Four crewmembers — two test pilots and two flight-test engineers — died when the aircraft went down in fields north of San Pablo airport in Seville, Spain.
Two other engineers were pulled from the wreckage alive by farmers working on nearby land. They are both reported to be hospitalized in serious condition.
The A400M-MSN23 — destined for the Turkish air force — was undertaking its first flight from the airport, home of Airbus Defense & Space’s A400M production site and test facilities. As the aircraft took off from Runway 09, the crew immediately reported technical problems, which a German news outlet has described as multiple engine failures. The crew attempted to return to the airport’s Runway 27, but the A400M struck electricity pylons before making a hard landing on agricultural land near an airport industrial estate.