AVIATION/ AIRBUS A380 DAMAGED AT PARIS AIR SHOW

The A380 superjumbo jet that Airbus brought in for the flying display at the Paris air show, was damaged yesterday during ground maneuvours at the Le Bourget Airport. Airbus said  the incident on A380 flight test aircraft, MSN 004, occurred near taxiway Victor at 3:50pm, local time. The aircraft had landed shortly beforehand and was given clearance by ground controllers to travel along taxiway Victor. While the crew had been informed that the taxiway was clear for the A380, said Airbus, and the aircraft was on the centreline, it hit a building belonging to Aeroports de Paris. Its wing fence was sheared off in the collision and the right wing-tip has also sustained damage. The aircraft will be examined and eventually flown back to Toulouse, France, for repairs. In its place, Airbus said this morning that a KOREAN AIR LINES Airbus A380, already at the Paris air show, will substitute for the damaged aircraft, in an afternoon performance.