Tool found in A330 Neo tail section halts Airbus production, prompts inspection advice

Airbus halted A330 Neo production for most of the summer after a tool was found inside a horizontal stabiliser, Julien Puyou, the manufacturer's head of long-haul programmes, said in Toulouse on 13 October. The discovery prompted two decisions, he said: stopping the line until every aircraft had been inspected, and recommending checks on aircraft already delivered.

The quality issue became public in early September, when it emerged that Airbus had delivered no A330 Neo in June and July. An Airbus spokesman told aeroTELEGRAPH at the time that aircraft in operation did not need to be inspected. That changed in early October, when it became known that the problem involved a tool left in a horizontal stabiliser and the manufacturer advised airlines to examine A330 Neo already handed over.

Puyou said there is no immediate safety risk. "We can demonstrate that an aircraft can be operated safely even with such a tool inside one of today's flying aircraft," he said, adding that this had been shown to the relevant authorities.

The checks affect all A330 Neo fleets at Condor and ITA Airways, according to the report. Condor's future D-ANRR was among the aircraft examined and delayed at Airbus in Toulouse on 14 October. The delivery hold-up will push the German carrier's aircraft back to November, the source states.