Oil Fires Blamed For Airbus Explosion

The first detailed report following a mid-air explosion on board a Qantas Airbus A380 has revealed the most likely cause was a crack in an oil pipe that ignited and caused an explosion. The resulting blast caused pieces of the engine casing and other shrapnel to penetrate the wing of the plane causing structural and system damage.

The report was carried out by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau who have issued a safety recommendation to Qantas and other operators of the Airbus A380 Singapore airlines and Lufthansa, while other airlines do have A380’s in their fleet only these three have the Trent 900 engines which are made by Rolls Royce.

The ATSB also stated the damage was caused by fatigue and even extreme maintenance would have failed to spot the potential danger.

Qantas has made steps to take Rolls Royce to court over damages including the cost of grounded its Airbus fleet while tests were carried out, this is estimated at over $100m.