Qantas says no risk after cracks found in A380 wing

Australian airline Qantas Friday reassured passengers there was no risk to safety after cracks were found on the wings of some A380 superjumbo jets, including one in its fleet. Airbus revealed Thursday that "minor cracks" had been found on some of the aircraft, but the European planemaker said they posed no safety problem and recommended a way they could be fixed. "Minuscule cracking was found in the wing ribs of the Qantas A380 being repaired in Singapore," a Qantas spokeswoman said in a statement. "No immediate action is required by A380 operators because the cracking presents no risk whatsoever to flight safety." The crack on the Qantas A380, which is barely visible to the naked eye and less than a centimetre long, is on the plane that suffered a mid-air engine explosion after take-off from Singapore in November 2010. That incident caused damage to other parts of the plane, which is still under repair, and forced an emergency landing in Singapore. "Investigations have found that the cracking is unrelated to the engine failure incident experienced by this aircraft in November 2010 and is not unique to Qantas," the Qantas spokeswoman added. "It has now been repaired." Toulouse-based Airbus, the main subsidiary of aerospace giant EADS, said Thursday that minor cracks were found on some non-critical wing rib-skin attachments on a limited number of A380 aircraft. "We have traced the origin. Airbus has developed an inspection and repair procedure which will be done during routine, scheduled four-year maintenance checks," the planemaker said. "In the meantime, Airbus emphasises that the safe operation of the A380 fleet is not affected." Qantas said it would comply fully with the formal guidance now being developed by Airbus, which is likely to require A380 operators to inspect wing ribs for this type of cracking every four years. The A380 is the world's biggest passenger jet and a key product in Airbus's line-up as it battles its main rival US giant Boeing for the top spot in the world civil airliner industry. The double-decker plane entered service in 2007 after years of technical delays. There are now 67 in service around the world and, while they have never had a fatal accident, there have been teething problems.