PARIS, June 30, 2008 (AFP) - The former head of aircraft manufacturer Airbus, Gustav Humbert of Germany, was detained for questioning by France's financial crime unit Monday in connection with alleged insider trading at Airbus parent EADS, a source close to the matter said.

The French financial market regulator, AMF, earlier this year alleged in a report that Humbert sold 160,000 EADS shares in November 2005, earning 1.685 million euros (2.7 million dollars).

He is suspected of having benefited from priviliged information on EADS' financial prospects as well as delays to the Airbus A380 superjumbo project, which were announced in June 2006 and caused the stock to fall sharply.