Airbus A380 news stories on Newser

Rolls-Royce Paying $100M to Qantas for Engine Blast

Rob Quinn — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 01:42:10 CDT

Rolls-Royce has agreed to compensate Qantas for the mid-air disintegration of an Airbus A380 engine last year. The Australian airline grounded all of its A380s for weeks after the incident last year, which investigators blamed on an oil fire caused by a manufacturing defect. The disintegration triggered an emergency landing,...

Airbus' Star Jet Grounded After Air Show Flub

Matt Cantor — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 06:14:13 CDT

The world’s biggest air show begins today, but Airbus won't be showing off the gem of its fleet—the superjumbo A380 has been grounded after it collided with a taxiway building, damaging its wingtip. It’s just one of several Paris Air Show embarrassments for the Boeing rival, the AP reports:...

Jumbo Jet Clips Plane at JFK

Rob Quinn — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 04:44:00 CDT

All passengers escaped without injury after two planes collided on the ground at New York's JFK airport last night. A wing of an Air France Airbus A380—the world's biggest passenger jet—clipped the tail of a commuter Delta Connection plane while taxiing to the runway for takeoff, AP reports....

Passenger Showed Qantas Co-Pilot Airbus Damage

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 11:51:05 CST

When the Qantas Airbus A380 engine blew apart on Nov. 4 , it was a passenger who pointed out the extent of the damage. The passenger, who also just happened to be a pilot, was watching a tail camera feed on the plane's entertainment system when he noticed that the Airbus...

Investigators Pinpoint Airbus Engine Fault

Matt Cantor — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 08:27:05 CST

Following a Qantas engine explosion last month, investigators have isolated a major fault in some Airbus A380 engines, the BBC reports. Rolls-Royce’s Trent 900—the kind used on the Qantas flight—had a misaligned part that weakened an oil pipe wall, resulting in “fatigue cracking,” which led to leaking and...

Rolls-Royce Beats Engine Fire Rap, Lands $1.2B Contract

Nick McMaster — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:02:28 CST

The fact that a faulty Rolls-Royce engine caused a fire and the subsequent grounding of Airbus A380s around the world seems not to have affected the company's business: It just won a $1.2 billion contract to provide engines and maintenance for Dubai's Emirates Airlines. In fact, it's gotten $4....

Qantas: Half of World's A380s Need Engines Replaced

Rob Quinn — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 05:57:30 CST

The chief of Qantas Airways has chilled the hearts of nervous fliers—and Rolls-Royce shareholders—by saying up to half of the world's fleet of Airbus A380 jumbos using Rolls-Royce engines need to have their engines replaced. The CEO says the engines need to be replaced because of a faulty...

Electric Glitch Triggers New Qantas Flight Emergency

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 02:08:00 CST

Less than two weeks after a hair-raising Qantas landing, another of the airline's planes was forced today to return to Sydney's airport because of an electrical problem. Airline spokesmen did not discuss the specifics of the glitch, but mechanics were examining the Boeing 747 that had been bound for Argentina,...

Oil Fire Blamed in Qantas Engine Failure

Polly Davis Doig — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 06:35:20 CST

An oil fire may have caused the engine blowout that forced one of Qantas's superjumbos to make an emergency landing last week in Singapore. Europe's aviation safety regulator today issued the finding, reports the AP, and ordered airlines to undergo "repetitive inspections" of all planes with Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines....