Airbus 380's have cracks in the wings. Dont worry about it though.

[NikolaeVarius]

Almost every single plane ever has cracks, unless it is just off the assembly line. You really think planes go through hundreds of take off and landings a year with hundreds of pressurization and depressurization and the metal is in PRISTINE condition?

The SIZE of the cracks is where shit starts to matter, and as to where they are, and Ribs aren't each critical to flight. It keeps airfoil shape, and if it fails, it doesn't mean airplane explodes mid air.

 

[iRONic]

If the flying public knew everything we did as A&P's to get a scheduled flight away from the gate on time they just might quit flying.

Google "MMEL"

 

[Bacstar]

Ack...and I'm flying down to California this weekend. Checking my flight now to see what plane I'll be flying on


Update: Boeings

 

[Matthiasa]

all these companies do cost/benefit analysis. The cost of an "incident" vs. the cost to repair this. Makes you feel safer right?

Given that a single accident can cost them billions, I would say so.

 

[Gintaras]

No thanks. I'll stick to Boeing.

And fly American Airlines Boeings - prolly no other airline use older aircrafts than AA - a lot are from 80's.

Jet Blue use new aircrafts, manufactured 2000 and up....

 

[Q]

Planes are safe. There are a few cases where they have been sketchy but overall they're pretty safe.

I don't know why but this just made me laugh ^_^

 

[Gintaras]

Most pics taken ~ 3000-4000 feet above, while going to a landing at JFK, only Korean Air A380 - taking off from JFK:

 

[schneiderguy]

Airbus? More like LOLBus. I would never fly on one of those pieces of shit.

 

[Bignate603]

Almost every single plane ever has cracks, unless it is just off the assembly line. You really think planes go through hundreds of take off and landings a year with hundreds of pressurization and depressurization and the metal is in PRISTINE condition?

The SIZE of the cracks is where shit starts to matter, and as to where they are, and Ribs aren't each critical to flight. It keeps airfoil shape, and if it fails, it doesn't mean airplane explodes mid air.

This. Airframes crack. It's a fact of life. Every plane you've sit in is probably riddled with cracks and some of them can be quite sizable. There's been a massive amount of research into metal fatigue and crack propagation to figure out what it is safe to fly with, what needs to be repaired, and what needs to be replaced.

Honestly, the issues that Rolls Royce had with the A380's engine was far more of a safety risk than this is.

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

If Qantus say it's safe, then it's safe. They're the best airline in the world, they don't fuck around.

 

[MarkXIX]

This needs Gorilla Glue, my new "fix it" resource. It will fix ANYTHING. Just make sure you plan for expansion of the glue and you're good.

 

[grrl]

I trust them. If there ever was an incident due to this, the company would be ruined. They wouldn't risk it.

Ford Pinto?

 

[Balt]

I trust them. If there ever was an incident due to this, the company would be ruined. They wouldn't risk it.

Dunno. Will Airbus survive if they don't get a lot of orders for their 380s?

I suppose they could just get another bailout from Europe if not.

 

[Gintaras]

It's Qantus say it's safe, then it's safe. They're the best airline in the world, they don't fuck around.

I think, SAS or Finnair are safer, they just don't fly A380.
btw, MD-11 - prolly best aircraft ever...just became too old then they've sold most of MD-11.
Finnair now use newer A330, which aren't better than MD-11

QANTAS - Spirit Of Australia, prolly, one of most of safest airlines. Check SKYTRAX, about best - 5 star airlines:

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

I think, SAS or Finnair are safer, they just don't fly A380.
btw, MD-11 - prolly best aircraft ever...just became too old then they've sold most of MD-11.
Finnair now use newer A330, which aren't better than MD-11

QANTAS - Spirit Of Australia, prolly, one of most of safest airlines. Check SKYTRAX, about best - 5 star airlines:

Dustin Hoffman disagrees.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

I love how, when you get on planes, they announce, "In the event of a crash-landing, your seat cushion doubles as a flotation device."

Fuck that! If we're crashing, my seat cushion's going to double as a toilet.

Reports are coming in that an Air France airbus carrying 228 passenges has just narrowly missed the runway at Charles de Gaulle airport.

By 5426 miles

 

[skyking]

Companies are people too!

Just ask the supremes

 

[DAGTA]

This needs Gorilla Glue, my new "fix it" resource. It will fix ANYTHING. Just make sure you plan for expansion of the glue and you're good.

:thumbsup:

 

[KillerCharlie]

Of all the places to have cracks in the wing I'd worry the least about ribs, that's not to say that it's okay if they fail. They mostly just carry a bit of shear load to help transmit the wing loading to the spars/stringers.

We've used tape before on airplanes, but not for structural repairs - mostly to tape down external wiring during flight test.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It's cheaper to NOT fix the problem, and deal with a few crashes, then to fix them all. They probably figure the chance of a crash is low enough that there might only be a couple crashes, and most will be fatal. Fatalities are also cheaper than injuries.

Gotta love corporations and the way they think.

Though in all seriousness, planes are still the safest way to travel. Turn on the radio or the news for an hour and guarantee you will hear of one or more car crashes. How often do airplane crashes happen? The last one I can recall was the one in Russia... and that's... Russia.

 

[ichy]

No thanks. I'll stick to Boeing.

What a ridiculous and irrational thing to say.

 

[ichy]

I think, SAS or Finnair are safer, they just don't fly A380.
btw, MD-11 - prolly best aircraft ever...just became too old then they've sold most of MD-11.
Finnair now use newer A330, which aren't better than MD-11

The MD-11 was a flop. By modern airliner standards it also had a bad safety records, although I would not call it "unsafe." It was certainly inferior to the 777 and the A330/340 family.

 

[Bignate603]

It's cheaper to NOT fix the problem, and deal with a few crashes, then to fix them all. They probably figure the chance of a crash is low enough that there might only be a couple crashes, and most will be fatal. Fatalities are also cheaper than injuries.

Gotta love corporations and the way they think.

No, not really. The list price of an A380 is $375 million. It can carry over 800 people. Do you really think that Airbus or the airline are going to fly something they know to be unsafe when there is over $1 Billion on the line just between the loss of the plane and the lawsuits? That doesn't even factor in any fines, loss of business, or even regulatory investigations that ground the planes.

I work at a company that makes aircraft engines. Nobody messes around with safety of flight issues. You drop everything to deal with one of those and don't stop until it's figured out.

 

[ichy]

It's cheaper to NOT fix the problem, and deal with a few crashes, then to fix them all.

Total BS. Look at what a single spectacular crash (AA 191) did to the DC-10. Air travel is so safe that a single really bad crash could devastate a company.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

If Qantus say it's safe, then it's safe. They're the best airline in the world, they don't fuck around.

Pretty sure its actually Air Qatar/Emirates/Thai