Iron Maiden stranded by Chile plane mishap

[Hans Mann]

British heavy metal band Iron Maiden said Saturday they were temporarily stranded when their plane was badly damaged in a runway accident in Chile that injured two ground crew.

The band, which is in South America on a world tour, said its members and equipment were not on board at the time, and later announced it had found new transportation to get to its next show, in Cordoba, Argentina Sunday.

The plane, a Boeing 747 nicknamed "Ed Force One," was being towed for refueling when it came untethered, the band said on its website.

"On making a turn the aircraft had no steering and collided with the ground tug, badly damaging the undercarriage, two of the aircraft's engines and injuring two ground tug operators, both of whom have been taken to hospital," it said.

It later said both people injured were expected to fully recover.

The "Book of Souls" tour was launched last month in support of the heavy metal legends' latest album.

The band is often flown to its tour stops by lead singer Bruce Dickinson, a trained pilot.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/iron-m...RWklgAWPdjmolQ

[Lantern]

From the Iron Maiden Facebook page:

ED FORCE ONE BADLY DAMAGED ON THE GROUND IN COMODORO ARTURO MERINO BENITEZ (SANTIAGO, CHILE) AIRPORT
CONCERTS IN ARGENTINA TOMORROW AND TUESDAY EXPECTED TO GO AHEAD AS PLANNED


Ed Force One was this morning tethered to a tow truck to be taken for refuelling prior to flying over the Andes to Cordoba for the next show. On moving the steering pin that is part of the mechanism that connects the ground tug to the aircraft seemingly fell out. On making a turn the aircraft had no steering and collided with the ground tug badly damaging the undercarriage, two of the aircrafts engines and injuring two ground tug operators, both of whom have been taken to hospital. We hope of course that they make a full and speedy recovery and we will be closely monitoring their progress. The flight engineers are on site and evaluating the damage, but their initial report is that the engines have suffered large damage and will require an extended period of maintenance and possibly two new engines.


We are currently making contingency arrangements to get to the show in Cordoba tomorrow with band, crew and equipment intact. Fortunately the 20 tons of equipment had not been loaded onto EF1 at the time of the accident. Although this is tragic for our beautiful plane we do not expect this to affect our concert schedule including the next 2 shows in Cordoba and Buenos Aires. And we hope to find a new Ed Force One to continue this adventure with us in the near future. We will keep everyone updated when we know more, so keep checking only on this site for official news.


Further updated:


We are happy to tell our fans in Cordoba that our Killer Krew has sorted out all logistics for us to be there with our full show for you all tomorrow. We expect no disruption to the tour in any way and are looking for a replacement 747 Ed Force One while our current beauty is healed. More news on that later. Until then, believe me, we will get to you all on this tour one way or another wherever you are.


We are also delighted to say that we have been officially informed that the two Chilean airport staff who were injured following the malfunction of the tow truck connecting bolt will make a complete recovery. Best wishes to them and their families.

[bsnub]

Damn that sucks the had that plane especially outfitted for the tour.

[biff]

Iron Maiden must be successful..plane that size..running costs would be a lot..

Perry Como never had anything that big..and you can hear and understand his music..

[bsnub]

^ They are successful very much so. Play to sellout arenas worldwide. The plane is flown by Bruce Dickinson the bands lead singer.

[Kurgen]

maybe the metal was too heavy

[Black Heart]

It's great to see them still playing.

They were my favorite band in the 80s. I've seen them live 3 times in Seattle.

[Black Heart]

Interesting on the plane and their latest album was a studio double album called "Book of Souls." The reviews are good. All of the same main members are with the band, also.

Da plane! Da plane!



Ed Force One[edit]

For their Somewhere Back in Time World Tour in 2008 and 2009, Iron Maiden commissioned an Astraeus Airlines Boeing 757 as transport.[243] The aeroplane was converted into a combi configuration, which enabled it to carry the band, their crew and stage production, thereby allowing the group to perform in countries which were previously deemed unreachable logistically.[144] It was also repainted with a special Iron Maiden livery,[144] which the airline decided to retain after receiving positive feedback from customers.[244]

The aircraft, named "Ed Force One" after a competition on the band's website,[145] was flown by Dickinson, as he was also a commercial airline pilot for Astraeus, and plays a major role in the award-winning documentary,[245] Iron Maiden: Flight 666, which was released in cinemas in 42 countries in April 2009.[156] A different aeroplane (registered G-STRX)[246] was used for The Final Frontier World Tour in 2011 with altered livery, adopting the artwork of The Final Frontier album,[247] and features heavily in the 2012 documentary "Behind the Beast".

For the The Book of Souls World Tour in 2016, the band upgraded to an ex-Air France Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet, supplied by Air Atlanta Icelandic (registered TF-AAK)[248] and customised by Volga-Dnepr Gulf,[249] which allows for more space without the aircraft having to undergo a significant conversion to carry their equipment.[190]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Maiden

[wasabi]

The actual band members where not on the cargo plane carrying the equipment, so they where hardly stranded.

[Kurgen]

As of February 7, 2016, I have 93 Century Threads.

proving you're a big cock or a huge one?

[Conche]

The lead singer can hardly lead the rock + roll lifestyle if he flies that beast about ...... stilll kudos to the guy

[Black Heart]

As of February 7, 2016, I have 93 Century Threads.

proving you're a big cock or a huge one?

Wrong thread.

Ask Bruce Dickinson.

[Roobarb]

The lead singer can hardly lead the rock + roll lifestyle if he flies that beast about ...... stilll kudos to the guy

He presented a Discovery Channel series called "Flying Heavy Metal" where he introduced and flew several aircraft giving a bit of a history of commercial aviation. I can't remember exactly how he introduced himself but it was something along the lines of Iron Maiden being his day job, but flying is his passion.

He regularly worked as a 757 pilot for Astreaus Airlines until a few years back and has now set up an aviation maintenance company in the UK.

He's a decent presenter, I think the UK Civil Aviation Authority have used him in a training video about loading aircraft or something.

[Conche]

Yes fair play to the guy ^ thanks for the info

need plenty of grey matter up top to get through those exams

i am guessing the same alcohol limits are in place to fly the team about as would be for a commercial pilot , i believe its about 12 hours clear

[tj916]

Qualified Airbus Captain.
Lead singer with Iron Maiden.
Olympic standard fencer.
TV presenter.
About time the Guy sorted his life out!!

[wasabi]

^ considering he's a roll model for kids in middle age.