A test flight of a European Airbus's super jumbo A380 airliner from France to Tunisia was cut short Tuesday, because of a problem with the plane's landing gear controls.
The company says the plane was scheduled to fly from the Airbus factory in Toulouse to Tozeur in southern Tunisia, but returned to its base in southwestern France after just a half-hour of flight. Airbus officials say a problem in the controls made it impossible to know whether or not the landing gear was down.
The problem is the latest in a series plaguing the world's largest commercial airliner. In June, officials at the Airbus parent firm announced that technical problems are forcing a delay in deliveries of the plane by several months.
Four Airbus A380 test planes have logged more than 1,800 hours of flying time since their first test flight last year.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.