Airbus declares A380 'safe to fly' with wing cracks repair procedure in place

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued an airworthiness directive mandating a prompt detailed visual inspection of the wings of 20 Airbus A380.

This inspection, which applies to aircraft that have already completed more than 1300 flights, will have to be performed within six weeks of 24 January 2012.

Aircraft that have completed more than 1800 flights will have to be inspected within four days of this date.

Singapore Airlines and Qantas are the A380 operators most affected, with the former commencing commercial operations with the big Airbus in late 2007.

EASA says it is working closely with Airbus to ensure the continuing safe operations of the A380.

However Airbus has since announced that it blames a combination of manufacturing and design flaws for the minute cracks which have shown up in recently inspected aircraft. The manufacturaer has ruled out metal fatigue as a factor.

It also announced that it has established a repair scheme to deal with the cracks.

EASA says it will continue "to review the situation closely" and will consider "further mandatory actions" if necessary.

But Airbus' executive VP of programs Tom Williams has declared the A380 "safe to fly".

The wing areas to be inspected are the the brackets that connect the wing ribs to the skin. Airbus inspections have found small cracks in the brackets on some aircraft and EASA considers them to be potential threats to structural integrity.