72 hours after the crash of the A400M in Spain, the two survivors of the accident remain in serious condition in the Seville hospital.
The two A400M’s black boxes have been handed over to the investigating spanish judge in charge of the judicial inquiry. Their analysis should identify the causes of the accident. The investigations are coordinated by the Spanish Ministry of Transport.
As shown on Flightradar’s website, which tracks real time aircraft movements, the ‘plane reached an altitude of 525 metres (1,720 feet), one minute after takeoff, and crashed two minutes later at a speed of 167 knots or 310 km/h (192 mph).
Until further news, the six, German, British, Turkish and Malaysian A400M’s have been temporarily grounded by their respective governments. Only France, which has six units, has decided to maintain "priority operations" flights.
Airbus has decided to continue their production of the aircraft and its flight test programme. The next test flight is to take place on 12 May from Toulouse (south western France).
In test flight terms, accidents are rare. The last for Airbus, before this A400M, occurred on 30 June 1994, with the crash of an A330 just after take-off from Toulouse, killing seven people.
