Strange how the door with the letter A on it escaped obvious damage. It
also even stranger that the aircraft could be towed inside the hangar in
that condition with the tale all twisted up. I am assuming it was towed
inside because the area surrounding the aircraft appears to be unscathed...

Andrew


"Alan" wrote in message
m...
Subject: Still not sure on exact cause yet - Gamco Fire..

At least three Airbus aircraft were suffered damage in yesterday's fire
at Middle East overhaul firm Gulf Aircraft Maintenance (Gamco), which
started in an Airbus A300 said to belong to Qatar Airways .

Emerging details indicate that the effects of the fire at Gamco's Abu
Dhabi facility were more severe than initially indicated, with jets
belonging to Kingfisher Airlines and Air Mauritius confirmed as being
affected.

Air Mauritius had an Airbus A319 parked next to the A300. The airline
has identified the twin-jet as a four-year old example, owned by the
carrier, equipped with CFM International CFM56 engines.

"According to initial information the tail of the aircraft collapsed and
parts fell on our aircraft," says an Air Mauritius spokesman. "We do not
know the extent of the damage and therefore cannot advise when the
aircraft will be back in
service."

India's Kingfisher Airlines says that it had an Airbus A320 in the same
hangar awaiting a C1-check and installation of inflight entertainment
systems.

A spokesman for the carrier says that the International Aero Engines
V2500-powered twin-jet, which is owned by lessor AerCap and is less than
two years old, escaped with "little damage" although it was subjected to
"falling debris ".

Qatar Airways has not confirmed that it is the operator of the A300 at
the heart of the investigation, although there are increasing
indications that the jet in question is an A300-600R and that the jet
has sustained serious damage.

Gamco general manager Saif Al Mughairy tells flightglobal that, despite
the fire, the maintenance operation itself should not be badly affected.
He is not prepared to disclose details of the fire damage, beyond
confirming that it started in an
A300 aircraft, or the specific customers affected.

But he says that the company is otherwise operating "as normal" and that
he is "very confident" that main investigation into the incident will be
completed within four or five days.