Germany Grounds Two Of Three A400M Military Transport Aircraft Citing Engine Issues

Germany has grounded two of its three A400M military transport planes delivered by Airbus Group SE due to newly discovered gearbox issues on their turboprop engines. 

Airbus is already due to replace one of the four engines on the first aircraft in coming days, the ministry said. The problem with the second aircraft was discovered on Thursday, a spokesman for the German defence ministry reported by Germany's Spiegel magazine.

Kieran Daly, spokesman for Airbus Defense and Space, said the company was working with Germany to address the issues. 

"We confirm that two of the three German A400M aircraft have newly been discovered to have suffered the propeller gearbox cracking problem, and we will support the customer in addressing that," Daly told Reuters. 

He declined to say how many of the 27 A400M troop and cargo carriers delivered by Airbus thus far had been affected by the issue, which involves a power gearbox made by General Electric's Italian unit Avio Aero. 

European authorities mandated inspections after every 20 flight hours after the gearbox cracking was discovered earlier this year.