Cracks Found in Qatar Airbus A350–900
- Ryan M
- Jan 20, 2021
- 1 min read
A Qatar Airways Airbus A350–900 was found to have cracks in its fuselage. The aircraft, which is around four years old, had not had a commercial flight in approximately two months. The plane had reportedly been flown to Toulouse in France to be inspected, although Airbus has stated that the issue is superficial. Qatar Airways has not commented on this issue, but we have contacted them asking for a statement. From reports, the cracks are only visible when the top coat of paint is stripped, leading to the possibility that the cracks appear only when the aircraft is painted, then stripped. This also makes it harder for airlines without painted liveries to check whether any of their A350 aircraft may have this problem.
The aircraft had been in Shannon since 13th November 2020, and it brings up serious concerns about the safety of the A350 aircraft family. Qatar Airways are preparing an official statement on the issue, and Airbus technicians are working on the subject.
In Conclusion, it looks as though the aircraft will be ok to fly again, and the issues aren’t significant, but it does mean that other airlines may be concerned about the issue. It is not known whether this is a one-off or maybe appearing in other Airbus aircraft, particularly the A350 family. Again, this is an issue that Airbus must fix quickly.
-Ryan M, Staff Writer.
©️The Touchdown Zone 2021
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