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Qantas says A380 engine failure may be “design issue”

Separately, a European Union air safety body confirmed it told airlines in August to check for "wear, beyond engine manual limits" on the type of Rolls-Royce engines fitted to the Qantas jet and other A380s.

The engine failure on Thursday, which scattered debris over an Indonesian island, marked the biggest incident to date for the world's largest passenger plane, in service only since 2007.

The incident saw Qantas ground its fleet of six A380s pending safety checks which will take 24-48 hours, and led other airlines to check their own A380s.

"We believe this is probably most likely a material failure or some sort of design issue," Joyce told a news conference in Sydney. "If we don't find any adverse findings in those checks the aircraft will resume operations.."

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said there was no indication foul play had contributed to the incident on the Sydney-bound flight.

Singapore Airlines resumed flying its A380s on Friday, lifting a grounding order imposed after the Qantas incident.

Singapore's clearance of its 11 A380s — the second largest fleet in the world after Emirates — will be a relief for Airbus and engine maker Rolls-Royce, which lost over $1.5 billion in combined market value on Thursday.

EADS shares were flat on Friday, after Thursday's 4 percent fall, while Rolls-Royce shares fell a further 3.3 percent to 601 pence after a 5 percent slide the previous day.

German airline Lufthansa said it had withdrawn an A380 from a flight from Frankfurt to Johannesburg because it did not have enough time to check the engines before departure.

British A380 engine maker Rolls-Royce told A380 operators to perform safety checks on Trent 900 engines.

EADS also told A380 operators using Rolls-Royce engines to have them inspected.

Airbus sales chief John Leahy told Reuters on the sidelines of the Chinese signing ceremony in Paris that he had not received pressure from airlines about the A380's safety.

"No concerns whatsoever," he said, asked if Airbus customers had expressed safety worries following the engine scare.

"We have to find out the reason for the engine failure. The aircraft is operating the way it is supposed to," Leahy said.

One passenger aboard flight QF32 reported hearing a "massive bang" while photographs of the engine showed its outer, rear casing had been torn apart.

"The fact that it survived the damage is a credit to the design. Twenty years ago that would probably have taken the aircraft out of the sky," said John Page, senior lecturer in Aerospace Engineering at the University of New South Wales.

Passengers also reported a second engine on the stricken Qantas aircraft failed to shut down once on the tarmac, sparking fears it could ignite spilling fuel from the failed engine.

SECOND ENGINE PROBLEM

Joyce confirmed the other engine had failed to shut down after landing but said it could have been affected in some way by the mishap to the first engine, which caused parts to fly off. "We are still investigating the causes of that," he said.

Passengers said after landing they had been told of the dangers of using any electronic device, as fire fighters sprayed the aircraft which was leaking fuel from a hole in the wing.

"Obviously in the back of your mind you are concerned about a very hot engine next to leaking fuel," passenger Christopher Lee said. "Obviously, you are in a state of anxiety."

Qantas said its engineers, along with those from Airbus and Rolls-Royce, were working to determine what went wrong.

"Rolls-Royce have identified a number of potential areas," said Joyce. "This issue does not relate to maintenance."

Rolls-Royce had maintained the engines since they were installed on the aircraft, he said.

Qantas shares ended down 1 percent at A$2.86, underperforming the broader market which advanced 1.2 percent to a six-month high.

Commonwealth Bank aviation analyst Matt Crowe said there was unlikely to be any longer-term reputational damage, as investors had tended to "move on" from previous safety incidents which have never resulted in a fatal crash for Qantas.

Joyce said it was too early to assess the financial impact of grounding its six A380s, but Crowe estimated the grounding could cost up to A$20 million ($20.3 million) in revenues if the planes remained on the ground for a week.

By comparison, the volcanic ash cloud that disrupted European air travel in April this year lasted about two weeks and cost Qantas A$46 million in costs and lost revenue.