Airline’s head of engineering says inspections already completed on two aircraft generated ‘no concerns’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The wings of six Qantas A380s will be inspected after small cracks were found on some early models of the superjumbo jets.

Airbus has detected small cracks on the outer rear wings of early A380s, with 25 aircraft affected globally.

Qantas’s head of engineering, Chris Snook, said inspections for the six Qantas jets are being done “well in advance” of the required timeframes, with two inspections already completed.

“We have completed inspections on two aircraft and there were no concerns with the structural integrity of the wing,” Snook said on Wednesday.

Airbus said the safety of the aircraft was not affected and the repairs must be carried out within 15 years of the initial wing box assembly.

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“We have identified the issue and designed an inspection and repair scheme,” an Airbus spokesperson said.

The European Aviation Safety Agency said the cracks, if not detected and corrected, could reduce the structural integrity of the wing.

The other airlines requiring A380 inspections include Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Air France and Lufthansa.

Emirates, the world’s largest A380 operator, has started checks on nine of its superjumbos and “so far, there has been nothing untoward in the findings”, a spokeswoman said.