The Iron Maiden Band confirmed this afternoon through its Facebook page that its Boeing 747-400, also known as Ed Force One, is ready to carry out new flights. The maintenance process required the replacement of 2 engines of the 747, together with part of the fairing that was damaged during the towing procedure.
The aircraft will take off tomorrow afternoon bound for Brasília International Airport, where it will be received by Aeroflap's lenses. After the show at the Nilson Nelson gymnasium, the aircraft will travel with 20 tons of equipment to Fortaleza, where it will remain until March 25th. From the 03th to the 25th of this month, ED will stay at Guarulhos Airport, where it will end its trip through Brazil and continue the tour through 27 countries.
About the conclusion of the maintenance work, Bruce Dickson stated: “The speed and scope of this extremely complex operation was impressive and we are delighted to have our plane back! We would like to thank Air Atlanta and its rescue team, who made a fantastic effort to pull this off as it happened, Boeing, LAN Chile, ACS and Rock It for all their invaluable . We're sorry for our fans in Cordoba, Buenos Aires, Rio and Belo Horizonte who couldn't see the plane, but we hope they enjoyed the concerts as much as we did.
We must also thank our transport team that met at lunchtime on the Saturday of the accident with more than 20 tons of equipment at the Santiago airport and more than 60 people to arrive in Córdoba early the next day to set up the big show that occurred. The distance is “only” 1.000 km, but with the small matter of having the Andes in between! They did it, by the skin of their teeth, and everything went really well for the show in Cordoba. It's a feat of logistics to find and put into action on such short notice all the charter and scheduled flights to allow us to play these next four shows on time without delay. Great effort team, many thanks from all of us.”
According to the band, each 747 engine weighs around 5000 kg, and it required another Boeing 747 Cargolux freighter to transport everything from Luxembourg to Santigo in Chile, about 12000 km. The 747 freighter also made a stop at Stansted Airport, in the United Kingdom, to pick up a pair of fairings and reverse components, as well as the tools needed for the repair. During the period, Ed Force One's maintenance team planned every detail for the operation to last as little time as possible.
Iron Maiden was also assisted by LAN Chile, which provided assistance at various points, including providing a location close to the hangar for the crew to carry out repairs. The repair team worked day and night to complete the aircraft and allow it to return in the shortest possible time.
Landing forecast in Brasilia for around 18:30 on the 22/03, takes off on the 23rd from Brasilia at 14:00 towards Fortaleza where it will arrive at 16:20 (estimated). On 25/03, it will take off from Fortaleza at 14:00 pm, with an expected arrival in Guarulhos at 17:27 pm (expected). In farewell, Ed Force One will take off on 03/14 from Guarulhos at 00 pm.
Check out more photos below: (all via Iron Maiden)
