Qantas says 16 Rolls-Royce Trent 900 powerplants for its Airbus A380 fleet require modifications or replacement.
Of these 16 engines, five have been replaced, says the carrier. It adds that it has completed one-off oil stub pipe inspections on the first of the two aircraft to have resumed service.
"No issues outlined by the ATSB were found, and the aircraft will operate to London via Singapore as schedule this evening. Inspection of the second aircraft has commenced," says Qantas.
The announcement follows the Australian Air Transport Safety Bureau's release of a preliminary report about the uncontained Trent 900 engine failure over Indonesia on 4 November, which forced a Qantas A380 to make an emergency landing in Singapore.
"With CASA's (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) approval, two A380s have returned to service with Qantas voluntarily applying a range of conditions that include not operating the aircraft across the Pacific until further operational experience has been gathered."
The carrier adds that it will receive two new A380s in the coming weeks, with another two due for delivery in early 2011.
According to Flightglobal's ACAS database, Qantas operates six A380s, has 14 on order, and options for an additional two. Of the six operational aircraft, the A380 involved in the 4 November incident will "remain in Singapore for sometime," says Qantas, where it will undergo extensive repairs.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
