Saturday June 10, 12:49 PM
Cables found cut on Airbus A380 at factory
TOULOUSE (AFP) - The aircraft manufacturer Airbus (Paris: NL0000235190 - news) has said that three cables were found cut on an Airbus A380 that was being assembled at its Toulouse factory in southwestern France.
An internal investigation is underway to determine what happened and why, said an Airbus spokeswoman, adding that any indication of sabotage has not been established.
The aircraft maker did not indicate in what part of the plane or on which particular aircraft the cables were severed.
The incident was reported in Saturday's edition of the local newspaper Depeche de Midi as "sabotage" which "took place at night, at a time when there are fewer staff around," the newspaper said.
Local police were called in to witness the damage, it added.
The double-decker A380, which can transport between 555 and 840 people or 40 percent more than the US rival Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) 747, is the largest commercial airliner ever built -- 240 feet (73 metres) in length and 80 feet (24 metres) high, with a wingspan of 88 feet (80 metres).
Airbus is scheduled to deliver the first two A380 models to Singapore Airlines (S70.SI - news) at the end of the year. The four prototypes, the first of which made its maiden flight in April 2005 in Toulouse, the home of Airbus Industrie, have now totaled more than 1,000 flying hours.
Thus far, 16 airlines have lodged a total of 159 firm orders for the Airbus plane.
