By Robert Wall
Airbus Group NV Chief Executive Tom Enders said data from the
black boxes on the A400M military transport plane that crashed this
month in Spain has been extracted, though Spanish authorities have
not yet shared the crucial information.
"So far we have not had access to the data" though it has been
available for more than a week, Mr. Enders told shareholders in
Amsterdam.
Extracting the information wasn't simple and in one case
involved sending the box to its manufacturer, L-3 Communications,
in the U.S., Mr. Enders said.
The May 9 crash, the first of an A400M, killed four of six
Airbus employees on the plane. The other two were critically
injured, though Mr. Enders said on Wednesday their condition was
improving.
Airbus last week alerted operators that the plane requires
one-time checks of the so-called electronic control units on each
of the four engines before the next flight. The electronic box
helps translate pilot commands into instructions on how the engine
should operate.
Airbus also instructed operators to perform additional checks in
case of later engine problems. Airbus said it found the issue, seen
as a flow in the system's software, during its own analysis of what
may have caused the crash.
Mr. Enders said Airbus wants access to the black box data, which
stores conversations in the cockpit and, more critically, a large
number of system parameters, to validate whether its hypothesis
about the crash is accurate.
The U.K., Germany, Turkey and Malaysia grounded their transport
planes after the crash, although France continued using the
aircraft. Spanish authorities also told Airbus to stop flying newly
built planes for the time being.
Mr. Enders said the data from the black boxes is crucial to
determining exactly what caused the accident, take corrective
action and gain clearance for the planes to start flying again more
widely.
Mr. Enders said the crash would have an impact on the program,
which was already behind schedule. He said he's optimistic the
accident "will not have a very detrimental impact on the aircraft
deliveries and the cost situation in 2015.
The A400M program is several billion dollars over cost after
repeated delays during its development. The program is unprofitable
over the 174 aircraft already ordered, with pressure on Airbus to
win additional deals to make money with the aircraft.
Airbus in January made management changes to the program and
since then "the situation is markedly improved," Mr. Enders
said.
Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com
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