Well it seems the problems with the A380 wing ribs are getting more serious with Qantas withdrawing one of their aircraft during inspections.
Qantas report that it found “minor cracking has been found on some wing rib feet,” and is working with Airbus to resolve issues, with Qantas reporting they believe these to be from manufacturing issues rather than turbulence issues.
Apparently, these are the different sort of cracks to the type two cracks that forced European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to issue an Airworthiness Directive for urgent inspections
Expect short-notice cancellations.
Meanwhile the EASA Directive will force all 68 Airbus A380 aircraft currently in operation to be checked for wing cracks from the initial ones that were suspected of issues.
Considering the new Boeing 787 scheduled is slowed down due to de-lamination issues too, this isn’t a great time for the latest and greatest aircraft.
