Airbus investigates A330 accident

Six people were injured during a test flight of an Airbus A330 when it suddenly lost cabin pressure, it emerged today.

Two of the injured were in a serious condition in hospital overnight, according to rescue workers at the scene in the southwest city of Toulouse, where Airbus is headquartered.

A total of 10 people were on the aircraft, three of them in the cockpit, when the depressurisation incident occurred yesterday, an Airbus press officer said.

“The seven others were moving between the cockpit and the cabin when a sudden and clearly strong depressurisation occurred,” the officer said. “Those standing couldn’t reach the masks and fell unconscious because of a lack of oxygen.”

The plane, a wide-bodied aircraft which was being tested ahead of delivery to Air Mauritius, made a rapid descent to an altitude that allowed for normal breathing then landed without incident at Toulouse airport, Airbus said.

Airbus was opening an investigation to determine the cause of the pressure loss.

It was the second incident concerning an Airbus test flight in seven days.

Last Thursday, 10 people were injured when an Airbus 340-600 hit a wall during tests of the four-engine plane on the ground.

One person on the ground was among the injured on the aircraft, which was scheduled for delivery to Etihad Airways, the Emirates’ national carrier. The plane itself was badly damaged.

The French minister in charge of the environment, energy and transport, Jean-Louis Borloo, requested an investigation into the cause of that accident.