Qantas’s fleet of Airbus A380s remain grounded after last week’s QF32 uncontained engine failure, with the airline confirming that “anomalies” have been found on three engines on two A380s after inspections.
Two Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines have been removed from A380 VH-OQC in Sydney, with a third removed from a Qantas A380 in Los Angeles, following the inspection regime instigated following the QF32 incident.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce told ABC Radio’s AM program the inspections had revealed “slight anomalies, oil where oil shouldn’t be on the engines, we’re just trying to check what the cause of that might be.” Nonetheless, he said it was “too early for us to identify what components or part of the engine could have been at issue, we’re keeping an mind eye on it.”
He again reiterated it is “not a matter of maintenance”.
Joyce said he expected the aircraft to remain grounded for “days not weeks”.
“We will leave them on the ground as long as it takes to ensure the safety of the aircraft.”
