The plane is one of only two models still capable of turning its engines, with neither able to fly, organisers of the appeal said.

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McVitie said that Branson would be "making the same mistake twice" if he went on to commit to one of Airbus' newest models, the A350 extra wide body plane.

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The first public sign that something was wrong was when more than 100 well dressed young women, described as looking like fashion models, gathered at the airport in the Senegalese capital Dakar, intending to board a plane to Tripoli.

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