Engine failure on Airbus may be down to a 'design issue'

The engine failure that forced a Qantas Airbus A380 to make an emergency landing was "probably" caused by a material failure or a design fault, the Australian airline said yesterday.

Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce said: "We believe this is probably most likely a material failure or some type of design issue. We don't believe this is related to maintenance in any way."

The airline said the superjumbo was carrying 440 passengers and 26 crew when one of its Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines burst into flames shortly after departing from Singapore's Changi Airport.

British firm Rolls-Royce was at the centre of an aviation safety probe, after Qantas grounded all six of its A380 planes, which are fitted with the British-made engines. Mr Joyce told a news conference in Sydney: "This is an engine issue and the engines have been maintained by Rolls-Royce since they were installed on the aircraft."

The announcement came after it was revealed that the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) issued an airworthiness directive on 4 August this year concerning potential problems with the powerful Trent 900 engines.

The directive said that "wear beyond engine manual limits could lead to loss of engine performance with potential for in-flight shut down".

Another Qantas plane, a Boeing 747 jumbo jet, had to return to Singapore yesterday after "an issue" with one of the engines. Flight QF6 had left Singapore bound for Sydney at just after 8pm local time with 412 passengers and 19 crew aboard.

A Qantas spokesman said: "Shortly after take off the aircraft experienced an issue with one of its engines. As a precautionary measure the captain sought priority clearance to return to Singapore. The aircraft landed safely a short time later without incident."

Thursday's incident happened just after flight QF32 had taken off from Singapore to Sydney on the last leg of the flight from London.

One passenger, Singapore-based businessman Ulf Waschbusch, said: "I heard a loud boom noise. I saw pieces of the engine fly off the wing through the wing itself and short bursts of flames for about a second or two at that time."

Mr Joyce said Qantas, Rolls-Royce and the plane's manufacturer, Airbus, would conduct a series of checks on every engine on the airline's A380s. Those checks will be finished within 24 to 48 hours, and if no problems are found the planes would resume flying, Mr Joyce said.

Singapore Airlines, which also grounded its A380s after the Qantas incident, said in a statement it had resumed flights of its superjumbos after having completed precautionary checks that were recommended by Rolls-Royce and Airbus.