An oil pipe that was improperly milled during the manufacture of an Airbus A380’s Rolls-Royce engine developed a fatigue crack that eventually leaked oil, causing a fire inside the no. 2 engine that spurred the violent breakup of a turbine disc as the aircraft departed from Singapore for a flight to Sydney, Australia, the morning of Nov. 4, 2010. Portions of the turbine disc penetrated the engine case and perforated the wing, ripping open a fuel tank and severing large bundles of electrical wiring.
In its final report on the accident, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) commended the Qantas Airways crew for safely returning the crippled aircraft and its 440 passengers to Singapore. “The flight and cabin crew managed the event as a competent team in accordance with standard operating procedures and practices,” the report said.
The uncontained failure occurred in a Rolls-Royce RB211 Trent 972-84 engine. The investigation revealed that “numerous other engines” in…
