PUB manager Andy Smith was taken aback when he looked out of his window and saw an aeroplane going down the A44.

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

The lorry crawled along the road causing traffic delays in the early evening.

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

But the company, which works with the Ministry of Defence among others, said it could not divulge who its client 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 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.”

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