A380 scrapes wing at airport

2007-09-01 13:38

Bangkok - An Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger jet, scraped a wing tip on a building at Bangkok's international airport on Saturday as the plane prepared for a demonstration flight, officials said.

No injuries were reported.

The A380, which had been taxiing with journalists and VIP guests on board, suffered minor damage that delayed its planned flight to the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai by about three hours, officials from Airbus and Thai Airways said.

After production problems caused a delay of more than a year, Airbus is scheduled to deliver its first A380, which seats 555 people, to Singapore Airlines in October. The plane that arrived in Bangkok on Friday from Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France, is making a demonstration tour of Asia and will also visit Vietnam, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

Officials said the accident at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport was related to the unusually long wingspan of the plane, for which the hanger whose door it hit had not been designed.

"It was not due to problems with traffic control or human error of the captain," said Thai Airways President Apinan Sumanaseni.

He said that the plane's left winglet had been damaged, and that engineers would remove the winglets ahead of the postponed flight. A winglet tips up and back from the end of a wing, improving aerodynamic efficiency.

"The device removed is useful, but we can fly without it," said Terry Lutz, the plane's captain and head test pilot for Airbus. "I don't think it will affect the operation of the aircraft at all."

- AP