Celebrated Qantas A380 grounded after ‘embarrassing mishap’ on return flight
The celebrated return of Qantas’s final A380 has turned into a maintenance nightmare after a wing component failed during its comeback flight, which safely landed in Los Angeles.
Qantas has been embarrassed by a structural mishap during the celebrated return to service of the last A380 in the airline’s fleet, and now the aircraft is back into maintenance.
Registered VH-OQC, the superjumbo landed in Australia last Friday after three years in storage in the California desert and then an extended stay at a maintenance facility in Abu Dhabi.
During this, its first commercial flight since 2020 from Sydney to Los Angeles, passenger Lynn Gilmartin was alarmed to see a wing slat on the double decker break off.
The flight landed safely in LA but has been grounded since then as engineers work on the damaged wing.
A Qantas spokeswoman confirmed the slat on the left wing of the A380 was found to be damaged after landing in LA on Sunday.
It was noted that aircraft could continue to operate safely in the event of a damaged slat, and procedures were put in place to land without using the slats which help to slow speed.
“The aircraft operated normally and landed without incident,” the spokeswoman said.
“Engineers are now replacing the slat so it can return to operations.”
In a post to social media, Ms Gilmartin said there were also problems with power on the aircraft and, as a result, the in-flight entertainment was not working and seats would not recline.
With the A380 out of action, the return flight to Sydney late Sunday was cancelled, angering passengers, including former Australian ambassador to the US Joe Hockey.
He posted Qantas’s text informing passengers of the flight cancellation to Instagram, with the comment “you must be kidding”.
“We are sorry your upcoming flight QF12 to Sydney on Sunday December 7 has been cancelled,” the text read.
“The aircraft now requires extended maintenance to ensure a safe flight. Our dedicated resolutions team is working closely with our VIP service team to find alternative flights and will update in you in approximately 60 minutes.”
The mishap followed more than 100,000 hours of work on the A380 to prepare for it to rejoin the Qantas fleet.
A statement issued by Qantas last week said “this is the largest maintenance check completed in Qantas’ 105 year history representing a significant milestone for its engineering and fleet renewal programs”.
“Qantas has progressively brought its A380 fleet back into service over the last few years,” the statement said.
“Each aircraft has undergone extensive engineering checks along with a full cabin refurbishment before returning to the fleet.”
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is awaiting a report from Qantas on the incident ahead of making a decision as to whether an investigation is warranted.
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Originally published as Celebrated Qantas A380 grounded after ‘embarrassing mishap’ on return flight
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