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1 December 2010
Last updated at 23:00 ET
Air safety investigators in Australia say they have identified a serious manufacturing fault with engines fitted to Airbus A380 passenger jets.
A misaligned component of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine used on a Qantas A380 which exploded last month thinned the wall of an oil pipe.
This caused "fatigue cracking", which prompted leakage and ultimately a fire.
The investigators warned that the critical safety issue could potentially lead to "catastrophic engine failure".
They issued a directive urging Rolls-Royce to "address the safety issue and take actions necessary to ensure the safety of flight operations".
Qantas said it would conduct further engine investigations as a precautionary measure, but stressed that there was "no immediate risk".
"Qantas currently has two A380 aircraft in operational service, following the grounding of the fleet on 4 November. Both A380 aircraft will be inspected at the Qantas Jet Base in Sydney," the airline said.
The pilots of the November flight made a successful emergency landing in Singapore after one of the engines exploded in mid-air.
Not all A380s use Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines. They are used on 20 aircraft owned by Qantas, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.
The double-decker A380 is the world's largest passenger airliner, and can carry up to 800 people. The six Qantas A380s carry about 475.
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A misaligned component of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine used on a Qantas A380 which exploded last month thinned the wall of an oil pipe.
This caused "fatigue cracking", which prompted leakage and ultimately a fire.
The investigators warned that the critical safety issue could potentially lead to "catastrophic engine failure".
They issued a directive urging Rolls-Royce to "address the safety issue and take actions necessary to ensure the safety of flight operations".
Qantas said it would conduct further engine investigations as a precautionary measure, but stressed that there was "no immediate risk".
"Qantas currently has two A380 aircraft in operational service, following the grounding of the fleet on 4 November. Both A380 aircraft will be inspected at the Qantas Jet Base in Sydney," the airline said.
The pilots of the November flight made a successful emergency landing in Singapore after one of the engines exploded in mid-air.
Not all A380s use Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines. They are used on 20 aircraft owned by Qantas, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.
The double-decker A380 is the world's largest passenger airliner, and can carry up to 800 people. The six Qantas A380s carry about 475.
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