QANTAS faces having to do more work to ensure the safety of the Rolls-Royce engines on its Airbus A380 superjumbos after a warning from Europe's safety regulator of possible overheating.
The Australian flag carrier is likely to modify engine pylons on its 10 Airbus A380s over the next three months but indicated the problem was not related to the issue that caused an engine to disintegrate on Flight QF32 near Singapore last November.
But the regulation notice to all airlines from the European Aviation Safety Agency does concern the potential for fire in Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, which were at the centre of the Singapore incident.
That concerned a faulty oil pipe inside the engine, which led to Qantas grounding its Airbus A380 fleet for 23 days and payment of $95 million compensation by Rolls-Royce.
This possible risk concerns the pylons connecting the engines to the wing of the world's largest airliner, with the agency's airworthiness directive proposing holes or vents be drilled into panels on the pylons to prevent any chance of overheating, which could lead to fire.
The potential for a problem was first noticed in testing by the manufacturer Airbus about five months ago, which alerted the safety agency.
The safety regulations notice is expected to become mandatory at the end of October, with the deadline for the work to be carried out on Airbus A380s delivered so far to be 10 months later.
"Should the proposed directive become mandatory, Qantas will comply fully and take the required actions well in advance of the formal deadline,'' an airline spokesman said.
It is expected the work can be done as part of routine maintenance in Sydney, which should not disrupt Qantas Airbus schedules.
Singapore Airlines said yesterday it has plans to modify 12 of its 14 its A380 aircraft with components from Airbus.
"Singapore Airlines is already working closely with Airbus to ensure that we are in full compliance once the AD comes into effect,'' an airline spokeswomen said.
"In short, any modifications that needs to be made, will be made - all in the interest of safety, which is our number one priority.''
An Airbus spokesman said the work involved getting airflow into the pylons to reduce any risk of fire in the case of a petrol leak combined with other complications. It had nothing to do with the problem Qantas experienced last November.
He confirmed the regulation did not apply to A 380s powered by General Electric and Pratt and Whitney engines, which make up about half the 57 aircraft in the skies.
"Airworthiness directives are very common and there's really nothing to be afraid about,'' he said.
"A very rare combination of factors would have to be met and come together, there is not an overheating risk per se.''
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