Airbus transport with a Mercedes-Benz Actros 4163 SLT heavy-haulage tractor

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Daimler Press Release  /  January 11, 2019

Germany by night with a low-flying Airbus A 320 and a heavy-haulage Actros SLT tractor unit from Mercedes-Benz – this spectacular heavy-haulage operation took place throughout Germany and drew in the crowds wherever it passed. No surprise really when you take a look at the vital statistics involved: 60 m long, 90 t in weight and 5 m wide.

The Actros SLT with around 630 hp was tasked with bringing the Airbus A 320 to southern Germany. The sensational transport task of the fuselage took around 11 days. Stuttgart-based heavy-haulage firm PAULE loaded the Airbus onto their Actros SLT in Tallinn (Estonia) after it was damaged during a heavy landing.

A truck ferry took the freight across the Baltic Sea to Lübeck's docks. From there the Actros SLT heavy-haulage team took three nights to cross Hamburg, Magdeburg, Nuremberg and Stuttgart before heading for the northern part of the Black Forest. Twice along the route, the Airbus heavy-haulage convoy had to leave the motorway to avoid low bridges. Plus, after the Actros SLT left the motorway and was driving along a side road at one point, the driver even had to drive the long combination backwards so as to be able to re-enter the motorway in the opposite direction.

What's more, a second Actros SLT was also brought in in readiness for the freight arriving at its final destination. On a tight and steep forest road, the SLT duo brought the Airbus to its new home on the training grounds of the KSK Special Forces Command in Calw. There, the Airbus will soon be put to use as part of realistic training scenarios for the protection of airline passengers.

Heavy-haulage firm PAULE opted for the Mercedes-Benz Actros SLT as its tractor unit of choice because such extreme transport tasks dictate 100% reliability.

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