A family of raccoons managed to break into the main assembly line for the Airbus A220 single-aisle airplane near Montreal, Canada and reportedly chewed through aircraft wires before they were discovered and caught by factory workers.
The incident occurred at Airbus’ 3.2 million square foot production in Mirabel, located around 40km northwest of Montreal, where the main components of the jet, such as the fuselage, wings, and landing gears, are brought together.
It’s not known how long the raccoons had been in the factory, but their presence finally came to light when workers spotted the mother climbing on the landing gear of one of the A220 jets being manufactured for a major European airline.
Production had to be brought to a standstill as a frantic search got underway to catch the mother raccoons and any other members of her family. Five baby raccoons were eventually found and ejected from the factory, along with their mother.
Simply finding and catching the animals wasn’t, however, the end of the story. A team of engineers and factory workers then had to be brought in to carry out an extensive inspection of the airplane to make sure no serious damage had been done.
According to a source quoted by Reuters, the raccoons had chewed through wires and urinated inside the airplane.
Airbus confirmed that raccoons had been found in a jet on the final assembly line but declined to provide any further details. The manufacturer did, though, say that it had developed protocols to ensure the safety of the airplane.
The seemingly lighthearted story will do little to reassure frustrated airline customers that Airbus is close to resolving lengthy delivery delays that have beset the European aerospace giant for years.
The A220 production line is currently finishing around six to eight new jets per month. While this might sound encouraging, Airbus is desperate to increase production to as many as 14 new A220s per month by 2026.
Some of the delays can be attributed to continuing supply chain shortages across the aviation industry. For example, some sources claim there are currently 17 Airbus A320 aircraft awaiting engines.
Airbus supposedly inspected the involved aircraft, but what about previous aircraft that were assembled before this incident was even discovered ? They could be currently flying with potential complications … Not very reassuring or humorous…
I agree, very worrying!