Aircraft maker Airbus is to inspect all A380 superjumbo planes currently in service after the airline Qantas discovered tiny fractures in wing components during a maintenance inspection.
LONDON – Aircraft maker Airbus has been ordered to inspect the entire global fleet of A380 superjumbo planes after the airline Qantas discovered tiny cracks in wing components during a maintenance inspection.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said a new directive is to be issued imminently, which will extend last month’s inspection of the 20 A380 jets that have flown the most to all 68 Airbus planes currently in service, the Guardian has reported.
The earlier checks came after the EASA concluded that the cracks in the British-made wings could “potentially affect the structural integrity” of the 525-seater jets if not remedied.
More from GlobalPost: Europe orders urgent safety checks on A380 superjumbos
According to Sky News, the 68 planes currently flown with seven different airlines will not be grounded, but “a detailed visual inspection” of all the jets’ wing rib feet – the metal brackets connecting the wing’s ribs to its skin – will be carried out.
EASA spokesman Dominique Fouda said the authority was “working with Airbus on a long-term fix that should be ready by the summer,” according to the Associated Press. Airbus reiterated that the “safe operation of the [A380] planes is not affected.”
Qantas Airways, Australia’s biggest carrier, said that it had suspended the use of one its A380 jets for up to a week after discovering 36 tiny fractures in key wing components, the BBC reported.
The jet had experienced severe turbulence on a London-Singapore flight last month, although Qantas attributed the cracks to an Airbus manufacturing issue, and not the turbulence.
Cracks have previously been found in the wings of Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Air France planes.
More from GlobalPost: Airlines, Airbus say cracks on wings of A380s pose no threat
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/business-tech/120208/airbus-ordered-check-all-a380-superjumbos-wing-cracks
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