SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) said Thursday it
had discovered five cases of oil leaks on the Rolls-Royce Trent 900
engines powering its Airbus A380 planes.
However, SIA said the leaks were minor and did not
pose any safety issues on the flights.
"It is correct that we have had five cases of oil
leaks on Trent 900 engines but there was no safety of flight issue
on any of those occasions," a spokesman with the airline said in a
statement to AFP.
"The issue that caused the leaks was identified and
corrected. They were minor and we never needed to reduce power
during flight."
He said the leaks were discovered after a Qantas A380 plane made an
emergency landing in Singapore in November last year due to a
mid-air engine explosion.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said in a report that
the blast could have been caused by a possible manufacturing issue
related to oil pipes on the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine.
The Australian safety watchdog said the problem could lead to
fatigue cracking, oil leakage and potential engine failure from an
oil fire.
SIA carried out engined checks on its own A380 fleet after the
Qantas incident.
SIA is the first airline in the world to fly the A380 and now has
11 of the massive aircraft in service, with another eight on
order.
Last month, Qantas estimated it had suffered an A$80 million
(US$81.1 million) financial hit from November's blast and resultant
aircraft groundings. It said it was still discussing compensation
with the British engine-maker.
-AFP/jl