Three days after Foreign Minister Baerbock returned from her aborted trip to Australia, her government plane landed in Germany. A breakdown on the Airbus A340 had ruined the travel plans.
After Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s canceled trip to Australia, the affected Airbus A340 returned to Germany. The plane landed at Cologne/Bonn Airport, a Luftwaffe spokesman confirmed. The plane took off from Abu Dhabi in the morning.
Baerbock had to cut short a trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji before reaching her first destination. After a refueling stop in Abu Dhabi, the landing flaps on the A340 of the Bundeswehr’s flight readiness service could not be folded in after take-off. The same error occurred again during another attempt, so the Green politician ended the trip and returned to Germany on a scheduled flight.
Media report: Sensor on wings replaced
In the days after the series of breakdowns, specialists from the Air Force and experts from Lufthansa Technik, which regularly overhauls the planes, searched for the cause of the problem. Lufthansa Technik sent various analysis devices and spare parts to Abu Dhabi.
According to information from “Spiegel”, a sensor on the wings was replaced, which could have prevented the retraction of the take-off flaps. According to the information, during tests on the ground, the blocking no longer occurred after the change.
According to the ministry, 95 percent reliability on flights
The Ministry of Defense had meanwhile rejected doubts about the capabilities of the flight readiness. An examination of the flights from November 2020 to date has shown a reliability of more than 95 percent, according to a ministry spokeswoman.
“That speaks for itself. Because of the two mishaps, I don’t see a fundamental need for reform.” Flight safety is important. “We have guaranteed that.”
However, the two A340 aircraft ready to fly will be phased out early – according to the Air Force “as soon as possible”. Actually, this should not have happened until September 2023 and the end of 2024.