MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Emergency order to inspect all A380 engines; Qantas grounds its six Super-jumbos

A total of 52 double-deck, wide-body, A-380s have been manufactured so far

European Union’s air safety regulator has issued an emergency order to inspect all Super-jumbo Airbus A380 passenger jet engines after a Rolls-Royce turbine blew up on a Qantas flight last week.

A 380 is the largest passenger airliner in the world which can carry 525 passengers and has a unit cost of 365 million US dollars.

The order by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) confirms earlier indications from investigators that they suspect a turbine disc on Rolls-Royce engines was the cause of an explosion on the Qantas Airbus A380 jet.

“This condition, if not detected, could ultimately result in uncontained engine failure, potentially leading to damage to the airplane and hazards to persons or property on the ground,” EASA said in its emergency directive.

Qantas, the leading Australian airline, said this week that it had found small oil leaks in Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines on three of its other Airbus A380s during tests it ran after the November 4 incident over Indonesia.

Qantas said on Thursday that it was keeping its six A380 Super-jumbos grounded until further checks were completed.

Singapore Airlines also said on Thursday that it was inspecting its A380 engines after EASA issued the warning.

“We are inspecting our wider fleet in accordance with the directives set out by EASA and the recommendations from Rolls-Royce,” the airline said in a statement.

Singapore, the first to fly the world's largest passenger jet, operates 11 A380s.

German carrier, Lufthansa, the other airline using the Rolls-Royce engine type, said its planes were all flying after safety checks were completed. It said one engine was replaced as a precaution.

Airlines, however, are worried about the financial impact of grounding planes and changing schedules. Aviation experts said the European directive involved a major safety inspection which would likely disrupt flight schedules.

The Airbus 380 is a double deck, wide body, four-engine airliner manufactured by Europe’s Airbus. The largest passenger airliner in the world made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse, France, and made its first commercial flight on 25 October 2007 from Singapore to Sydney with Singapore Airlines. The aircraft was known as the Airbus A3XX during much of its development phase, but the nickname Superjumbo has since become associated with it.