Lost tool disrupted Airbus jet deliveries for months / Photo: Thomas SAMSON - AFP/File
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Lost tool disrupted Airbus jet deliveries for months
A tool accidently left in an Airbus plane forced the European aeronautics giant to slow deliveries of new A330 jets for several months, a company source told AFP on Thursday.
A spokesperson confirmed Airbus had recently identified "an isolated quality issue on an A330 horizontal tailplane" or stabiliser, without mentioning a misplaced tool.
"This led us to inspect A330s in the production process, slowing down monthly deliveries over the summer," the spokesperson added.
"The root cause is identified and A330 deliveries have resumed."
The company source, who requested anonymity, did not identify the tool nor the production site where it was misplaced, but said it had not caused any safety concerns.
"It was just a simple quality problem, nothing critical," the source added.
Airbus's own figures to July 31 show that no A330s had been delivered to clients since late May.
The wide-body jet represents just five percent of total deliveries annual deliveries for Airbus, far below its popular A320 family of single-aisle jets.
Overall the company aims to deliver a record 870 planes this year, with production rising in coming months with a second A320 assembly line at its Blagnac site in Toulouse, southwest France.
D.Goldberg--CPN