In Spain, at least three people have been killed and two seriously hurt in the first fatal crash involving Europe’s newest military transport plane
In Spain, at least three people have been killed and two seriously hurt in the first fatal crash involving Europe’s newest military transport plane.
The Airbus A400M came down around 13h on Saturday.
It is thought up to seven people, all Airbus employees, were onboard. Two remain unaccounted for.
It is the first crash involving the plane which came into service in 2013 after a delay of more than three years. Only 12 have been delivered.
The aircraft, on a test flight bound for Turkey, is said to have come down a few minutes after taking off from San Pablo airport in Seville.
Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has expressed his deepest sympathy and cancelled the day’s political meetings on the campaign trail for local elections later this month.
The A400M Atlas was developed for Spain and six other European NATO nations – Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Turkey – at a cost of 20-billion euros in Europe’s largest joint defence project.
How the drama unfolded