Two Lufthansa cargo planes out of service: the reason
German airline Lufthansa has taken two A321-200P2F aircraft out of service after cracks were allegedly discovered in the aft fuselage. The airline decided to suspend the operation of the cargo planes until it is convinced of the structural strength.
According to Flightradar, the 15-year-old D-AEUC has been parked in Serbia since December 26, and the 11-year-old D-AEUI has been parked in Frankfurt since January 9. According to Simple Flying, all aircraft of this model were suspended at first.
Lufthansa operates only 4 Airbus freighters, two of which were returned to service after inspection. The other two are still undergoing maintenance after cracks were discovered.
An anonymous source familiar with the process of converting the A321 from a passenger to a cargo plane told the publication that the problem could be significant.
"I doubt very much that it is 'nothing'. Usually, when you find the same cracks on an 11-year-old airplane and an unrelated 15-year-old airplane, something is going on. This part of the EFW A321 has a permanent ballast mount, which is very heavy and probably puts a concentrated load on the structure," the commentary says.
