Spain finds black boxes of crashed military aircraft

PARIS/MADRID — Spain said on Sunday it had found the two black boxes from the crashed Airbus A400M military aircraft that plowed into a field north of Seville airport in its maiden test flight on Saturday, killing four of the six test crew.

The black boxes had been handed over to investigators, the government said in a statement. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy late on Saturday asked for maximum transparency from Airbus during the investigation into the cause of the crash.

Britain and Germany grounded their fleets’ A400Ms, Europe’s new troop and cargo carrier, after the first crash involving Europe’s largest defense project which has already been marred by delays and costs.

France will keep its six A400Ms in operation for now but will limit their use, its defense minister said on Sunday.

“Only flights of extreme importance for operations will be allowed,” Jean-Yves Drian said.

The Turkish military has grounded its two A400Ms as a precaution, the state-run Anadolu news agency said on Sunday, citing an order from the commander of the air force.

The planes, which cost just over $112 million each, are assembled in Seville.

Two of the Spanish test crew remain in hospital with serious injuries.

Airbus is investigating the causes of the crash, as is a team sent by the Spanish government.