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The Essential: From Our Own Correspondent: Plane Crazy in Perpignan

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From Our Own Correspondent: Plane Crazy in Perpignan

20/10/2016 GMT

BBC World Service - The Essential, From Our Own Correspondent: Plane Crazy in Perpignan

The legal battles over Colonel Gaddafi's private jet

How has Colonel Gaddafi's personal aeroplane ended up parked on the tarmac in southwest France? Chris Bockman traces the legal disputes which have left it grounded.

Five years ago today, Colonel Gaddafi was killed by a mob, as Libya threw off his decades-long rule and entered a chaotic period of revolution. Since then, questions of authority and ownership of state assets have only become more complex. One item which symbolises the problem is the former leader's private plane - which has somehow ended up grounded on the tarmac of a French airstrip. Chris Bockman traces the legal battles which have left this expensive white elephant immobile - and in dispute. 

Photo: Gaddafi's Airbus A340 plane  on the premises of the maintenance company EAS Industries, a subsidiary of Air France, in Rivesaltes (RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty Images)

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