Airliners-India

karatecatman · Guest

Stability problem sees Qantas A380 delivery delayed
SCOTT ROCHFORT
October 14, 2009 .

QANTAS will have to wait until December for the delivery of its next two Airbus A380s, after encountering flight stability problems with one of the superjumbos, which had been expected to start flying on the US route next month.

The airline confirmed the 450-seat jet would need to undergo further tests at the Airbus factory in Toulouse.

However, Qantas dismissed talk that its number five A380 could not stay straight while on auto-pilot.

''Any suggestion that this aircraft is not able to fly straight would be incorrect,'' Qantas said in a emailed statement.

The problem relates to the ''flight trim'', which involves the aircraft's ability to keep its centre of gravity while in the air.

''Qantas has robust contractual provisions in place with all aircraft manufacturers, including Airbus, that govern tolerances around aircraft specifications, including flight trim,'' the statement said.

Qantas said that it did not expect ''any commercial impact'' as it was yet to publish the schedules for the jets leading into the summer holiday season. One mitigating factor is the continued weak demand in the aviation sector, which has taken pressure off airlines to receive jets on time.

The latest delay follows one of two years Qantas had in receiving its first A380. In all it has 20 on order.

Qantas faces a far longer delay in the delivery of 65 787 Dreamliners from Boeing. Deliveries of the model were meant to begin last year, but it is still to make a test flight.

The A380 glitch also comes at a bad time for Qantas. This week an A380 flight from Sydney to London was delayed by 26 hours due to hydraulic problems.

A Qantas A380 service into London put emergency crews at Heathrow on standby when it reported landing gear problems before eventually landing without incident, the Aviation Herald website said.

In July, the same jet had to do a flyover of Heathrow for safety crews when it reported landing gear problems.