Case law
Van der Lans: a surprise breakdown is still not "extraordinary"
Even an unexpected component failure sits with the airline.
Legal referenceC-257/14, 17 September 2015
The Court held that even a spontaneous, unforeseen failure of an aircraft part is part of the normal activity of an air carrier and is within its control — so it is not an extraordinary circumstance.
This shuts the door on "the breakdown was sudden, we couldn’t have known". Only a genuinely external trigger (e.g. a hidden manufacturing defect flagged by the maker, sabotage) can qualify.
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