Spain: Eurofighter prototype crashes in Spain
01 January 2003
On 21 November 2002 the Spanish DA-6 prototype of the Typhoon EF-2000 Eurofighter combat plane that is being developed by a European consortium comprising German, Italian (Finmeccanica), Spanish (CASA-EADS) and British (BAe) firms, crashed in the mountains near Caceres (Extremadura). The Eurofighter consortium claims that the aircraft crashed after its EJ200 turbojet engines shut down due to a pressure change while flying at 45,000 feet at a speed of Mach 0.7, when the pilots sought an extra boost to break through the sound barrier. The official statement says that it was one of the first kind of engines that were developed for the aircraft, and that they were being changed on the remaining six planes that had them fitted. The two pilots survived after ejecting from the plane at an altitude of 40,000 feet (12,192 metres) so only the aircraft, valued at 72 million Euros, was lost. El País 1.12.02, 13.12.02, 22.11.02.