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A380 encounters trouble - again

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) on Dec 18th 2009 at 12:00PM

Everyone was eager to see the Air France A380 leave New York and head for Paris this week, but a fuel-tank issue kept it on the ground at JFK. This was the second problem the world's largest plane had in getting off the ground since it started bouncing between New York and Paris just under a month ago.

The A380 is nothing short of hefty, accommodating 511 passengers, and it gets thirsty. So, when the airline found that fuel wasn't moving properly between its tanks, it had to keep the beast on the tarmac. The 21 A380s in operation by four airlines have completed 8,700 flights and carried 3 million passengers.

The plane's maiden flight was from Paris to New York on November 20, 2009. A week later, an Air France A380 had to return to New York after only 90 minutes in the air because of a technical issue that wasn't disclosed.

Filed under: Europe, North America, France, United States, Airlines

Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)

TRnichols Dec 20th 2009 11:17PM

I thought the French grounded the 380 because the wings didn't flap fast enought!

JD Dec 20th 2009 11:36PM

Correction: Boeing has been solid. The 787 is made of a LOT of new, never before used, composites instead of titanium and aluminum. There has been concern over the wings shearing off under stress. And there is a little known secret that pilots know about, but no-one tells the flying public. These new generations of twin engined jumbo jets, (75s, 76s and 77s) cannot fly very far or very well on one engine with a full load. They are and have been for some time now, endangering us for the sole sake of fuel efficiency. Personally, I'd rather pay more. As for me, I sorely miss the old Lockheed L-1011s. There was a company that knows how to build jets.

Burt Dec 20th 2009 11:40PM

Face it that jet is way too big! I bet it flies half empty and sucks up a zillion gallons of gas and to top that it is made of plastic. We don't want that many people flying here anyway. Everyone stay home and clean your house. WHy are we buying their crap anyhow? We gave them the technology to build jets and they act like jerks to us. I say it is time to fook the rest of the world we don't need them. The CEOs here will just have to settle for a million a year ...the poor babies. I am mostly French heritage and my forefathers died in the building of this country but now I am an American and I am worried about our country. However I drink French wine :) I would have died for my country few years back but now I feel I am not even a part of it any more. We are giving it away all for money. The rich import aliens to be their slaves so they can get richer. What happened to that tax on the rich ? Yes I feel sorry for everyone or do I? Argggggggggggggggggggg Merry Christmas

michael tarquinio Dec 20th 2009 11:46PM

the more I read about the A380 the more I prefer a Boeing made in the USA plane

Stick Shaker Dec 20th 2009 11:48PM

Careful attention to precisely following engineering manufacturing specifications is just as important on metal aircraft components as composite. Recall that United 232 (a McDonnell Douglas DC-10) experienced an uncontained engine failure of the #2 (center) engine on July 19, 1989 while in flight between Denver and Chicago due to an improperly manufactured fan disk, and that airline maintenance procedures subsequently failed to detect the resulting crack. As a result, all hydraulic control of the tail control surfaces was lost, and the aircraft crash landed at Sioux City Iowa with loss of 110 passengers (out of 285) and one of the 11 crew members.

Dean Dec 21st 2009 12:05AM

I agree.The L1011's were great.American made built in Palmdale,Califronia.They were a tri-engine very quit jet back in the seventies.It was the biggest airplane hangar I've ever seen.About 14 planes could be in progress of being built at the same time.They also built the SR71,F117,B1B sweptwing bomber,the B1 flying wing and many others in Palmdale.You can still see them flying out of Palmdale almost every day.Who knows whats flying out of there?Sometimes at night you can hear a plane take off and fly overhead but you never see any lights from the plane.

flyboy29 Dec 21st 2009 12:24AM

Barry I hate to burst your bubble but all up to date commercial airliners are Fly By Wire. The only aircraft using the old analog controls are out dated and not used in commercial air transport and only utilized in smaller private aircraft such as the Cessnas and Pipers. You cant blame the on board computers or electronics or even the Carbon Fiber Composite materials. These technological advances have made air transport safer and more fuel efficient. The main cause of most accidents is Pilot error. Plain and simple.

rtcopley1 Dec 21st 2009 12:58AM

While it's true that most modern airliners use computer assisted controls, Boeing continues to have a backup system that uses the old-fashioned cables, quadrants, and mechanical actuators. When they designed the 777, they debated whether or not to abandon the manual controls but opted to leave them in there, even though it adds weight to the plane, because that's what an overwhelming majority of pilots they asked recommended they do. Boeing has an uncompromising attitude of safety. I saw it first-hand when I worked for the company for 7 years leading up to the successful launch of the 777.

normwolfe@charter.net Dec 21st 2009 12:56AM

The Airbus A-380 is not the largest airplane in the world by any means nor even close to it. The Russian 442 is the worlds largest.

crksr Dec 21st 2009 12:58AM

Buy American made only. Whether airplanes or cars, food items, clothing, shoes or anything else made by Chinese or anybody else, is crap at best. So, insist on the American only theme before you spend. And, that goes for the government too.

N4851J Dec 21st 2009 1:04AM

I will buy American made if I want cheap junk and more so in cars.

normwolfe@charter.net Dec 21st 2009 12:59AM

Sorry I screwed this up. The largest airplane in the world is the Russian Antov 225

penstate79 Dec 21st 2009 11:14AM

LockHEED, yes inDEED. Life was good in the air when Boeing, Lockheed, Consolidated Vultee (CONVAIR), DeHavilland, and Martin were building airliners worth the money. Now there are ONLY TWO, what are we gonna DO???

penstate79 Dec 21st 2009 11:04AM

Used to be, we called 'em "she", as they are ships. How does an "IT" have a "MAIDEN" anything?

Duane Dec 21st 2009 3:24AM

Worlds largest PASSENGER plane, but not the worlds largest plane. C5 Galaxy and a Russian heavy lift craft have those distinctions.

Brian Dec 21st 2009 4:51PM

Antonov An-225 Cossack is the one we were thinking of. She was developed from the An-124, has six big turbofans, and a huge cargo deck. Her maximum gross weight is 1,300,000 lb, and is the world's heaviest and largest aircraft, being heavier than the current double-decker Airbus A380.See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-225.