European safety authorities are set to order airlines to carry out checks on almost one-third of the current Airbus A380 fleet after the discovery of new wing cracks, aviation industry sources said today.
The checks on about 20 aircraft must be carried out within six weeks and a handful of aircraft which have carried out more than 1,800 flights must be examined within days, the sources said.
No aircraft will be grounded pending the checks, which involve taking an aircraft out of service for about 24 hours.The one-off inspections are likely to affect superjumbo aircraft operated by Singapore Airlines, Dubai's
Emirates and Air France, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the ruling has not yet been released.
European safety agency EASA said it would issue its recommendations later today.
It is the second time in as many weeks that hairline cracks have surfaced inside the mammoth double-decker jet, which entered service four years ago.
Airbus said cracks were found on a number of "non-critical" brackets inside the wings of two aircraft during routine two-year inspections, after similar flaws showed up in five aircraft in early January.
It said the cracks did not prevent the A380 flying safely, but the Australian engineering body which handles routine servicing and engine checks on the superjumbos operated by Qantas Airways said Airbus's reaction was concerning.
"They (Airbus) have described these as tiny cracks, but every crack starts off as a tiny crack and they can grow very quickly," said Stephen Purvinas, Federal Secretary of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association.
"I would be worried that Airbus aren't taking seriously the ever increasing number of cracks being found in the wings of their A380 aircraft. Put it this way, I wouldn't put my family on an A380 at the moment."
Qantas said the latest cracks were not found in its fleet of 12 A380s.
Airbus has dismissed calls to ground its superjumbo fleet over the cracks, which first came to light during repairs of a Qantas A380 damaged by an engine blowout shortly after taking off from Singapore in November 2010.
"It is embarrassing, but we will do everything to ensure safety is not compromised," chief executive Tom Enders said.
"We have a pretty good understanding, but the investigation is ongoing. What we have developed already is a repair solution and this is what we will apply on the various aircraft if and where it is necessary."
Airbus declined to name the operator of the aircraft in which the latest cracks were found.
Earlier this month, Singapore Airlines and Australia's Qantas said they found some cracks in A380 wings.
Today, Qantas said it was developing an inspection programme in consultation with Airbus, and Singapore Airlines said it was starting inspections on one aircraft. It was unclear how many of its 15 A380 in operation would undergo checks.
Other operators of A380s include Air France and Germany's Lufthansa.
The Federal Aviation Administration, said in a statement that its engineers are working with European authorities on a long-term fix for the cracking problem. No US airlines operate A380s but they do fly to some US airports, including in Los Angeles, New York and Washington.
Reuters