Qantas says A380 engine failure may be ‘design issue’

A faulty part or a design issue may have caused the engine failure on a giant Airbus A380, forcing the Qantas Airways flight to make an emergency landing in Singapore, Qantas chief Alan Joyce said on Friday.                                           

The engine failure on Thursday marked the biggest incident to date for the world's largest passenger plane, which has been in service only since 2007. It forced Qantas to ground its fleet and other airlines to recheck their own A380s.                                           
 

"We believe this is probably most likely a material failure or some sort of design issue," Joyce told a news conference in Sydney.       
 

Qantas has grounded its fleet of six A380s pending safety checks which will take 24 to 48 hours to complete.                                           
 

"If we don't find any adverse findings in those checks the aircraft will resume operations," said Joyce.                                           

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said on Friday there was no indication foul play had contributed to the incident on the Sydney-bound flight.                                            
 

Singapore Airlines resumed flying its A380s on Friday, lifting a grounding order imposed after the Qantas incident. German airline Lufthansa said it would conduct checks without interrupting flights.                                            

Singapore's clearance of its 11 A380s -- the second largest fleet in the world after Emirates -- will be a relief for Airbus and engine maker Rolls-Royce, which lost over $1.5 billion in combined market value on Thursday. EADS shares fell 4%, while Rolls-Royce shares shed 5%.                                           

British A380 engine maker Rolls-Royce issued a statement urging operators of the aircraft to perform safety checks on its Trent 900 engines.                                            

One passenger aboard flight QF32 reported hearing a "massive bang" while photographs of the engine showed its outer, rear casing had been torn apart.                                            

"The fact that it survived the damage is a credit to the design. Twenty years ago that would probably have taken the aircraft out of the sky," said John Page, senior lecturer in Aerospace Engineering at the University of New South Wales.                                            
Passengers also reported that a second engine on the stricken Qantas aircraft failed to shut down once on the tarmac, sparking fears it could ignite spilling fuel from the failed engine.