Aircraft down – Angela Merkel must stop her journey

Once again unlucky with a government Airbus: after only one hour of flight, Chancellor Angela Merkel must interrupt her trip to the G20 summit. The exact effects are still uncertain.

After the technical failure of his government plane en route to the G20 summit in Argentina, Chancellor Angela Merkel is stuck in Cologne late Thursday night. A direct direct flight with a replacement Airbus is not possible, said government spokesman Steffen Seibert in front of other reporters. This is due in part to the hours of service and the availability of flight crews and captains.

Vehicles of the fire services are on the runway of the airport of Cologne with Chancellor "Konrad Adenauer", the Chancellor on board. Due to a technical defect of the Chancellor, Airbus Merkel had to interrupt her flight from Berlin to the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. (Source: dpa)

We are currently examining when the Chancellor and perhaps a small part of her delegation could go to Buenos Aires, so that she can still participate in at least part of the agenda of the first day of the summit. For example, the question was whether participation in the planned dinner of Heads of State and Government was still possible. It was expected Saturday morning at 00:30 German time. It was also examined when it was possible for the Chancellor to travel to Buenos Aires on a scheduled flight.

#Merkelplans to make an emergency landing in Cologne after technical problems. The Chancellor wants to arrive late # G20 Mountain peak

– Fabian Reinbold (@fabreinbold) November 29, 2018

Due to a technical defect of Chancellor Airbus, "Konrad Adenauer", Merkel had to interrupt her flight for the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. After about an hour of flight, the plane returned to the Chancellor aboard by the Netherlands. The Airbus landed safely in Cologne, where the Chancellor wanted to install a replacement machine. Merkel was on her way to Argentina with Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD). First, the military blog "Eyes Straight" reported problems with the machine.

The photo shows on a monitor of the Chancellor, Airbus "Konrad Adenauer", the new flight path of the Chancellor's flying aircraft with the Chancellor on board. (Source: dpa)

The machine with Merkel on board was launched at 19 hours in Berlin, she landed at 9 pm in Cologne. During one of the usual background conversations with journalists traveling on board, the Chancellor was taken to the meeting room of the aircraft shortly before 8 pm with the words "It's important". Shortly after, Merkel announced that she had to go home due to a technical defect. The airport of Cologne is the port of attachment of the government aircraft. In addition, the remaining flight time to Cologne was lower than that of Berlin.

"No problem"

At about 8.30 pm, the captain informs the Chancellor and the other travelers that they are no longer on the way to Buenos Aires. The reason is a technical problem, which has the consequence that some electrical systems have failed in the plane. Therefore, we could not continue flying over the Atlantic. The plan is to fly to Cologne because there is the only eligible replacement machine. Aviation readiness is already in the planning phase to show alternatives, how could this be done in Buenos Aires. "You really do not need to worry about anything else, we will soon land in Cologne safely."

At Cologne airport, fire extinguishing vehicles are expected. Merkel's plane, which landed hard, the flight to Cologne can be emptied of too large quantities of fuel.

Government aircraft still cause problems – recently, the visit of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had also been delayed due to a technical defect of his machine.