A Spirit Airlines Airbus A319 has been seriously damaged during a maintenance mishap, in what appears to be a Lufthansa Technik facility in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
The aircraft, registered N533NK and serial number 3393, first flew on the 28th of January 2008 under test registration D-AVWJ. Spirit ferried the aircraft to Aguadilla on the 27th of November to undergo maintenance.
Whilst being held up on jacks, it appears that the aircraft slipped off, or a jack moved from its position, resulting in serious damage to the airframe. Pictures of the accident show the jacks penetrating the fuselage and wings:
Little information about the accident is available at this time, however initial impressions of the photos show a significant amount of repair work will be required to get the aircraft airworthy again. Until more information is released, it remains unknown as to whether the aircraft will be repaired or not.
A similar accident occurred recently when an Emirates Airbus A380 collapsed during a maintenance check. Emirates stayed quiet about the incident, however a leaked photo showed some nasty damage.
Perhaps what resembles this Spirit Airlines accident the most is a FedEx maintenance mishap, that happened five years ago, involving an Airbus A300.
For more of the FedEx photos, see the album here.
So far, it is understood that no injuries were sustained when the accident occurred. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
At this time the exact source of the Spirit Airlines images remains unclear, however multiple reports of the accident have been published on social media.
Airliners.net forum post link.