News Story: Refueling Boom Falls off Airbus A330 Tanker During Test Flight

KC-30A/MRTT (Wiki Info)

LONDON — An Airbus Military A330 tanker’s refueling boom fell off during a test flight over Spain, Airbus said.

The plane, scheduled to be delivered to the United Arab Emirates later this month, was flying in a region between Madrid and Portugal when the incident happened at 7:30 p.m. local time Sept. 10.

An Airbus Military spokesman said it was “too early” to give any indication as to the cause of the mishap.

The spokesman said Airbus had “advised the Royal Australian Air Force as a precautionary measure to stop using the boom until further investigations had taken place.”

The RAAF is the launch customer for the boom-equipped A330 and has four of the five aircraft it ordered in-service. The aircraft also has Cobham-supplied probe refueling systems fitted.

The UAE aircraft was flying at 27,000 feet conducting a series of tests, including deploying the boom, when the system fell away at the point where it links to the fuselage.

Read the full story at DefenseNews