Collision in Vancouver
Airbus A340 of Edelweiss needs a new tail
The ground collision with an Air Canada Dreamliner caused major damage to the Edelweiss Airbus A340. The jet will be out of service for several weeks.
The Boeing 787-8 of Air Canada is already up in the air again. In the past days it has flown to London three times, to San Francisco one time and to Milan one time. The damage to the Dreamliner with the registration C-GHPU, which collided with an Airbus A340 of Edelweiss at Vancouver Airport, was apparently small.
While the Canadian aircraft could be repaired quickly, the damage to the Swiss airline’s A340 proved to be significantly greater than initially assumed. Airbus experts inspected the aircraft together with technicians from Edelweiss. It became clear that it could not be provisionally repaired and then transferred to Zurich for repair.
Search for spare parts
There are several cracks in the elevator of the HB-JMF. The tail cone which hosts the auxiliary power unit (APU) is clearly pressed in, as pictures show. According to informed circles, Edelweiss and Airbus are now looking for a complete replacement tail from decommissioned A340s. A spokesman for Edelweiss explains that the aircraft will be withdrawn from service until mid-September.
A chain of unfortunate circumstances led to the accident. The Airbus A340 was not allowed to drive all the way to the gate due to construction work at Vancouver Airport. It had to stop and would have been pulled to its final position by a tractor. But just then, the Air Canada Dreamliner passed the Edelweiss aircraft, which still extended a few metres to the rear.
In the picture gallery you can see pictures of the damage to the Airbus A340 of Edelweiss.