Another 7 Qantas engines to be replaced
from the Brisbane Times
THE British jet-engine maker Rolls-Royce has told Qantas that it is likely to have to replace another seven engines on its A380 superjumbo fleet after inspections found the potential for oil leaks.
Singapore Airlines is also believed to have been informed that it will have to change up to 20 of the Trent 900 engines used on its fleet of 11 A380s, while the German airline Lufthansa faces two replacements.
The latest advice from Rolls-Royce means up to 29 replacement engines will have to be found. It confirmed on Friday that the failure of a ''specific component in the turbine area of the engine'' on a Qantas A380 on November 4 shortly after take-off from Singapore caused an oil fire that led to a turbine disc exploding.
The need for replacement engines creates headaches for the three airlines whose A380s are powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent 900s due to a lack of spares. Because the A380 superjumbos are such new aircraft, Rolls-Royce and the aircraft manufacturer Airbus do not have a ready supply of engines.
Qantas has already had discussions with Airbus and Rolls-Royce about obtaining replacement engines should they be required, placing it ahead of Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa. However, the likelihood of further engine changes means it could take longer for Qantas to return its A380s to service and cost it more in lost revenue.
''The longer it goes on the worse it gets for them - they don't want those planes out of service for too long,'' an analyst said. Qantas has so far replaced three engines on three separate aircraft since it grounded its A380 fleet on November 4 but has been told by Rolls-Royce that it could have to replace as many as seven more. Even if some do not have to be changed, engineers are likely to have to make modifications to the engines.
Singapore Airlines grounded three A380s last week to allow for three engines to be replaced. Two of the aircraft have since returned to service while the engine change to the other A380 is almost complete. It takes up to 36 hours to replace an engine.
A spokesman for Singapore Airlines, Nicholas Ionides, said last night that he could not ''speak definitely'' about the number of engines that might have to be changed because investigations had not been completed.
Qantas said it was continuing to inspect engines on its A380s to meet the requirements under the airworthiness directive issued last week by the European Aviation Safety Agency.
Meanwhile, air-safety investigators have discovered that the audio from QF32's cockpit voice recorder at the time of the engine failure has been lost. The safety bureau said the audio was overwritten because the recorder, which is on a continuous loop, taped the pilots for more than two hours after the engine blew.
A bureau spokesman, Richard Batt, said the loss of the audio was not a significant issue.