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Jun 4, 2015

3 out of 4 four engines on the crashed Airbus A400M were ‘power frozen'

Airbus said Wednesday that three of the four engines on an A400M military plane failed before it crashed near Seville, Spain last month, killing four people.
In a statement, Airbus Defense and Space says the faulty engines were confirmed by Spanish accident investigators after completing their preliminary analysis of the aircraft's digital flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
Three of the hulking gray aircraft's four turboprop engines suffered what it called "power frozen" after lift-off, and failed to respond to the crew's efforts to regain control. A fourth engine responded normally. No other problems have been identified by the preliminary analysis.
Airbus says the A400M's eight-bladed turboprop engines are the most powerful in production. They are built by a consortium made up of Rolls Royce, Snecma, MTU and ITP.
Last month Airbus sent a so-called Alert Operator Transmission notice to all operators of the giant airlifter, warning them of the need to perform checks of its Electronic Control Units before they are next flown.
Four of the five countries that already have A400Ms — Britain, Germany, Malaysia and Turkey — grounded the plane after the crash. France, which has six, says it will only use the aircraft in urgent operations.
Twelve of the aircraft were delivered as of March, with Malaysia's air force being the most recent customer. A further five aircraft were due to be delivered to Germany this year, but Airbus has notified the German government to expect delays.
businessinsider

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