European authorities order inspection of all A380s

Feb 8, 2012, 12:34 GMT

Paris/Cologne - The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has demanded that all Airbus A380 aircraft be checked for cracks on their wings, after a new type of crack was discovered on a Qantas Airways jet, a spokesman for the agency said Wednesday.

That means that all 68 of the superjumbo jets currently in service must be inspected, EASA spokesman Dominique Fouda said.

The agency last month had ordered inspections of 20 A380s with more than 1300 flight cycles after two types of cracks were discovered on wing brackets.

France-based Airbus said those cracks were caused by design and manufacturing flaws and that it had found a solution to the cracks.

But on Wednesday the issue widened after Qantas Airways announced it had grounded an A380 after minor cracks were found on the wings.

Qantas said the 36 hairline cracks to the wing rib feet did not compromise air safety and that it expected the plane to be back in service within a week.

The cracks were not the same type of cracks as those found last month on some A380s in the global fleet.

Qantas said the fissures were not related to the severe turbulence the plane encountered while on a flight from London to Sydney last month.

The incident required the plane to lay over in Singapore for a safety check.

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