| Company
spokesperson Maggie Bergsma said the aircraft was on its first production flight
and was scheduled for delivery to the Turkish Air Force next month, in June. "Airbus
is devastated to confirm that of a total crew of 6 on board we have lost 4 of
our crew members in the accident. Two other crew members are currently in hospital
in a serious condition. All crew members are Airbus Defence and Space employees
of Spanish nationality. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those
affected by this tragic accident and we are providing all our care and support." The
fate of the two pilots was not disclosed. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano
Rajoy promised transparency in the investigation and said he shared the pain at
the tragedy. The Airbus A400M, designated Atlas, is produced here in Seville, in Southern Spain,
by Airbus Defence and Space along with another aircraft, C295. The production
facility here originally belonged to the Spanish aircraft maker, Construcciones
Aeronauticas S.A. (CASA), absorbed in EADS in 1999 and then in Airbus Military
in 2009. European partners in the Airbus spent about Euro 20 billion ($
22 billion at current rate) to develop the aircraft after the success of several
civil platforms beginning with Airbus A320 till Airbus A380, successfully capturing
nearly half the global market from US aerospace giant Boeing. The A400 M
mishap took place just as a large number of journalists, invited by Airbus Military,
were about to converge here for the company’s annual Trade Media briefing
to showcase the company’s achievements. The event was understandably cancelled. 
This
was the first accident of the newly developed aircraft, inducted into service
just two years ago, in 2013. Soon after the mishap, Britain and Germany announced
they were grounding their fleets for a review. Other nations which have taken
delivery of the aircraft are likely to follow. But notably, this is a standard
practice in aviation industry for understanding and identifying any problems
towards preventing any further mishap, and routine trials are likely to resume
earliest possible. The ill-fated aircraft had taken
off from the San Pablo or Seville airport, adjoining the Airbus facility, which
was closed to air traffic for some time because of the fire and heavy smoke rising
from the debris. Emergency services were activated immediately, and rescue workers
pulled out the two survivors. Ms Bergsma said that the aircraft, with serial
number MSN023, was the third in line for Turkey. The company had set up a team
to coordinate investigation into the possible causes of the crash. The inquiry will
determine if there is a design flaw, equipment failure or human error leading to the accident. Local
media reports said that the pilots indicated something was wrong with flight controls
and tried to land the aircraft but hit an electricity tower and wires during the
attempt. Both the black boxes, the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, were recovered and their
data is being analysed. The A400 M is a powerful, new generation four-engine turboprop
with tactical short takeoff and landing capability, in size somewhere between
Lockheed Martin's C 130J and Boeing's C 17 Globemaster III. The aircraft is designed
for multiple roles from troops and cargo drops to medical evacuation and midair
refueling. Airbus has orders for 174 aircraft from Belgium, France, Germany,
Luxembourg, Malaysia, Spain and Britain. Only a dozen or so have been delivered
so far. The aircraft has also been under study by the Indian Air Force (IAF)
for possible induction in future. | 
