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Qantas Grounds A380 Planes After Serious Safety Incident

Qantas Grounds A380 Planes After Serious Safety Incident

Qantas plane - A380 planes groundedAustralian airline Qantas has grounded its entire Airbus A380
fleet after one of its superjumbo jets was forced to make an emergency landing
in Singapore Thursday morning. 

The double-decker jumbo jet was carrying 440 passengers and 26 crew when one of
the plane’s four engines shut down 15 minutes after departing Singapore’s Changi
Airport.

According to witnesses onboard the plane and on the ground, two blasts were
heard and the plane began shooting yellow flames and chunks of debris.

Pieces of the jet where later discovered in the Indonesian island of Batan, near
Singapore. More than 100 pieces of debris ranging from small pieces of metal to
chunks the size of doors were scattered across the island.

The plane circled for 90 minutes, dumping fuel, before making a safe emergency
landing in Singapore. Though everyone onboard emerged unscathed, the plane
itself sustained visible damage.

Part of one engine’s cowling, or covering, had been blown away, and the plane’s
left wing had burn marks and was missing a section of plate that would have been
painted with the red kangaroo logo of the airline. The upper part of the left
wing also appeared damaged.

Airbus A380, World's Largest Jet, Safety ConcernsThe world’s largest and latest airliner, the Airbus A380, has
never had a midair incident of this magnitude. Until today the jumbo jet had a
100 percent safety record.

Qantas officials say they are suspending A380 services until they determine the
cause of the engine failure and a confident that all safety requirements are
being met.

Singapore Airlines, which also operates the A380 as part of its fleet, has also
decided to suspend all A380 flights until it is determined that the engine,
manufactured by Rolls-Royce, goes through precautionary technical checks.

Aviation experts say that the problem may be an “uncontained engine failure,” an
extremely uncommon failure that occurs when turbine debris punctures the engine
casing and the cowling.

The engine failure is unrelated to the recent volcanic eruption of Mount Merapi
in Indonesia. The volcano is located 800 miles to the east, too far for volcanic
dust to travel.

Currently there are 37 A380 in operation around the world: Qantas operates six
of them; Emirates operate 13; 11 are operated by Singapore Airlines; four by Air
France; and three by Lufthansa.

Emirates, which has largest A380 fleet, has said that all of their flights will
go on as schedule. Engine Alliance GP7200 engines—not the Rolls-Royce
model—power Emirates’ planes.

By Adriana Padilla at PeterGreenberg.com

Related Links: Associated Press, CNN

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