Accessibility links

Breaking News

Singapore Airlines Grounds 3 Airbus A380s


Qantas passenger plane which made an emergency after having engine problems is shown at Singapore's Changi International Airport, 04 Nov 2010
Qantas passenger plane which made an emergency after having engine problems is shown at Singapore's Changi International Airport, 04 Nov 2010

Singapore Airlines says it is taking three of its jumbo Airbus A380 aircraft out of service while it replaces one engine on each of the planes.

The airline described the measure as precautionary. But it casts further doubt on the safety of the world's largest aircraft and their Rolls Royce engines. Both Airbus and Rolls Royce saw their share prices dip after an engine exploded during a Qantas Airlines flight from Singapore last week.

Qantas grounded its entire fleet of A380s after finding oil leaks in three of the engines. The Singapore Airline engines to be replaced also showed evidence of oil leaks, though the airline said they did not have the same problem as the Qantas engines.

Last week's Qantas flight returned safely to Singapore with 459 people on board after one of its four engines exploded, scattering debris on an island in Indonesia. Officials are still investigating the cause of the mishap.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

XS
SM
MD
LG