Overview
- Crew discovered structural damage to an A350 door during the preflight walk-around at Greenville–Spartanburg, prompting an immediate grounding of the government aircraft.
- Photos of the door were sent to Lufthansa Technik and Airbus for remote assessment and Airbus performed a risk analysis before clearing the aircraft to fly.
- The minister spent the night in a hotel and missed scheduled cabinet consultations and a planned statement while technicians and Luftwaffe experts completed checks.
- The defense ministry and Luftwaffe say a passenger boarding stair is the probable cause of the damage, reflecting a routine ground-equipment collision risk.
- A return flight was scheduled for midday German time with an expected evening landing in Berlin, and officials say the pause followed standard safety protocols for aircraft doors.