It was only supposed to be a quick refueling stop on the way to Fiji. In the South Pacific, Bierbock later turned to security in the Indo-Pacific and, of course, climate change. But after taking off from Abu Dhabi the pilot announced: “Due to a mechanical problem, we have to turn back for safety reasons.” The landing flaps could no longer be retracted. But the fully fueled and therefore very heavy government jet could not easily turn around and land.
To be able to land safely in Abu Dhabi, the fuel had to be drained first. 80 tons of kerosene were distributed in the desert. This isn’t the first accident with Barebock’s jet. In May, a planned return trip from Qatar’s capital Doha to Berlin had to be postponed for about 20 hours due to a malfunction in his Air Force Airbus, recalls “Spiegel”.
