Airbus A380 safety inspections ordered

Tom Enders, chief executive of Airbus admitted on the 20 January 2012 that the discovery of wing cracks on the European aircraft maker’s flagship A380 superjumbo was 'embarrassing', as the European Aviation Safety Agency ordered urgent inspections of almost one third of the jets currently in commercial service.

Tom Enders, Airbus chief executive, ordered an internal company investigation in February 2012 into the wing cracks on its A380, as he sought to end weeks of negative publicity about the safety of its flagship double-decker aircraft.

EASA: Airworthiness Directive: 2012-0026 : Wings – Wing Rib Foot – Inspection (8.2.12) http://ad.easa.europa.eu/ad/2012-0026

ESO: Background information: EU safety regulator orders A380 engine inspection http://www.europeansources.info/record/eu-safety-regulator-orders-a380-engine-inspection/

http://easa.europa.eu/ http://easa.europa.eu/

BBC News, 20.1.12: A380 wings to be checked for cracks, EASA says http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16649334

BBC News, 15.2.12: Airbus investigation into how wing cracks developed http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17042253

Spiegel Online International, 21.3.12: The A380 and the Aviation Engineering Dilemma http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,822391,00.html

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