During a water salute in Ecuador... an Iberia aircraft was damaged and the flight was cancelled

A few days ago, on Thursday 4 June, a bizarre incident occurred in Ecuador. In the country’s largest city, Guayaquil, located in western Ecuador, the airport witnessed an incident involving a water salute. What exactly happened? The Spanish airline Iberia, which operates regular flights from Madrid to Guayaquil, decided to switch the aircraft used for these flights from the older Airbus A330 model to the new Airbus A350. To mark the occasion, Guayaquil Airport decided to give the aircraft a ceremonial send-off with a water salute before its departure for the Spanish capital.

Airport fire engines formed a water salute before the plane’s departure for Madrid. Unfortunately, at one point things went very wrong. The vehicle on the left-hand side of the plane got too close to the aircraft and the water cannon boom struck the wingtip. The result? The wing tip was severely damaged, forcing the crew to abort the take-off procedure, and the flight was cancelled. So instead of celebrations, we had dissatisfied passengers and a huge headache for Iberia due to the serious damage to the aircraft.

Photo: www.aviation24.be