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The Qantas Airbus A380 that suffered an engine failure on 04th November due to a blast that occurred in one of its engines had a severed fuel pipe, revealed the media reports on Friday. The snag which experts believe could have caused a major mid-air explosion occurred on the Sydney bound Qantas flight.
The Qantas Airbus A380 that suffered an engine failure on 04th November due to a blast that occurred in one of its engines had a severed fuel pipe, revealed the media reports on Friday. The snag which experts believe could have caused a major mid-air explosion occurred on the Sydney bound Qantas flight.
The Qantas currently operates a fleet of 6 Airbus A380 planes which run on the Trent 900 engines manufactured by the London-based Rolls Royce. One of the engines of the ill fated aircraft had caught fire, a short while after take off from Singapore. Subsequently, the engine burst apart. According to investigators, leaking oil caught fire leading to a heating of the metal parts. This in turn led to the disintegration of the metal parts and some of these flying metal pieces cut hydraulics as well as an engine control line in the A380’s wing. The pilots lost control over the second wing as well as half of the brake flaps of the damaged wing and had to return to Singapore airport for an emergency landing, the sources state.
In view of the potential grave consequences of the situation, Qantas has grounded its A380 fleet until safety issues are addressed. It can take as long as December before problems are sorted out and the A380s can take to the skies again. The airliner has also updated the schedule for its international flights following the incident.
No Cause of Alarm for Travellers
Those who have booked tickets onboard Qantas’ A380 may face a set back as the airline expects to take as much as 7 weeks to reinstate flights on the superjumbo. The airline has an international fleet that consists of 14 A330s and 26 B747s apart from some 30 aircraft which it can utilise on its international routes to ensure least possible interruption of scheduled international services. As per the airline sources, out of a total of 613 departures, Qantas’ six A380s are deployed to undertake 50 departures every week.
The Telegraph reports that majority of the airline’s flights will be operating as usual. Most flights on international routes are operating as normal. Domestic flights are flying as per the schedule. Irrespective of when A380 aircrafts re-enter service, the airline says that over the coming weeks it will as a part of its new forward schedule, accommodate passengers on its flights across its complete international network.
Rising Troubles for Rolls Royce
As per media reports, Rolls-Royce may well have to pay a hefty compensation to Airbus over the engine failure aboard a Qantas flight. Mail Online quoted Mr Stefan Schaffrath, an Airbus spokesperson as saying ‘We will seek full financial compensation from Rolls-Royce for any costs we have to bear. We are making extra efforts to keep our production flow going and to help our customers maintain their operations. For that, we will seek full compensation’. Airbus will claim extra compensation to the extent it spends on ensuring that its customer airlines face the least possible disruption of services. Earlier, Qantas chief executive, Mr Alan Joyce had projected that Rolls Royce would need to change 40 out of its total of 80 engines.