Airbus A340 - Accidents and Incidents

Accidents and Incidents

The A340 has never been part of a fatal incident. There have, however, been five hull-losses:

• 20 January 1994 – Air France, an A340-211 F-GNIA was lost to fire during servicing at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
• 24 July 2001 – SriLankan Airlines, an A340-300 4R-ADD was blown up by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam terrorists while on the ground at the Bandaranaike International Airport.
• On 9 April 2004, an Emirates Airbus A340-300 operating a flight from Johannesburg to Dubai sustained serious damage during takeoff when it failed to become airborne before the end of the runway, striking 25 approach lights, causing four tyres to burst which in turn threw debris into various parts of the aircraft, ultimately damaging the flap drive mechanism. This rendered the flaps immoveable in the takeoff position. The aircraft returned for an emergency landing during which the normal braking system failed as a result of the damage. The aircraft was brought to a stop only 250 metres from the end of the 3,400 metre runway using reverse thrust and the alternate braking system. In their report, South African investigators found that the Captain had used an erroneous take-off technique, and criticised Emirates training and rostering practices.

• 2 August 2005 – Air France Flight 358, all 297 passengers and 12 crew survived a crash and fire after their A340-300 F-GLZQ overran runway 24L at Toronto Pearson International Airport while landing in a thunderstorm. The aircraft slid into Etobicoke Creek and caught fire. Forty-three were injured, twelve seriously (2 crew, 10 passengers); some passengers jumped nearly 20 ft (6 m) to the ground.
• 9 November 2007 – An Iberia Airlines A340-600 EC-JOH was badly damaged after sliding off the runway at Ecuador’s Mariscal Sucre International Airport. The landing gear collapsed and two engines broke off. All 333 passengers and crew were evacuated via inflatable slides, and there were no serious injuries. The aircraft was scrapped.

• 15 November 2007 – A new A340-600 F-WWCJ was damaged beyond repair during ground testing at Airbus facilities at Toulouse Blagnac International Airport. During an engine test prior to the airplane's planned delivery to Etihad Airways, multiple safety overrides were disabled and the non-chocked aircraft accelerated to 31 knots and collided with a sloped concrete (exhaust deflection) wall, raising the nose of the plane several metres. The cockpit section broke off and fell to the ground from a significant height. The right wing, tail, and two left engines contacted the wall or ground. Nine people on board were injured, four of them seriously, and fire services were not able to stop one non-damaged engine from running on accumulated fuel for almost seven hours. The aircraft was written off. The remains of this aircraft are now used at Virgin Atlantic's cabin crew training facility in Crawley.
• 20 March 2009 – An A340-500 A6-ERG being used for Emirates Airline Flight 407 struck its tail multiple times during the takeoff roll from Melbourne Airport, when an incorrect flex temp was used, resulting in severe damage to the rear pressure bulkhead. The aircraft returned safely to the airport after dumping fuel. No serious injuries were reported among the 225 passengers. The aircraft was expected to be written off. However, it was flown to Airbus in Toulouse, France, for major repairs. This special, non-pressurised flight was flown at 10,000 feet, lasting several days from 20 June 2009, with stops at Perth and Dubai. The repair estimate was US$80 million (about €58 million).