Mansell’s £3m plane blasted
Former F1 motor racing champion Nigel Mansell was reported to be furious after his £3m Cessna Citation CJ2 jet was damaged at Exeter International airport.
The plane was stationary on the tarmac when its tail fin was accidentally sprayed with a stream of hot gas from the exhaust of another aircraft during testing. The Bombadier CRJ-900 was undergoing tests nearby when the estimated £20,000 of damage was done.
Mansell flies the plane between his home in Jersey and his commercial karting track in Dunkeswell in Devon. On this occasion he had taxied it to an area used by executive flights, which is adjacent to the engine test running compound.
Flybe, which maintains other airlines’ aircraft in Exeter, does not own the plane involved. A spokesman said: “A full investigation has been completed, finding that the minor damage incurred was the unfortunate result of a freak accident.”
Mansell was reported to be less than amused.