Following reports of stress fractures in the support brackets which connect the composite wings skins of the super jumbo Airbus A380-800 passenger jet, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has ordered inspections of all 69 aircraft currently in service, as reported by the BBC News, Reuters News Service, Bloomberg Business News, and other media sources on Wednesday, February 8, 2012.
EASA, which is based in Cologne, Germany, advises members of the European Union (EU) on matters of civilian aviation safety.
Those carriers most impacted by the inspection order are located outside the EU, but are used on long haul routes to London and other European destinations. They include Emirates Airline (EK) with 20 aircraft; Singapore Airlines (SQ) with 16 jets; Qantas Airways (QF) with 12 planes; and Korean Air (KE) who have been operating 5 A380-800 aircraft.
Additional carriers include Lufthansa (LH), 8 planes, Air France (AF), 6 planes, and China Southern Airlines (CZ) with 2 aircraft.
A total of 253 of the aircraft have been ordered by 19 airlines, with options to purchase an additional 41 planes at a unit cost of $389.9 million in U.S. dollars. As of February 3, 2012, 85 Airbus A380s have rolled off the assembly lines. According to Reuters News Service, the planes have not sold as well as originally expected.
The Airbus A380 is assembled in Toulouse, France, but major structural sections of the A380 are built in France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Wing components of at least 20 of the jets were built in North Wales. In a single seating configuration, the double deck plane can accommodate as many as 853 passengers, but most carriers are using a three class seating plan with seating for 525 people.
Aviation experts, including Australian Peter Marosszeky, who is seen in the attached video clip and slide show which accompany this report, believe that the appearance of the cracks are part of normal growing pains or "teething problems" as he calls them, and do not compromise the safety of the aircraft, or diminish the reputation of the plane's manufacturer.
He cites three reasons for contributing to the cracks, including problems with (1) materials, (2) design, (3) under calculation of stresses.
Carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, glass-fiber reinforced plastic and quartz-fiber reinforced plastic are used extensively in wings, fuselage sections, tail surfaces, and doors.
Engineers are no doubt reviewing all of these factors, which have appeared in a new form of cracking discovered in 20 of the aircraft. Qantas found 36 small cracks in key wing components, and grounded that plane until structural repairs are completed. Most of the other Airbus 380 aircraft will undergo routine scheduled maintenance within the next 6 weeks.
The cracks have surfaced in the feet of wing ribs, a structure which connect the wing's ribs to its skin, and have about 2,000 feet of combined space. Small cracks measuring less that 3/4 of an inch have appeared in less than two feet of that total area, but if uncorrected, the problem could escalate.
The L-shaped part in which the cracks have appeared is not a primary load bearing structure and do not pose an immediate danger.
As stated in the European Aviation Safety Agency order, "This condition, if not detected and corrected, may lead to reduction of the structural integrity of the airplane."
The seven airlines currently operating A380s must carry out factory-sanctioned checks and make preliminary repairs on every plane before 1,300 flights. Aircraft that have already reached this number will be the first to be inspected.
Bloomberg News reports that the issue is one of corporate image and marketing, which could impack public confidence and future sales, Bob Mann, president of the aviation advisory firm of R.W. Mann & Company in Port Washington, New York. saying "It’s understandably concerning to passengers. The presumption is that airlines aren't supposed to have cracks, when in fact they all do."
Taken in that context, the issue is similar to an auto maker issuing a recall notice. Car owners don't want to think they are driving an unsafe vehicle, which some might call a "lemon."
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