Regulators Order Inspections for Entire Airbus A380 Fleet

PARIS — European air safety regulators on Wednesday ordered inspections of the entire fleet of Airbus A380 jets for tiny cracks in a wing component, extending a directive that had applied to only about a third of the 68 superjumbos in service. 

The news that the A380 wing bracket cracks could be more widespread comes at a time when Airbus's chief rival, Boeing,

is also grappling with what it said were minor defects on its 787 “Dreamliner” — refocusing attention on the teething pains that often accompany the roll-out of new planes.

The broadening of the A380 checks followed a decision by Qantas Airways of Australia to ground one of its planes this week after dozens of cracks were found during a maintenance check. 

That aircraft, one of 12 A380s Qantas flies, had encountered heavy turbulence during flight, but had not come under the scope of the regulators’ previous order, which was issued last month. 

Dominique Fouda, a spokesman for the European Aviation Safety Agency, said that all seven airlines that currently operate the A380 would now be required to inspect their planes for the hairline fissures within the next few weeks. The previous order had applied only to the most heavily used planes in the fleet: those that had flown more than 1,300 take-off and landing cycles since first entering service in 2007. 

Since late last year, two types of cracks have been identified in L-shaped brackets that connect the aluminum skin of the A380’s enormous wings to its structural ribs, which are made of a combination of metal and lightweight, plastic-based composite materials. About 40 brackets — each about eight inches, or 20 centimeters, long — are on each rib, with a total of 2,000 brackets spanning each wing. 

Airbus has repeatedly described both problems as minor and said that while the brackets needed to be replaced, they did not pose an imminent safety risk. The plane maker said last month that it had traced the problem to a manufacturing process that has since been modified. 

On Tuesday, Boeing said that it had identified a production problem affecting the rear fuselage of its new 787 but also stressed that it posed no short-term safety issue. It said there was no need for immediate inspection of the five 787s currently in service with All Nippon Airways of Japan. 

Randy Tinseth, Boeing's vice president for marketing, confirmed in a blog post that “incorrect shimming was done on the support structure of the aft fuselage of some 787s.” A shim is a spacer used to fill small gaps between components that commonly occur during manufacturing. 

Mr. Tinseth said Boeing had devised a fix for the problem and work had already started on some 787s that are still on assembly lines. The repairs should take no more than a few days, he said, adding that 787 customers awaiting delivery had been informed of the issue. He did not say whether there would be an impact on delivery schedules. ANA had been scheduled to receive its next 787 later this month. 

Analysts said that the production flaws would raise awareness of the problems both Airbus and Boeing were facing with their new, high-profile planes. But some downplayed the impact the discovery of the defects would have on the companies’ overall safety image. 

“I think there has been a sea change in the manner and approach that Airbus and Boeing have taken in responding immediately when a problem has emerged,” said Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGC Partners, a London brokerage. 

“Their pro-activeness holds them in very good stead not only with airline customers but also with their peers in the industry as well as the public,” he said. “People will not be alarmed by this, nor should they be.” 

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