LEAD: Airbus ordered to check all A380s for wing cracks

Feb 8, 2012, 16:31 GMT

Paris/Cologne - The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ordered Wednesday that all Airbus A380 aircraft be checked for cracks on their wings, extending an earlier directive that required Airbus to check just a fraction of the fleet.

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

The announcement came as Qantas Airways announced it had grounded an A380 after minor cracks were found on the wings.

Both Airbus and EASA said the safety agency's new airworthiness directive was not linked to that incident.

In January, EASA ordered the inspection of 20 A380s that had clocked up more than 1300 flight cycles, after two types of cracks were found in wing components.

EASA said Wednesday it was extending the inspection after it had been confirmed that 'Type 2 cracks may develop on other aeroplanes, after a period of time of service.'

Such cracks, if not detected and corrected, could 'lead to reduction of the structural integrity of the aeroplane,' EASA warned.

France-based Airbus says the cracks are caused by design and manufacturing flaws and that it has already come up with a fix.

The company repeated Wednesday that the A380 was safe to fly.

'The problem hasn't got bigger. The fleet is safe,' Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath said.

Qantas said the 36 hairline cracks discovered in the wing rib feet - the metal brackets that connect the wing's ribs to the skin - did not compromise air safety and that it expected the plane to be back in service within a week.

Qantas also said they were not related to severe turbulence that the same plane encountered while on a flight from London to Sydney last month, which were caused by 'manufacturing issues.'

Aviation specialists have said that teething problems are to be expected with new aircraft.

The first deliveries of the A380 took place in October 2007.

Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Air France are among the biggest customers of the aircraft.

Singapore Airlines has already repaired some cracks found on its aircraft and put them back in service.

Airbus has said it will cover the cost of any crack repairs.

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