Could you guys make the headline any more hyped up?

Wasn't even during the "flight"!

Thank God!

[LifeConvo]

Could you guys make the headline any more hyped up?

Wasn't even during the "flight"!

That's exactly how The Bangkok Post reported it

Oh my mistake, we all know the BKK post would never go over the top, I shall wait for the photoshop pics of the a380 going up in a fire ball.

[Screws]

Probably one wheel hit a soft patch of poo - softer than the regular poo the runways are made from - causing the plane to tilt, & strike the bus and the building.

Or were they Nasa pilots?

[Cobalt60]

Latest news....hanger foundations were laid in wrong place, full investigation to follow, results expected some time before the world ends.

[scratt]

"THAI president Apinan Sumanaserani said the accident did not result from pilot error, but that it may have occurred from the size of the aircraft which was larger than the safety line marked for aircraft making a U-turn."

Quote of the century!

[WaiWai]

Several prominent personalities were on the test flight

.

Hmmm ... hope nobody gets ideas.

[cdnvic]

Probably one wheel hit a soft patch of poo - softer than the regular poo the runways are made from - causing the plane to tilt, & strike the bus and the building.

Or were they Nasa pilots?

"Its tip hit the building when it was backing out of the parking area to the taxiway, officials said."

If it was moving backwards it was the ground handlers, not the pilots who hit the building.

[canuckamuck]

Read an article in the ChinaView.

Sounds like it was being pushed back and hit a building and a coach.

The new airport is jinxed.

I'd be willing to bet the management will call in some Monks, burn some incense, maybe put up a statue or somthing.

That should fix it.

2 Sticks of incense and small statue from Khun Hiso's Trading Co. - 150,000 baht

Expenses for AOT officials to attend ceremony - 540,319 Baht

A rear view mirror on your A-380 - Priceless

Oh how I wish I had said it first

[chevykanteve]

Probably one wheel hit a soft patch of poo - softer than the regular poo the runways are made from - causing the plane to tilt, & strike the bus and the building.

Or were they Nasa pilots?

"Its tip hit the building when it was backing out of the parking area to the taxiway, officials said."

If it was moving backwards it was the ground handlers not the pilots who hit the building.

So, you're saying it was the fault of airport employees and not the size of the taxiway, et al? How can you be so sure?

[Typhoon Pilot]

The Ground Engineer, tug driver and wing walkers should all get a kick up the a-hole over this. Blaming the taxy way, now that is novel! I suppose no-one thought about that when they towed the ###### thing in. I must remember to use this excuse when I have an incident on the road. It was the road, not me! Sure!

[harsh4]

Read an article in the ChinaView.

Sounds like it was being pushed back and hit a building and a coach.

The new airport is jinxed.

I'd be willing to bet the management will call in some Monks, burn some incense, maybe put up a statue or somthing.

That should fix it.

2 Sticks of incense and small statue from Khun Hiso's Trading Co. - 150,000 baht

Expenses for AOT officials to attend ceremony - 540,319 Baht

A rear view mirror on your A-380 - Priceless

Priceless indeed ! :-)

[ClaudeFeller]

Seems to be the normal "have no idea of nothing".

[ilyushin]

Unthinkable that the A380 would have any more difficulties. This will make good converstaion in Hong Kong during AA07 on Monday.

[sangfroid]

Bump delays departure of Airbus super jumbo

September 1, 2007 - 3:03PM

The Airbus A380 has hit an airport hangar in Bangkok, forcing the world's largest passenger jet to delay its takeoff today on a demonstration tour.

The bump caused slight damage to the left wing of the double-decker plane, an Airbus official said.

The A380 arrived in Bangkok yesterday on the first leg of its four-city Asian tour, and was to make a round trip from Bangkok to Thailand's northern tourist hub, Chiang Mai, early today.

But the bump forced the plane to delay its departure for several hours, the official said, adding that the accident happened because of miscommunication between pilots and ground staff.

The super jumbo will fly to Hanoi tomorrow and will be a showcase of Asia's largest air show in Hong Kong as it is expected to fly across the city's famous Victoria harbour on Monday.

The A380 will then arrive on Wednesday in Seoul, the last stop of the Airbus promotional tour.

Singapore Airlines is set to become the first company to fly the A380 on October 25 with a journey from Singapore to Sydney - its first commercial flight.

An online auction for that trip is under way with bidders offering thousands of dollars for coveted seats on the super jumbo.

AFP