Sydney: Australian airline Qantas on Friday reassured passengers there was no risk to safety after cracks were found on the wings of some A380 superjumbo jets, including one in its fleet.
Airbus revealed on Thursday that "minor cracks" had been found on some of the aircraft, but the European planemaker said they posed no safety problem and recommended a way they could be fixed.
"Minuscule cracking was found in the wing ribs of the Qantas A380 being repaired in Singapore," a Qantas spokeswoman said in a statement.
The crack on the Qantas A380, which is barely visible to the naked eye and less than a centimetre long, is on the plane that suffered a mid-air engine explosion after take-off from Singapore in November 2010.
"Investigations have found that the cracking is unrelated to the engine failure incident experienced by this aircraft in November 2010 and is not unique to Qantas," the Qantas spokeswoman added. "It has now been repaired."
"We have traced the origin. Airbus has developed an inspection and repair procedure which will be done during routine, scheduled four-year maintenance checks," the planemaker said.
Qantas said it would comply fully with the formal guidance now being developed by Airbus, which is likely to require A380 operators to inspect wing ribs for this type of cracking every four years.
Airbus revealed on Thursday that "minor cracks" had been found on some of the aircraft, but the European planemaker said they posed no safety problem and recommended a way they could be fixed.
"Minuscule cracking was found in the wing ribs of the Qantas A380 being repaired in Singapore," a Qantas spokeswoman said in a statement.
The crack on the Qantas A380, which is barely visible to the naked eye and less than a centimetre long, is on the plane that suffered a mid-air engine explosion after take-off from Singapore in November 2010.
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"Investigations have found that the cracking is unrelated to the engine failure incident experienced by this aircraft in November 2010 and is not unique to Qantas," the Qantas spokeswoman added. "It has now been repaired."
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"We have traced the origin. Airbus has developed an inspection and repair procedure which will be done during routine, scheduled four-year maintenance checks," the planemaker said.
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Qantas said it would comply fully with the formal guidance now being developed by Airbus, which is likely to require A380 operators to inspect wing ribs for this type of cracking every four years.
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