Guest fountainhall Posted January 8, 2012 Posted January 8, 2012 Hot on the heels of Hong Kong’s second airline, Hong Kong Airlines, confirming an order for no less than ten Airbus superjumbo A380s, some Qantas engineers are calling for more detailed inspection of the wings after tiny cracks were discovered on the wing surfaces of several Qantas A380s. The cracks have also surfaced in two Singapore Airlines and one Emirates aircraft. Qantas and Airbus insist that there is no risk to passenger safety. The Toulouse-based company . . . said it had informed airlines operating the plane about the issue and recommended a way of fixing the problem during standard scheduled maintenance . . . "In the meantime, Airbus emphasises that the safe operation of the A380 fleet is not affected." It added European safety regulators had approved the policy and that the plane's performance was not affected. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-06/minor-cracks-found-on-a380-wings/3760656 Qantas engineers, though, are calling for inspections to be extended to the wing-rib attachments as soon as possible rather than during the routine four year overhauls. "There is no way on God's earth that I would be waiting four years to inspect them," Paul Cousins, the federal president of the engineers' union, said today. "At the moment it seems that a Band-Aid fix has been applied too quickly to a situation that could become very serious. "This is a large aircraft carrying 520 people across the fleets in the world – we need to be absolutely sure it is flying safely." Mr Cousins said he was concerned that the failure of one of the rib attachments would put added pressure on others within the wing. "Our concern is a continuing stress on the wing. In this case, Airbus and the European Aviation Safety Agency have been too quick to come out with a fix, rather than saying we need to investigate this further," he said. "It increases the chances that we are going to have a serious problem." http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/a380-cracks-check-fleets-now-say-engineers-20120106-1pnr6.html Qantas has bee undergoing major problems with its unions and this seems - on the surface (sic) - to be another skirmish in that war. In the meantime, I’m happy to continue my A380 flights to Hong Kong. I love the plane. Quote
kokopelli Posted January 8, 2012 Posted January 8, 2012 some Qantas engineers are calling for more detailed inspection of the wings after tiny cracks were discovered on the wing surfaces of several Qantas A380s. The cracks have also surfaced in two Singapore Airlines and one Emirates aircraft..... In the meantime, I’m happy to continue my A380 flights to Hong Kong. I love the plane. Cracks on the wings surfaces? Next time you fly on an A380 get a window seat and take a look, if you dare! They may not be stress cracks. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted January 8, 2012 Posted January 8, 2012 Don't worry, I already have my seats reserved - and they come with a hairnet and parachute provided! Quote
Guest snapshot Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 You have to keep in mind, the Qantas engineers' comments are made with ulterior motives. Qantas engineers will do anything they can to damage Qantas' reputation, make its board and management look bad and put their own employer down. Both engineers and pilots seem to grab any opportunity to do this. I would trust Airbus and Qantas more than I trust engineers, with their track record of such comments. Having said that... the cracks are worrying, since I fly on these twice a month! Quote
KhorTose Posted January 19, 2012 Posted January 19, 2012 Don't worry, I already have my seats reserved - and they come with a hairnet and parachute provided! You are lucky. I always get this seat. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted January 21, 2012 Posted January 21, 2012 This is starting to seem a bit more serious. Twenty Airbus A380s will have to undergo checks for cracks in their wings, the safety regulator has said. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said the planes, a third of the current fleet, would undergo a "visual inspection" for cracks. A few planes, which have carried out more than 1,800 flights, will need inspections within four days, it said. Airbus said the cracks were not an immediate threat to safety. If cracks are found it will carry out repairs. The problems could affect planes operated by Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Air France. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16649334 Quote
