Airbus shares hit following A400M crash in Spain

Shares in European aerospace giant Airbus fell more than three percent in opening trade Monday after one of its A400M military planes crashed in Spain over the weekend, killing four.

In opening trades, shares in Airbus were down 3.36 percent, underperforming the wider market which was down less than one percent.

Earlier Monday, Malaysia became the latest country to ground its only A400M, following similar decisions by Britain, Germany and Turkey.

France, which has six of the planes, has said it would only carry out "top priority flights" with the A400M until more facts emerge on what caused the accident.

Spanish authorities on Sunday located the two cockpit recorders and handed them over to the judge leading the investigation into the accident.

The military transport plane crashed in a field and burst into flames just north of Seville's airport after hitting a power line during an apparent attempt at an emergency landing.

Four people on board died while another two, a mechanic and an engineer, were taken to hospital where they were in a serious but stable condition.

The crash was the first involving one of the aircraft, which Airbus assembles at a plant in Seville.

There are a total of 12 A400M planes in use at the moment -- France has six, Britain and Turkey have two each and Malaysia and Germany each have one.