Lost tool disrupted Airbus jet deliveries for months / Photo: Thomas SAMSON - AFP/File
-
France recorded 'hottest summer ever': environment minister
-
Lost tool disrupted Airbus jet deliveries for months
-
'No plans to retire', says 'acting god' Malkovich
-
MEXC Concludes 0808 Stock Season with Over 86,000 Participants and More Than $1M Saved Through 0 Fee Trading
-
Nigerian opposition lobbyist tapped for White House-linked role, firm says
-
US feminist icon Gloria Steinem dies at 92: foundation
-
China emissions fell in Q2 as Iran war pared oil use: analysis
-
All Blacks drop veteran hooker Taylor for third Springboks Test
-
France sells bonds at highest rate since 2008 amid deficit worries
-
British, French leaders hold talks on migrants, EU relations
-
Vast aid challenge after 'Himalayan tsunami' devastates Nepal
-
Oil prices jump as Iran strikes US targets
-
Bosnia captain Dzeko to retire from international football
-
Putin denies plan for new Russia military call up
-
Grief on Chinese internet as wait for Tibet flood news drags on
-
Caruana Galizia: 'one-woman WikiLeaks' who exposed Malta's shady side
-
Heavy rain puts a dampener on Taiwan 'extreme heat' drill
-
Kuwait's Iranians under pressure since start of war
-
Juve's Khephren Thuram out until 2027 with knee injury
-
EU lawmakers demand Brussels force Meta to 'protect' European children
-
Delivering aid to Nepal flood survivors 'very, very difficult': UN
-
Clooney turns AFP photographer in jokey red carpet switch
-
German growth prospects brighten as economy defies Mideast turmoil
-
Retirement Income Planning Florida Launches No-Cost 'Income Gap Analysis' Program for Pre-Retirees
-
Outrage mounts in Malta after acquittal over journalist's murder
-
Iraola hails Barcola mentality after blockbuster Liverpool move
-
Malaysia starts cloud seeding to help clear toxic haze
-
Michelsen shocks Nakashima in US Open clash of rising Americans
-
El Nino could be strongest in decades, UN warns
-
US govt sides with OpenAI in New York Times copyright lawsuit
-
Kenya steps up crocodile hunt as rising lakes fuel conflict
-
Philadelphia Roundup: Museum Closure, Phishing Warning and Gun Violence Data
-
Grammy-Winning Jazz Vocalist Cassandra Wilson Dies at 70
-
Argentine Groups Seek Court Halt to Sea Lion Oil Project Near Falklands
-
Maui Wildfire Survivors Report Major Losses to Troubled Rebuilding Contractors
-
China’s Oil Use Drops 9 Percent as Transport Electrification Accelerates
-
WMO Says Powerful El Niño Is Likely to Persist Into February 2027
-
Fifth-Generation Mitsubishi Pajero Returns With Ladder Frame and Seven Seats
-
Honda Presses Suppliers for Deep Cost Cuts in $9.4 Billion Savings Drive
-
Philadelphia Festival Revisits the Signing and Legacy of the U.S. Constitution
-
Philadelphia Natural History Museum Prepares to Close After Two Centuries
-
Russia to close branches of Germany's Goethe Institute
-
Indonesia protesters targeted by coordinated disinfo
-
Spacecraft bound for Mercury faces 'tricky' arrival
-
Oil sinks, bond yields ease and stocks boosted after Trump Iran hint
-
Philippines holds drills to safeguard students from armed intruders
-
American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson dies at 70
-
In Ghana, larger-than-life coffins tell the stories of the dead
-
Rare trio of Pacific hurricanes fueled by historic El Nino
-
Menoncello, Reece headline Top 14 new-season signings
Lost tool disrupted Airbus jet deliveries for months
A tool accidently left in an Airbus plane forced the European aeronautics giant to slow deliveries of new A330 jets for several months, a company source told AFP on Thursday.
A spokesperson confirmed Airbus had recently identified "an isolated quality issue on an A330 horizontal tailplane" or stabiliser, without mentioning a misplaced tool.
"This led us to inspect A330s in the production process, slowing down monthly deliveries over the summer," the spokesperson added.
"The root cause is identified and A330 deliveries have resumed."
The company source, who requested anonymity, did not identify the tool nor the production site where it was misplaced, but said it had not caused any safety concerns.
"It was just a simple quality problem, nothing critical," the source added.
Airbus's own figures to July 31 show that no A330s had been delivered to clients since late May.
The wide-body jet represents just five percent of total deliveries annual deliveries for Airbus, far below its popular A320 family of single-aisle jets.
Overall the company aims to deliver a record 870 planes this year, with production rising in coming months with a second A320 assembly line at its Blagnac site in Toulouse, southwest France.
A.AbuSaada--SF-PST