Article Posted on : - Jun 20, 2015

A400M at Paris Air Show. Photo: Airbus Group.

MADRID (AP): Airbus Defence and Space said on Friday it will restart deliveries of Airbus A400M aircraft after Spanish authorities lifted flight restrictions they had ordered after one of the military planes crashed last month.

An Airbus statement said new production A400Ms were now cleared for flight provided they undergo checks of their electronic units specified by the manufacturer after the May 9 crash near Seville in southern Spain. Four of six crew members died in the crash.

Spain, where the plane undergoes final assembly, suspended permission for test flights May 11. It lifted them on Thursday.

The accident is still under investigation. Airbus has said three of the four engines on the crashed plane failed before it hit the ground.

The company said it is still targeting production of at least 13 aircraft in 2015.

It said two aircraft due for delivery at the time of the accident to France and Britain will be delivered within days.

Four of the five countries that already have A400Ms Britain, Germany, Malaysia and Turkey grounded the plane after the crash. France, which has six, said it would only use the aircraft in urgent operations.

Airbus Defence and Space made a point of flying the A400M military plane at the Paris Air Show on Monday to show confidence in the European jet program after the crash.