Ridiculous to find cracks this soon in operation, sounds like they were found during routine phase maintenance and will likely be found in the same general area on all A380 manufactured to date.

The way a wing used to be built was to stress, inspect, beef up and repeat.

Like I mentioned before Airbus had engineered this aircraft to the tightest weight restricting tolerances they could, the largest indication of this was their failure to meet the initial wing load testing. I can not find word one on the INTERNET about their solution and the successful test that deemed the wing capable. It was big news one day.. And then the big delay due to cabin entertainment wiring pushed the aircraft delevery schedule MONTHS! This was all you could read about day after day!!!!

I am sure there is no serious risk but this will mean beefing up those ribs, this will probably result in creating another stress point, beef it up and so on until the aircraft weighs more than they would have been happy selling it for in the first place.

Who knows I could be wrong, time will tell. You can be damn sure Airbus and their customers will keep it as quiet as possible though.

@Topspot:
 

:ok:
and if it is not in the SRM, the Airbus design office needs to be contacted before any further flight,
conservative is very progressive compared to the Airbus design office, they don't take any risk.

So no worries about the Airbus statement!!

However since it is the media now, they need to publish detailed information and solution(s) to re-establish the trust to the public.

Re Wing flexing......I remember an episode of wings once that included the Galaxy 5A......you should see THAT one. If I remember right, there is a system to 'dampen' the flexing....when they turned it off, it looked like the d@mn thing was flapping it's wings like a bird. Perhaps Galaxy flyer could confirm this....? Actually, the only thing that bothers me about this problem is that the aircraft are basically brand new, and this is showing up already. I understand with a new design that there are always 'teething pains'.....but this situation is rather surprising. It will be interesting to see what comes next.....

Lufthansa half 380 fleet in hangar
 

Was it the reason to have 4 out of 8 Lufthansa's 380s in the hangar (2 inside 2 nearby) in EDDF on Dec 28th when we were landing from LHR ?:eek:

grounded27

This one part of your response may not be correct.

I believe the cracks were found on the wing that suffered the uncontained engine failure during the extraordinary repair work.

Lack of flights between Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Could you imagine the news, and passenger reactions, if the headline said "Cracks causing fuel leaks" and pilots/engineers started posting "that's unsafe and I wouldn't fly it"?

Well, that exact situation(cracks causing fuel leaks) occurred. Fuel leak was a known issue and tracked.

The whole 'what, where, when, why' for any crack needs to be understood.

To the best of my knowledge, the wings are built in England
(southwest of MCT, just passed the border with Wales)

Absolutely :ok:

and it is by the professionals, else the regulator wouldn't let it fly

Clearly to some PPRuNers cracks found on the ground early on in an aircraft's career are big bad news.

To engineers they are a beautiful confirmation of the fail-safe aspects of the design.

Airbus indeed must have their hands full. Better to catch something like this sooner than later. Did fuel leaks or a battered wing due to the engine failure or both drive someone into those tanks?

Wing craks in A380.....
 

Sorry, Serafim, whilst I realise that English is probably not your primary language, your post makes absolutely no sense.

Safety
 

Hope you did not mis-read my post. From what I get the aircraft that were found with cracks in the ribs were not due to routine maintenance. I would like to confirm that the initial investigation into the wings were as a result of fuel leaks and possibly the un contained engine failure probably causing damage to the lower wing skin. If this is true, un-scheduled maintenance found this serious problem that will likely be found on most A380's in service if they decide to look.

In light of the daily fail putting up ANOTHER article about this, someone has now commendted on it:

"Cracks in any metallic frame are a sign of failure..... IT IS NOT METALLIC... It is composite Fibre.... It is also in an area of brackets that are there for production purposes... If it was possible to take these out after the wing is finished they would have done... They have no Structural Component to the finished plane.... It has been stated over and over again... Airbus say its safe, the bodies that regulate aircraft say its safe. The conspiracy theorists are have a field day over this"

Is this true about the location and importance or are they talking rubbish?

MORE cracks!
 

BBC News - A380 wings to be checked for cracks, EASA says

Anyone seen this article on today's BBC?

"Following an unscheduled internal inspection of an A380 wing"

Well, I guess that's one way to describe aftermath of QF32 :D

Source of mine tells me they suspect faulty heat treatment of the material in certain batch numbers during manufacture may be the problem, whatever the case im sure it will be sorted quickly

As the Aviation Herald says, the AD issued today reads exactly like an Emergency AD -- though EASA isn't calling it that.

News: Airworthiness Directive regarding Airbus A380 wing cracks

If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

:rolleyes:

Anyone Else the Least Bit Concerned?
 

A380 wings to be checked for cracks, EASA says Airbus said there was no immediate threat to safety. (maybe later then)

Twenty Airbus A380s will have to undergo checks for cracks in their wings, the safety regulator has said.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said the planes, a third of the current fleet, would undergo a "visual inspection" for cracks.

A few planes, which have carried out more than 1,800 flights, will need inspections within four days, it said.

Airbus said the cracks were not an immediate threat to safety. If cracks are found it will carry out repairs.

The problems could affect planes operated by Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Air France.

Cracks

The agency said it has determined that the cracks may develop on aeroplanes after a "period of time" in service.

"This condition, if not detected and corrected, could potentially affect the structural integrity of the aeroplane," said the agency in its directive ordering the inspections.

This is the second set of cracks found on A380 wings.

The first, which were less serious, emerged during repairs to a Qantas A380 following a blowout of its Rolls Royce engine in November 2010.

That prompted more widespread investigations and more serious cracks were found in the UK-made wings on Thursday.

If more, similar, cracks are found aircraft may be grounded in order to carry out a repair programme agreed between Airbus and regulators.

Repairs

Only planes which have carried out more than 1,800 flights are being targeted urgently, those which have flown between 1,300 and 1,800 flights must be tested within 6 weeks.

"Airbus confirms that during routine inspections some additional cracks have been found on a limited number of non-critical brackets (known as rib-skin attachments or wing rib feet) inside the wings of some A380s," the company said in a statement.

However EASA warned further steps may be needed.

"As a result of the on-going investigation, further mandatory action might be considered."

(manager tech ops, me)

It's weird.

Brand new aircraft, top engineering and latest technology.

Cracks in the correct places that are expected is one thing, especially after years of service.

But this is different. Very different. Airbus didn't expect them, and their official statement makes me think they are as surprised as the engineers seeing them for the first time.

I am sure they will all be grounded until thorough checks and tests has been done, together with necessary repairs... And this will cost Airbus more money and reputation.

There is nothing like a reliable and safe Boeing.

My understanding is that the cracking issue is an assembly problem, neither design nor fatigue related. No design changes required, but more careful attention to assembly processes to avoid pre-loading the structure.

Hi,

So .. this is a minor problem ... :ok:

My gut reaction is that it is less of a problem than turbine disks which like to go out and get some fresh air by way a high speed transit through the wing...

Stop fretting, the boys are on it!

Well, let's be fair.

That engine came apart thanks to a failed oil seal.

But it's like they say: One structural failure can ruin your whole day (cracks or shrapnel? Who's counting?)

:bored:

hangar layover
 

so.. does this mean that my seat on the upper deck of an A380 on Tuesday out of CDG might not have me in it ?

Would you guys be calling the airlines asking for a change of intinerary ? Now im not so excited about the nice upgrade I got. I mean don't get me wrong.. I'm happy to go to Heaven, but not via hitting the ground ( or water) first!

I've ridden the A380 (LH) and I would do so again.

The taxi ride to the airport is still the most dangerous part of the journey.

:)

But still, we need to call a spade a spade.

Bon voyage.

Sassy,

by that time, Tuesday, the most affected airplanes should not be flying anymore. Possibly, however, you might find yourself on some other airplane if too many of them are in the check and therefore not available.

Whether to rebook or not in the end you have to make that decision. I don't think any airline right now would blame you.

Novelty is always interesting but one has to remember that while the early bird might get the worm, only the second mouse gets the cheese!

The European Aviation Safety Agency has issued a directive requiring precautionary checks on brackets within the wings of certain Airbus A380 aircraft. We are liaising closely with Airbus and are carrying out inspections in full compliance with the directive.


As checks are being carried out, some flights normally operated by A380s will be temporarily operated by other aircraft. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.


Affected flights at this stage will include SQ346 from Singapore to Zurich and SQ345 from Zurich to Singapore, on 24 January, 25 January and 26 January. Flights over these three days will be operated with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. There is no change to scheduled departure and arrival times.


Singapore Airlines will waive administrative fees/penalties for refund, rebooking or re-routing, for customers holding confirmed tickets issued on or before 21 January 2012, for travel on SQ346/345 from 24January 2012 to 27 January 2012, both dates inclusive. This also applies to KrisFlyer redemption tickets.


The safety of our customers and crew is our number one priority and we will ensure that we take whatever action is needed for the continued safe operation of our Airbus A380 fleet.


For contact details of our offices around the world, please click on the following link: Singapore Airlines

Can anyone post some pictures or diagrams of the wing components that have cracks in them. I would like to know exactly where they are. Many thanks.

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...80wingrib1.jpg

The cracks (less than 1cm long) were found on the feet of the wing ribs. The feet attach the rib to the wing skins.

Airbus has traced the problem to the 7449 aluminium used in the wing ribs. 7449 is more sensitive to the way the parts are assembled on the wing. They ruled out flight loads or fatigue as causes.

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...gAssembly1.jpg

A few years back, Machine Design reported:

My guess is that 7449 is lighter than the other stuff. What a disaster, it looks like the ribs and the feet are one single milled piece (pos). Not much of a sheetmetal guy but this does not seem like a simple fix.

I think you are right about the metal ribs.On the carbon ribs the rib feet are riveted.
Check Machacas first picture upper rh corner.

7449 alloy is basically aluminum + 8.1% zinc and a minor percentage of a few other elements. From what I have read, the molten alloy is cast in the form of large plates from which the ribs are milled to the desired configuration. Heat treating consists of a solution treatment, tempering treatment followed by an over-aging treatment. This gives the alloy higher tensile strength and modulus verses older aluminum alloys. These properties enable the panels to be designed and subsequently milled to thinner cross sections thereby reducing weight.

My guess would be that the cracks first found in holes of the feet could have been a manufacturing problem where the sharp edges were not radiused to the desired specification in some panels. Holes in structural components are significant stress risers points where small cracks can develop under stress and cycles at sharp corners or edges.

The initial assembly of these A-380 wings is a real engineering achievement!

machaca; many thanks.

I can remember seeing cracks in VC10s, 707s and 747s, even though some of them looked alarming the engineers involved were usually very sanguine! But the structural engineering seemed rather simpler in those days.

I only flew them and hoped never to break them.

I am a non pilot and a non engineer.

Would it be fair to say that the worst case scenario is that:

1. time consuming and expensive checks will need to be carried out
2. expensive repairs will be required
3. these will add weight
4. this will involve the manufacturer suffering financial penalties from customers

Does anyone assert it will be worse than this?

How the Wing is build :
Removed due to no relation to this thread.