PUB manager Andy Smith was slightly taken back when he looked out his window and saw an airplane going down the A44.

He was one of several people who wondered why the wingless Airbus A319 fuselage was going down the A44 on the back of a lorry on Thursday night.

Due to the unusual load, the lorry transporting the plane crawled along the main road, causing traffic delays in the early evening as drivers looked on at the odd scene.

One Oxford Mail reader who was caught up in the traffic chaos said: "It was an incredible sight. It took me 45 minutes from Yarnton to Bladon. What an operation that must have been for those doing the move."

It turns out the 126-seat jet was going to Oxford Airport, Kidlington, from Wiltshire’s Air Salvage International (ASI), which converted it into a bespoke training facility.

But the company, which works with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) among others, said it could not divulge who its client at the airport was.

CEO Mark Gregory said: “It was converted into a classroom and two sections for cabin training.”

Regarding its destination, Mr Gregory said: “We are not sworn to secrecy but I would rather it came from them.”

Oxford Airport and CAE Oxford Aviation Academy, also on the site, denied any knowledge of the plane.

Mr Smith, who manages the Turnpike pub in Yarnton said: “I looked out the window and said ‘there’s a plane going down the road’.

“We all had a good laugh.

“Obviously Oxford Airport is just down the road so I’m assuming they were taking it there.”

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