Spain withdraws flying permit for Airbus A400Ms in production until accident's cause is known

Spain's Defense Ministry says it has withdrawn flying permission for Airbus A400M planes in production phase until an investigation determines the cause of a crash last weekend near the southern city of Seville that killed two pilots and two flight test engineers.

Minister Pedro Morenes told Spain's Onda Cero radio Tuesday that "it's not a good idea for those planes in production phase, and about to do tests, to fly without knowing what really happened with the (crashed) plane."

He said all precautions must be taken.

Morenes said he had no details on the investigation's progress.

Four of the five countries that already have A400Ms — Britain, Germany, Malaysia and Turkey — have grounded the plane. France, which has six, says it will only use the aircraft in urgent operations.