Airbus says A380 wing cracks pose no risk to safety

Posted by: Carl Paez Wednesday, 1 February 2012 7:53 AM[UAE] - USA

Most of the publish articles do little to address the causative factors and potential repercussions if these cracks are not corrected in short order.
I became very aware of Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) on the Lunar Module (back in 1967). The 7449 alloy is known to be susceptible to SCC. In addition Airbus says that the creep forming of the wings is not as exact as they had hoped for. Consequently, the "rib feet" seem to have a gap under the wing skin before the fasteners are installed. When the fasteners then pull up the flange of the rib feet and apply a residual stress. 7449 alloy under such pre-stresses will generate small crack as a function of time.if more cracks are allowed to develop, then the stringer/skin combination that makes up the many "beam columns in the wing could be compromised. I say this because if the rib feet were to not provide support for a stringer/skin element, then they could begin to fail rapidly as a loaded beam column.

Posted by: Adam Friday, 13 January 2012 12:28 AM[UAE] - UK

Maybe, just maybe Airbus do not need to check this with an engineering school as perhaps they have fully trained, qualified engineers, with a lot more experience and knowledge than people commenting here with regards to aircraft design, manufacture and maintenance.

Do you not think that this was taken very seriously and investigated the moment it was reported / found (and i dont mean the day it was in the newspaper) - backed up with full stress calculations, simulations and modelling to ensure this was not a safety issue.

Why would Airbus even consider taking the risk of jeopardising the safety of their passengers? The ONLY people who are responsible for their business survival??

Come on people, think before you make comments!

Posted by: kay Sunday, 8 January 2012 11:22 AM[UAE] - Canada

"Airbus says A380 wing cracks pose no risk to safety", this comment from Airbus is highly irresponsible and unacceptable, you cannot afford to take passenger safety and lives for granted.

Posted by: Telcoguy Monday, 9 January 2012 5:44 PM[UAE] - UAE

@Kay (and others) I suggest you stop flying as every single plane has microscopic cracks. In fact I can assure you that every single aluminum structure, like the frame of an airplane, will fail under cyclical load (the kind an airplane experiences)
Aluminium has no fatigue limit so there is no lower threshold that would prevent the micro cracks. In this case, they seem to be in a non-critical location that is non-load bearing.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatigue_limit)

This is part of an struggle between Qantas and their workforce. The mechanics have resorted to some fear spreading, and seems to be quite successful with some people.

Actually it would have been a good idea on the part of AB to check this with the local engineering school.

Posted by: Jake Sunday, 8 January 2012 1:58 PM[UAE] - UAE

I highly doubt they do! If even 1 of the 380 goes down, it would certainly spell the end of Airbus as major Airlines would reconsider already placed orders.

After all this is not only the flagship for Airbus, but for those Airlines that ordered it.

Posted by: Jasper Williams Saturday, 7 January 2012 11:42 AM[UAE] - USA

Any crack on an aircraft is a problem,especially on the wings. You know how to build planes surely you can stop the wing supporting structure from cracking by using thicker metal, using stiffiners, or support brackets. Inspecting these areas every 4 years is not acceptable.

Posted by: Terence Sunday, 8 January 2012 5:55 PM[UAE] - Netherlands

Well, today we have a Quantas A380 experiencing severe turbulence over India during which 7 passengers were injured. So I think it's safe to say that if there was any question of an inflight breakup due to the cracks in the rib attachments, It would likely have taken place during that flight.

Also, cracks of this nature are not unusual. Last year, cracks were found in a number of Boeing 767 engine pylons. That event doesn't appear to have ended Boeing's career and I'm sure Airbus won't be be affected by this incident either.

Posted by: procan Sunday, 8 January 2012 9:04 AM[UAE] - canada

Does not inspire confidence does it ?

Posted by: We Are The People Saturday, 7 January 2012 10:25 AM[UAE] - USA

"We have traced the origin. Airbus has developed an inspection and repair procedure which will be done during routine, scheduled 4-year maintenance checks".

The maintenance schedule they are referring to here to is called D -Check also known as a Heavy Maintenance Visit (HMV). It is usually performed once every 4 to 6 years. Extremely detailed and comprehensive also very costly. Nevertheless, any aircraft showing any sign of skin cracking regardless of the cause, it should be fixed and maintained immediately. You just cannot run the risk of being wrong here, the lives of many trusting passengers are at stake here. You really do not want a controllable situation to turn ugly.