The fallout from Qantas’ Airbus A380 engine blow out looks to be spreading. Singapore Airlines (SIA) has now grounded three A380s in Melbourne, Sydney and London.
After precautionary checks conducted last week after the emergency incident involving a Qantas aircraft, SIA has decided to change engines on its superjumbos. Flights out of the cities mentioned will be delayed, but the carrier said it was sparing no effort to minimise the impact on customers.
A replacement plane has been arranged for a flight today from Melbourne to Singapore. SIA owns 11 of these behemouth planes.
Qantas immediately took its five other A380s out of service after the aircraft on flight QF32 experienced severe engine failure on November 4, 2010 and was forced to make an emergency landing in Singapore with 459 passengers and crew on board. The fleet remains inactive (see news).
Rolls-Royce, the aircraft engine manufacturer, yesterday was quoted as saying it had made "good progress" in understanding the cause of the faulty engine. The trouble, it said, was specific to its Trent 900 engine, which powers the A380 aircraft.
It remains to be seen whether other A380 operators such as Emirates, Lufthansa and Air France will follow SIA's move.
Margie T Logarta
