A380 ENGINE DEFECT?

Question

SYDNEY -- Australia's air safety authority says engines on some A380 superjumbos have a potential manufacturing defect that could cause engine failure.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a statement on Thursday [Dec. 2] a potential fault in an oil tube connection could lead to "fatigue cracking, oil leakage, and potential engine failure from an oil fire."

An oil leak and fire are being blamed for the disintegration during the flight of a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on a Qantas A380 shortly after takeoff from Singapore on Nov. 4.


--From wire reports; St. Augustine Record, December 2, 2010, p. 7A; www.staugustine.com

Answer 1

Deja vous? Didn't Rolls make the rear engines in the DC-10 that would develop a crack in the oil sump? The engine would loose its oil and the vibration would sever the engine mount bolts. The engine would then leave the plane before the passengers.

Answer 2

That 380 is an absolute monster of a craft.

Answer 3

Reasons not to fly keep mounting.

Answer 4

Gotta wonder just where the QA in engineering is. Are their engineer youngsters that can't do the math without a machine so they will never be able to see a mistake before it is built?