Airbus A380 fleet should be grounded, say engineers

[Windsor]

UPDATE 1-More cracks found in Airbus A380 wings!

Thu Jan 19, 2012 8:24am EST

PARIS, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Airbus said on Thursday it had discovered more cracks in the wings of two A380 superjumbo aircraft but insisted the world's largest jetliner remained safe to fly.
The announcement comes two weeks after tiny cracks were first reported in the wings of the 525-seat, double-decker aircraft, which entered service just over four years ago.
"Airbus confirms that some additional cracks have been found on a limited number of non-critical brackets ... inside the wings of some A380s," the planemaker said in a statement.

"Airbus emphasises that these cracks do not affect the safe operation of the aircraft".
The European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) confirmed it would issue a bulletin on Friday mandating precuationary checks. The latest cracking problem was discovered in two aircraft during a routine two-year inspection, an Airbus spokeswoman said. She declined to name the operators of the aircraft.

EADS subsidiary Airbus has so far delivered 68 superjumbos, starting with Singapore Airlines which took the first aircraft in Dec. 2007, followed by Dubai's Emirates and Qantas Airways of Australia. Other operators include Air France, Germany's Lufthansa, Korean Air and China Southern .

The latest problems were discovered in the same type of part as the earlier set of cracks, an L-shaped bracket which connects the wing's exterior to the internal "rib" structure.
A380 wings are manufactured in Broughton, north Wales, and shipped to Airbus headquarers in Toulouse, France, for final assembly.

Industry journal Air Transport Intelligence said the brackets, known as rib feet, had been stressed during the manufacturing process and that this was being fixed.
The A380 -- developed at an estimated cost of 12 billion euros and built in Britain, France, Germany and Spain -- has enough room on its wings to park 70 cars and a wingspan of 79.8m (261ft 10in).

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/19/airbus-a-idUSL6E8CJ2DX20120119

 

[Leongsam]

I wouldn't buy a British or French car and I most certainly wouldn't want to put my life in the hands of components made in either of these countries.

 

[erection2015]

yes Boss i agree......made in China is the way to go man.

I wouldn't buy a British or French car and I most certainly wouldn't want to put my life in the hands of components made in either of these countries.

 

[Leongsam]

yes Boss i agree......made in China is the way to go man.

Made in China is the safest bet of all. The plane wouldn't have got off the ground.

 

[erection2015]

heck boss...u stole the punchline.

Made in China is the safest bet of all. The plane wouldn't have got off the ground.

 

[Windsor]

The russians are worse as theirs actually can take off.

 

[johnny333]

Anyone know what aircraft was used to carry our most valuable citizen on his trip to Paris

 

[Windsor]

Anyone know what aircraft was used to carry our most valuable citizen on his trip to Paris

He will be on the A380 as it flies the route.

He will sit right in front with his wife's ghost. Immediately behind him will be his armed bodyguards...at least 2 of them.

He will also be listed not as LKY but another ficticious name.

prior to boarding all passengers and crew have to go thru 100% screening of bags and also body search.

 

[erection2015]

i had this experience before. Was travelling on one of the Jumbo flights in the 80s ,then when I arrived at the airport the check in queue was really long.

Everybody was thoroughly checked and i think some people even had to open the cargo bags for viewing before they were accepted.

Eventually heard it was President Drank Eight Vodkas A NIGHT Nair.

prior to boarding all passengers and crew have to go thru 100% screening of bags and also body search.

 

[Windsor]

i had this experience before. Was travelling on one of the Jumbo flights in the 80s ,then when I arrived at the airport the check in queue was really long.

Everybody was thoroughly checked and i think some people even had to open the cargo bags for viewing before they were accepted.

Eventually heard it was President Drank Eight Vodkas A NIGHT Nair.

It's a wonder he was not brought out of the aircraft on a stretcher after a long and boring flight with only drinks to keep him company.:p

 

[erection2015]

must be his excellent tolerance to alcohol No Alcohol I Resign.

It's a wonder he was not brought out of the aircraft on a stretcher after a long and boring flight with only drinks to keep him company.:p

 

[Windsor]

Were all the passengers served the same way? I heard when he occupied the Istana, all the cutleries were thrown out as he prefers to have his meals on banana leaves. Were you offered banana leaf lunch and dinner?

 

[johnny333]

He will be on the A380 as it flies the route.

He will sit right in front with his wife's ghost. Immediately behind him will be his armed bodyguards...at least 2 of them.

He will also be listed not as LKY but another ficticious name.

prior to boarding all passengers and crew have to go thru 100% screening of bags and also body search.

I've been on the same flights as VIPs( but not Sporean) & it usually means long delays for other passengers. Using a fictitious name is quite funny. Who in Spore does not know who LKY is especially with all his bodyguards & the big fuss they create.

 

[erection2015]

haha no la. Normal service. I spoke to the SIA girl on the flight and they did say he was generally quite a nice person and passenger, not a difficult one.

Were all the passengers served the same way? I heard when he occupied the Istana, all the cutleries were thrown out as he prefers to have his meals on banana leaves. Were you offered banana leaf lunch and dinner?

 

[Windsor]

I've been on the same flights as VIPs( but not Sporean) & it usually means long delays for other passengers. Using a fictitious name is quite funny. Who in Spore does not know who LKY is especially with all his bodyguards & the big fuss they create.

I doubt his entry and exiting the aircraft will be with any fanfare, but will be very private. No one will be aware except the crew members and those in the same first class cabin. Business and economy class passengers are not allowed to go to the first class area. Incognito because passenger manifest are send ahead and therefore his name will not be in the list at the port of arrival. Makes sense as there might be a surprise party waiting for him if he is known to arrive at a certain time. This is a common procedure all airlines take when they have a VVVIP on board.

 

[Windsor]

This is another perspective about the presence of the hairline cracks found.

More cracks found in A380 superjumbo wings

<cite>January 20, 2012 - 11:00AM</cite>

Airbus insists its A380 superjumbos are still safe to fly, despite cracks being found in the wings of the world's largest passenger aircraft. Photo: Reuters

Airbus said yesterday it had discovered more cracks in the wings of two A380 superjumbo aircraft but insisted the world's largest jetliner remains safe to fly. It is the second time in as many weeks that hairline cracks have been reported in the wings of the double-decker aircraft, which first entered service four years ago, and they are expected to lead to additional safety checks.

"Airbus confirms that some additional cracks have been found on a limited number of non-critical brackets ... inside the wings of some A380s," the planemaker said in a statement.

"Airbus emphasises that these cracks do not affect the safe operation of the aircraft".
Airbus has dismissed calls to ground its superjumbo fleet over the cracks, which first came to light during repairs of a Qantas A380 that was damaged by an engine explosion shortly after taking off from Singapore in November 2010.

Two aviation industry officials said European safety inspectors would however order additional safety inspections. A spokesman for the European Aviation Safety Agency confirmed it would issue an airworthiness directive on Friday.

EASA and its U.S. counterpart, the Federal Aviation Administration, issue dozens of bulletins weekly from routine updates to emergency directives following a major scare.
The latest cracking problem was discovered in two aircraft during routine two-year inspections, an Airbus spokeswoman said.

She declined to name the operator of the aircraft, but two industry sources, asking not to be identified, said the latest discovery involved aircraft operated by Dubai's Emirates.
Although Emirates did not comment on the latest Airbus disclosure, a spokesperson said the airline was awaiting an update from EASA regarding cracks found several weeks ago in the wings of five A380 aircraft.

"We continue to closely monitor our A380 fleet," the spokesperson said. "The aircraft remain fully airworthy and pose no risk to flight safety as affirmed by EASA and the aircraft manufacturer, Airbus. The safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority."
Earlier this month, Singapore Airlines and Qantas said they had found some cracks in A380 wings.

The latest problems were discovered in the same type of part as the earlier set of cracks, an L-shaped bracket which connects the wing's exterior to the internal "rib" structure.
However the appearance and location of the latest set of cracks were different. Two out of nine aircraft tested were found to have the newer cracks in the centre part of the wing.

MANUFACTURING ERROR
Aviation experts say the presence of tiny cracks is more risky near the root of the wing where loads are at their peak and least risky at the tip where the wing does the least work.
Designers say modern aircraft are built on a failsafe principle, allowing gigantic loads to be carried by a different part of the structure when one part fails, and most cracking is usually captured early without generating publicity.

"I don't think people necessarily need to be worried about cracks because they are caught in advance and repaired," said Snorri Gudmondsson, assistant professor of aerospace engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

"If the rib feet failed, the load would be transferred to other structural parts. These would eventually develop cracks themselves and increase the chances they would be discovered."
However, despite being billed as Europe's "21st century flagship," the A380 has had an unpredictable ride due to development problems and the Qantas blowout, and Toulouse-based Airbus is anxious to prevent any further damage to its image.

Officials said the cracks most likely stemmed from a manufacturing process that put too much stress on the brackets, known as rib feet. The parts themselves were not flawed, according to specialist journal Air Transport Intelligence. The A380 -- developed at an estimated cost of 12 billion euros ($A15.9 billion) in Britain, France, Germany and Spain -- has room on its wings to park 70 cars and a wingspan of 79.8 metres.

Its wings are assembled in Broughton, north Wales, and sent by barge, ship and special road convoy to Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France, where they come together with fuselage, cockpit and avionics in final assembly.

Airbus last week announced plans to outsource some work on smaller aircraft wings from Broughton to Korean Aerospace Industries, drawing fire from British unions who said the move gave an unnecessary edge to foreign rivals. Airbus, the planemaking subsidiary of EADS, has so far delivered 68 superjumbos, starting with Singapore Airlines which took the first aircraft in Dec. 2007. It was followed by Dubai's Emirates and Qantas.

Other operators include Air France, Germany's Lufthansa, Korean Air and China Southern.
Meanwhile, engine maker Rolls-Royce has confronted gaps in its quality assurance that were identified by Australia's air safety investigation into the Qantas A380 engine explosion on flight QF32.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel...jumbo-wings-20120120-1q966.html#ixzz1k06qWbHS
​

 

[Froggy]

These cracks news are damn scary. Tomorrow I flying to Singapore leh. Cannot think of all these. Choy choy choy.

It's a wonder he was not brought out of the aircraft on a stretcher after a long and boring flight with only drinks to keep him company.:p

must be his excellent tolerance to alcohol No Alcohol I Resign.

Guys we all know he liked to drink. I think for me same same I love to drink.

But then all those Istana tales are what we heard from the state's media. We really won't know what happened inside.

Anyway if a prisoner is in prison he is at the mercy of those taking care of him, food, water, drinks, even medication. What goes on inside these things the prisoner eats is up to anyone's guess.

 

[Windsor]

A380 wing cracks: manufacturing, design flaws to blame
<cite>January 26, 2012 - 10:16AM</cite>

Airbus acknowledged a combination of manufacturing and design flaws yesterday as it confirmed the discovery of more examples of cracks inside the wings of A380 superjumbo jets, while insisting the world's largest airliner is safe to fly. A top executive said the European planemaker had found a solution to the outbreak of cracks on a small number of parts inside the wings, which prompted European safety authorities to order compulsory safety inspections last week.
<small></small>
Airbus confirmed a Reuters report that it had discovered more examples of the cracks during the latest wing inspections, but declined to give further details before Friday's deadilne for completing a first phase of checks. "The A380 is safe to fly," Tom Williams, executive vice president of programs at Airbus, said. The cracks were caused by a combination of the choice of aluminium alloy for certain wing brackets as well as stresses imposed at two stages of the manufacturing process, he said.
Airbus moved to shore up confidence in the world's largest jetliner amid a drip-feed of disclosures about cracking on components used to fix the outside of the wing to its ribcage.

Williams flew to Dublin to give an unscheduled address at a conference followed by a series of briefings as Airbus stepped up efforts to dampen any concerns about the aircraft's safety.
Airbus had already dismissed calls by an Australian engineering union to ground the aircraft, saying this had not been demanded by safety regulators who would be only too quick to ban flights if they believed safety was at risk.

European authorities have however ordered inspections on almost a third of the superjumbo fleet after two types of cracks were discovered within weeks of each of other on what Airbus described as handful of L-shaped brackets inside the wing. Since then, similar cracks have been found inside the 9,100-square-foot wings of at least one of the superjumbos examined under the directive, industry sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

Airbus officials said it was assumed that most of the aircraft being tested would show evidence of the second and more significant type of crack, but that their technical fixes would address this well before they became a potential hazard. It declined to say which airline had found cracks during inspections but the spotlight is expected to fall on Singapore Airlines which has said it is inspecting six aircraft under a first phase of checks of the most heavily used jets.

Singapore Airlines said it was carrying out inspections as required and would give an update once they were completed. The checks involve emptying and venting fuel checks for about 24 hours followed by a visual check via a manhole under the wing.
Reuters

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/tra...ws-to-blame-20120126-1qiiq.html#ixzz1kX8zER3C
​

 

[sadshishamo]

SIA has already commenced its inspections on their A380s

 

[syed putra]

what do you expect from an aircraft assembled in tolouse (to lose or maybe too loose)