Damaged QF A380 @ LAX?

[FlyingPhotog]

My co-worker in LAX said there's a QF A380 there with stress cracks in the wing. He e-mailed me 4 photos but I can't see the cracks clearly. Anyone know about this? I believe it's VH-OQA. I can barely make out an A on the nose gear.

[YYZPICS]

"Wing" is a pretty vague word.. I would highly doubt that it is no more then paint.

I would love to see those photos.

Edit: It could very well be delamination if it is a composite part, ive mistaken this for cracks aswell, ill post a picture, let me find it..

[FlyingPhotog]

"Wing" is a pretty vague word.. I would highly doubt that it is no more then paint.

I would love to see those photos.

Edit: It could very well be delamination if it is a composite part, ive mistaken this for cracks aswell, ill post a picture, let me find it..

It's been at LAX since Thursday 1/22, so I doubt it's just paint. They have been using a 744 on the route the past few days. The photos were shot from too far away to get any detail.

[Jet-fighters.Net]

Found this saying that it is grounded due to low oil pressure in one of the engines.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/world/world/general/qantas-a380-grounded-in-los-angeles/1416675.aspx

[FlyingPhotog]

Found this saying that it is grounded due to low oil pressure in one of the engines.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news...s/1416675.aspx

That's interesting. Unless it required an engine swap, that bird should be back in the air before now, right? Could it be possible QF doesn't want customers to know of the damage to the pride of their fleet? Sorry to play "devil's advocate." I'm no mechanic but it just seems odd.

[ATFS_Crash]

Edit: It could very well be delamination if it is a composite part, ive mistaken this for cracks aswell, ill post a picture, let me find it..

I would consider delamination a form of cracking. I would consider delamination to be a subcategory or a cause of some types of cracking.

"In no way was this a safety issue, but Qantas will always take precautionary measures and ensure safety before schedule," the spokeswoman said.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/world/world/general/qantas-a380-grounded-in-los-angeles/1416675.aspx

Don’t you love when “experts” seem to contradict themselves with their own apparent dishonest doubletalk?

I think the first half is just an attempt to inoculate themselves from criticism. I think it is strangely contradictory and deceptive in an attempt to stop any panic. However on the contrary I find the dishonest doubletalk to raise an eyebrow.

I suspect that this is a minor issue and that they are just trying to spin it in a way that is likely to sound official to confuse the public to dispel hysteria/rumors. I think it’s nothing more than damage control. Part of the reason I find this disturbing is unafraid it sets a precedence and makes me wonder if the status quo is misleading doubletalk (as it is with most of the media).

It’s probably some minor issue that could be considered a safety issue. To play it on the safe side they are probably investigating and trying to resolve the minor issues before continuing with normal operations. I think that would’ve been a more professional and honest and simple explanation that the spokeswoman should have given.

In my opinion there seems to be somewhat of a Freudian slip of a contradiction by the spokeswoman. She seems to say there is no safety problem; but yet seems to imply that the aircraft was grounded for safety issues. As it is clearly evident that the aircraft was grounded for safety issues (Oil pressure).

[Cargo Runner]

Is there any more A380's with 'engine' problems, hiding around the globe?

[Dmmoore]

If an engine change is required, the spare will have to arrive via a charter flight. It can take a couple of days to arrange the flight. It's sometimes faster / cheaper, to move the aircraft to the engine (3 engined ferry)

I have no info on this specific aircraft's problem.

[AJ]

ATFS_Crash, that was the best example of doubletalk I've heard....yours, not the Spokeperson's.

The aircraft arrived back in Sydney this morning as QF12 after repairs were carried out on one engine's oil system.

The engine change rate on the A380 has been very high, with SingAir changing several and even Emirates (different engine type) having to change two.

[AA 1818]

The aircraft arrived back in Sydney this morning as QF12 after repairs were carried out on one engine's oil system.

The engine change rate on the A380 has been very high, with SingAir changing several and even Emirates (different engine type) having to change two.

AJ, just as a question though - is that unusually high, or can we just discount the fact as 'first-time owners' jitters - I mean, even though these pilots are experts and are very well trained, maybe they are pushing the aircraft a bit much. Also, are any of these aircraft some of the original aircraft off of the line (that Airbus announced would be a bit overweight)? Could that have the some effect? If we were to look at other aircraft that were launched by a certain customer (for example when AA launched the DC-10) did teething errors such as this arise?

[MCM]

That is a fairly high rate of issues for an engine.

Of note, however, is that they're not necessarily all engine failures inflight... it could be after the aircraft has landed they've found unusual wear and decided to change the engine.

It will take time to learn about the new engines, and sort out any issues that are arising.

Can't really blame Airbus when its engine troubles, best start blaming RR/GE

[Mel]

Can't really blame Airbus when its engine troubles, best start blaming RR/GE

No doubt that it's mostly the Airbust stuff that they attached to the engines that's causing the trouble.

Maybe somebody can come up with some photos that show what a bare-bone-engine looks like coming from the engine factory vs what one looks like just before Airbust installs it on the wing.

[MCM]

It is possible that some of the accessory parts are causing problems. To have to do an entire engine change because an accessory breaks is a bit unfortunate though....

[Alessandro]

So anyone got any info how many hours the A380 has flown, only thing I got was 21 thousand hours for the 13 commercial flying aircraft published last month.
Even better would be to get a full chart of testflights and which engines RR or GE?

[YYZPICS]

The first thing there going to do is validate that there is a snag, so they got a low oil pressure indication, first thing, check the oil pressure transmitter, make sure your pressure switch is not closing at a higher psi then what its suppose to be at. I would then check my pressure and scavenge filters, make sure there good. The bigger components are next, oil coolers; you could have a pinhole leak that’s feeding your oil into your fuel system. Swap your pressure pumps, dare I say your gearbox. if all the components are checked out and deemed airworthy, then your problem is internal, any internal seal or bearing that is shot, is no easy fix, your taking flanges apart!

Time to replace that engine, there is no need to have an A380 sitting on the ground.

Would love to hear Don expand as well, he has many years of experience