Report: Half of Germany's Military Planes are in Shambles
According to the business daily Handelsblatt, over half of Germany's Transall military transport planes are unsuitable for long hauls. That leaves an ever smaller fleet to fly soldiers to and from Afghanistan.
The Handelsblatt quoted aviation industry sources as saying that corrosion and wear and tear have turned over half of Germany's Transall planes into decrepit machinery. The sources apparently said that it was becoming more difficult to locate spare parts for the planes, some of which are more than 40 years old. The paper also reported that a number of planes have been grounded due to rust problems and some are beyond repair. The German defense ministy has partially denied the report, the Handelsblatt wrote.
Full story
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2871918,00.html
According to the business daily Handelsblatt, over half of Germany's Transall military transport planes are unsuitable for long hauls. That leaves an ever smaller fleet to fly soldiers to and from Afghanistan.
The Handelsblatt quoted aviation industry sources as saying that corrosion and wear and tear have turned over half of Germany's Transall planes into decrepit machinery. The sources apparently said that it was becoming more difficult to locate spare parts for the planes, some of which are more than 40 years old. The paper also reported that a number of planes have been grounded due to rust problems and some are beyond repair. The German defense ministy has partially denied the report, the Handelsblatt wrote.
Full story
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2871918,00.html
