Oil fire may have caused A380 problem: Regulator

Europe's air safety regulator said today an oil fire may have caused an engine turbine failure on a Qantas superjumbo, and issued an emergency order requiring airlines to re-examine that type of Rolls-Royce engine and ground any planes with suspicious leaks.

The order by the European Aviation Safety Authority backed earlier indications from investigators that they suspect a turbine disc was the cause of last week's engine failure on the Airbus A380, but was the first official mention of an oil fire preceding the engine's disintegration.

The A380 engine failure shortly after takeoff from Singapore on November 4 has raised concerns over the safety of the world's biggest passenger airplane three years after its debut. The failure sent shrapnel slicing through the plane's wing and hurtling down over an Indonesian island before pilots made a safe emergency landing with 466 passengers and crew aboard.

Qantas said this week it had found small oil leaks on Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines on three of its other Airbus A380s during tests after the November 4 incident. The airline, Australia's national carrier, said today it was keeping its six A380s grounded until further checks were completed, extending an earlier deadline.

Singapore Airlines yesterday grounded three of its 11 A380s after checks prompted by the Qantas incident revealed what the company called oil stains in the Trent 900 engines. Lufthansa also uses the A380-Trent 900 combination, but said its checks had not turned up anything untoward.

The European regulator said in a new "emergency airworthiness directive" posted on its website today that airlines using Trent 900 engines should conduct "repetitive inspections" of them.

Twenty planes operated by Qantas, Germany's Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines use the Trent 900 engines. Nine have been grounded -- six Qantas and three Singapore Airlines.

EASA said airlines should check several parts of the engines, including the oil service tubes, to ensure there is no "abnormal" leakage. If any such leaks are found, the airlines are prohibited from using the engines.

The directive was issued in response to the Qantas engine failure. EASA said an analysis of the investigation into the incident so far "shows that an oil fire" in part of the engine "may have caused the failure" of the engine's intermediate pressure turbine disc.

"This condition, if not detected, could ultimately result in uncontained engine failure potentially leading to damage to the aeroplane and hazards to persons or property on the ground," the directive said.