Aircraft Industry: Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes in production found with wing cracks

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Boeing's much-delayed 787 Dreamliner has hit another production snafu. Hairline cracks have been discovered in the wings of some 787s that are being built. The Chicago-based manufacturer said none of the 122 jets already flown by airlines around the world are affected.

"We are confident that the condition does not exist in the in-service fleet," Boeing spokesman Doug Alder said in an email. "We understand the issue, what must be done to correct it and are completing inspections of potentially affected airplanes."

Read more: Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes in production found with wing cracks - World - CBC News

European Aircraft Industry: EU to give green light to Airbus A380 wing repairs

A380

The European Aviation Safety Agency said on Monday it would give formal approval to repairs designed to eliminate potential wing cracks on the Airbus.

A draft directive means aircraft being retrofitted with newly designed wing components will no longer be subject to a special regime of checks, completing a vital step towards ending a 16-month trauma surrounding the world's largest jetliner.

From the first quarter of 2014, Airbus will deliver A380s incorporating modified wing designs, removing the need for retrofitting planes in service or on the production line.

Read more: EU to give green light to Airbus A380 wing repairs | Reuters

Aircraft Industry: Airbus A380 wing flaw undetected for a decade

Airbus said efforts to lower the weight of the world’s largest airliner lay behind recent A380 wing cracks and pledged to learn from mistakes that lay dormant for a decade, as repair costs looked set to climb toward 500 million euros.

EADS subsidiary Airbus reported the cracks in January, leading to checks on the worldwide fleet of A380s, which authorities say are safe to fly.

Airbus chief executive Tom Enders said the discovery inside the superjumbo’s wings, where new lightweight carbon-composite materials and traditional metal meet, showed the difficulty of pushing technical boundaries in the ultra-competitive industry.

The A380 was designed in the early part of the last decade. At the time, the aircraft needed to lose weight, in part because of efforts to make it quieter, which required larger and heavier engine fans.
To drive down weight, a decision was made to mix metal and lightweight carbon components inside the wings, but engineers could not tell how this would stand up to extreme temperatures.

Read more: Airbus A380 wing flaw undetected for a decade

Airbus - Wing cracks: Airbus expects to solve A380 problem by year's end - not considered safety hazzard

Airbus expects to have a permanent solution for tiny cracks in the wings of its A380 superjumbo jets by the end of the year and repairs completed by the end of 2013, a spokesman says.

The company is currently carrying out temporary repairs to the micro cracks found in the wings of some 17 of the aircraft last year.

At the same time the company is looking to come up with a permanent solution to the problem, which has been traced to a small number of faulty brackets among the thousands that hold the wing's skin to the structure.

Airbus has insisted that the cracks do not pose a safety risk, and envisages that the repairs can be made in 2013 when the aircraft undergo regular servicing.


Read more: Wing cracks: Airbus expects to solve A380 problem by year's end