Airbus A380 jets to be inspected

PARIS, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Airline regulators in Europe have ordered 20 superjumbo Airbus A380 jets to be inspected after cracks were found in a wing bracket.

The hairline fractures were first found on the Qantas jet that was forced to make an emergency landing in 2010 due to engine failure, the Financial Times reported Saturday.

The cracks were discovered as that specific plane was being refurbished, The New York Times said.

Nine of the giant 555-passenger jets have been inspected and tiny cracks in brackets called rib feet were found in two other planes.

There are 68 superjumbo A380 planes in operation, but two of the 20 planes ordered by European Aviation Safety Agency to undergo testing are test planes owned by the manufacturer.

The remaining 18 are flown by Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airline and Air France-KLM, sources said.

China Southern Airlines, Lufthansa, and Korean Air also operate A380 jets, but the mandated inspections were prorated depending on how long each jet has been in service.

Half of the 20 planes are operated by Singapore Airlines, which took its first delivery of an A380 jet in October 2007.

The regulator said planes with 1,800 or more takeoffs and landings needed to be inspected within four days. Planes with 1,300 to 1,799 takeoffs and landings need to be inspected within six weeks. Newer planes could wait until a four-year mandated maintenance check to have the parts inspected.

"This condition, if not detected and corrected, could potentially (over time) affect the structural integrity of the airplane," the regulator said.