Just weeks after celebrating the arrival of a brand-new blue and white striped Airbus A330neo, leisure airline Condor has been forced to take it out of service for repairs.
On Wednesday, September 27, 2023, the A330neo, registered D-ANRB, was struck by an airport vehicle at Frankfurt Airport (FRA), causing a huge tear in the plane’s fuselage.
A spokesperson for Condor confirmed in a statement to AeroTime that there were no passengers on board the aircraft at the time of impact and no one was injured.
“The damage to the aircraft is now being thoroughly inspected and technically examined on site by experts. Condor is working closely with all relevant authorities and other parties involved. Further investigations are currently ongoing,” the spokesperson told AeroTime.
In photos shared on social media, part of the vehicle can be seen wedged into the aircraft fuselage arter having punctured the outside of the plane.
#Condor A330-900 was hit by a loading vehicle while parked at Frankfurt Airport, causing a significant fuselage tear.
— Dennis Adepoju (@DennisAdepoju) September 28, 2023
The incident occurred when the aircraft was empty and preparing for its next flight.
D-ANRB was only recently delivered to Condor on 2 September and originally… pic.twitter.com/er9THzmWPF
The aircraft, which is just over three years old, arrived on Saturday, September 2, 2023, making it Condor’s ninth factory-new A330neo.
Condor expects to receive a total of 18 new long-haul aircraft as part of its overall fleet renewal program.
Once the long-haul fleet renewal is complete, Condor’s short- and medium-haul fleet will follow, with the current Airbus A320, A321 and Boeing 757 aircraft being replaced by 13 factory-new A320neo and 28 factory-new A321neo.
