Airbus cracks prompt EU safety regulator

Airbus's flagship A380 superjumbo planes will require inspections after additional cracks appeared on structures inside the wings, the European Aviation Safety Agency (Easa) said. Easa planned to issue an airworthiness directive yesterday advising airlines on procedures, Dominique Fouda, a spokesman for the agency, said by phone from Cologne, Germany, on Thursday. The agency hasn't yet determined how often the planes will need to be checked, Fouda said. The planned safety ruling follows separate disclosures last week by Singapore Airlines and Qantas Airways, which said they had found small cracks in parts known as wing-rib feet, which attach the rib, a vertical structure, to the cover of the wing. Article continues below Airbus chief executive officer Tom Enders said that while the cracks are ‘embarrassing', they pose no dangers to passengers on the 525-seat planes. "I can't say I'm proud" of the situation, Enders said in an interview with CNN that aired late on Thursday after Easa announced its intention to require inspections. "We're obviously investigating how it happened. We think we have a good understanding but the investigation is ongoing." Airbus had initially advised on January 5 that the faults, linked to a manufacturing issue, could be fixed during scheduled four-year maintenance checks and didn't need immediate checks. Applying a fix Airbus has developed a "repair solution" that can be applied if necessary, Enders said. He attributed the cracks to a "manufacturing process," and said Airbus is applying a fix on aircraft being built. "Safety is an absolute priority," Enders said, adding that the defect wasn't something that would show up on other models. The US Federal Aviation Administration said in an emailed statement that its engineers are working with European Aviation Safety Agency on the issue. No US airlines operate the jet. Engineers first discovered the cracks in the wing ribs of a Qantas A380 while they were repairing the aircraft, which was badly damaged after the mid-air explosion of a Rolls-Royce Trent engine shortly after a takeoff from Singapore in November 2010. Initially, engineers thought the cracks were related to the accident. Further inspections showed cracks on other A380s in the fleets of Qantas and Singapore Airlines, leading Airbus to advise repairs during regularly scheduled four-year maintenance checks. Deutsche Lufthansa's fleet of eight A380s is as yet unaffected by the cracks, Patrick Meschenmoser, a Frankfurt-based spokesman, said. Air France KLM Group, whose Air France unit operates four A380s, will take any necessary measures, a spokeswoman said.