CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday said he was preparing legal action against Airbus due to a “serious fault” with the country’s presidential jet following five months of maintenance by the plane maker.
Maduro said he had been concerned about flying in the plane after it returned from maintenance in Paris, and ordered his own technicians to carry out an inspection.
“After 10 or 12 days, a serious fault appeared in one of the wings of the plane. After five months at Airbus in France – my God!” Maduro said during a televised broadcast.
“With the help of an international law firm, we’re preparing legal actions against Airbus of France.”
Maduro last week was briefly denied access to U.S. airspace on his way to China, which he described as an example of “U.S. aggression” against his socialist government.
U.S. authorities, who later approved his travel plan, said he had not been travelling in a state aircraft, which was required for diplomatic clearance. Maduro went in a Cuban plane.
In an address on live TV, Maduro added that he skipped a planned visit this week to New York for the U.N. General Assembly due to concerns about possible “provocations” against him from right-wing American opponents.
Since winning an April election to replace late Socialist leader Hugo Chavez, Maduro has been constantly alleging plots against him from opponents at home and abroad.
(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Stacey Joyce)
Venezuela's Maduro considers legal action against Airbus over fault in plane
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