Lufthansa airliner nearly crashed in November, airline admits

FRANKFURT: An Airbus A321 plane operated by Lufthansa nearly crashed four months ago after some of its outside sensors iced over, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Friday.
Lufthansa confirmed Friday to dpa that there had been an incident which was not made public at the time of the November 5 flight from Bilbao, Spain to Munich, Germany.
Spiegel said the automatic flight management system of the airliner had switched the craft from ascent to a steep descent after receiving false data from external sensors.
The pilot took control and ended the dive before the plane could approach the earth's surface.
Lufthansa confirmed Friday to dpa that there had been an incident, saying the Airbus crew "responded appropriately".
The plane landed in Munich with all 109 passengers unharmed, an airline spokesman said.
Lufthansa immediately replaced the sensors on all 80 aircraft it operates from the narrow-body A320 family, the airline said.
Germany's Aviation Accidents Investigation Agency told dpa if would be publishing a report on the incident on Tuesday next week. – dpa