All A380 airbuses to be inspected for wing cracks

The latest incident involved an A380 operated by the Australian carrier Qantas. Thirty-six hairline cracks were found during routine checks at Sydney’s main airport after a flight in which it experienced severe turbulence.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has now ordered a maintenance check on all 68 Airbus A380 superjumbo planes that are currently in use.

The discovery of more cracks was predicted after Airbus last month announced the problem. It warned that a consistent pattern would emerge until it had time to conduct repairs.

However the cracks discovered at Sydney airport – each no longer than two centimetres – appear to be different to those found in earlier A380 wings, said Qantas.

Previously the EASA had asked that just 20 A380 superjumbos undergo an inspection, but it has now ordered that the whole fleet be examined.

Airbus said that the A380s are still safe to fly, despite the recent series of A380 wing cracks, which it blamed on design and manufacturing flaws. However the plane manufacturer declined to comment on the additional inspections.

Qantas said in a statement that the cracks found on its aircraft are not as serious as those found previously.

“This type of cracking is different from the ‘type two’ cracking found on certain A380s in the global fleet, which is now the subject of a European airworthiness directive,” it added.

British Airways is due to take delivery of the first of 12 A380s next year and Virgin has ordered eight superjumbos which will arrive in 2015.

The first barely visible cracks on an A380 surfaced in November 2010 during repairs to a Qantas jet whose wing was torn open by a mid-flight engine explosion.