SYDNEY — Leaking oil may have caught fire in the engine of a Qantas superjumbo and set off a violent disintegration that sent pieces of machinery slicing through vital control systems in the wing of the world’s largest jetliner, Europe’s air-safety regulator said.
The agency issued an emergency order requiring airlines to re-examine Rolls-Royce engines on Airbus A380s and ground any planes with suspicious leaks.
The order by the European Aviation Safety Authority echoed earlier indications from investigators that a turbine disc — a heavy metal plate that holds the blades of the turbine that powers the jet — was the first piece to come apart as the Qantas jet climbed over Indonesia. It was the first official mention, however, that an oil fire could have preceded the disintegration.
The A380 engine failure shortly after takeoff from Singapore on Nov. 4 has raised concerns over the safety of the world’s biggest passenger airplane three years after its debut. The failure sent metal hurtling down over an Indonesian island before pilots made a safe emergency landing with 466 passengers and crew aboard.
The disintegration was far more serious than the airline has implied in its public statements, said John Goglia, a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board and expert on airline maintenance. Damage from engine shrapnel to the wing over the engine occurred close to the wing’s front spar, one of two support beams that attach the wing to the plane, he said. If the shrapnel had hit the spar, it could have caused the wing to fall off, he said.
Twenty A380s operated by Qantas, Germany’s Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines use the Trent 900 engines.
Qantas said this week it found small oil leaks in engines on three of its other A380s. The airline is keeping its six A380s grounded until further checks are completed.
Singapore Airlines on Wednesday grounded three of its 11 A380s after checks revealed what the company called oil stains in the Trent 900 engines. Lufthansa said its checks had not turned up anything wrong.
