Thomas Cook A320 Flew Twice With Broken Gear

Bloomberg:

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Airbus Plane Flew Twice With Broken Gear, AAIB Says

By Tracy Alloway

Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Airbus SAS, the world's biggest manufacturer of commercial planes, should change maintenance instructions for A320 aircraft after a plane was twice allowed to take off with damaged landing gear, U.K. investigators said.

The plane, operated by Thomas Cook Group Plc, was damaged in a ``hard landing'' in Bristol, England, on Nov. 15, 2006, after flying through high wind and turbulence, the Department for Transport's Air Accidents Investigation Branch said today in an e-mailed report.

The pilots alerted an engineer in Bristol to the rough touchdown, but damage to the right main landing gear wasn't identified. The wheels failed to retract on the next flight and the plane was diverted to Manchester. The problem occurred again on the next takeoff. [Full article]

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