Says He Hopes Company Reputation Will Not Be Affected

There is a lot of news coming this week from Heli-Expo in Dallas, but one of the more surprising statements came on the eve of another major trade show getting under way early this week.

Airbus CEO Tom Enders made a fairly blunt statement concerning cracks found in the wing rib feet of its flagship A380 superjumbo airliner. "We screwed that up," Enders said in a news conference just prior to the opening of the Singapore Air Show.

Enders said he is hopeful that this issue, along with the problems which arose with the airplane's Rolls Royce engines, would not hurt the planemakers reputation around the world. The French news service AFP reports that Enders promised that the wing cracks would be dealt with rapidly. "We will fix it as quickly as possible, and whatever it costs, that is something too early to say at this point," he said.

EASA has ordered that all A380s be inspected for the cracks which have been found in the wing rib feet of some airplanes. The structures serve as attachment points between the wing skin and the underlying framework.

FMI: www.airbus.com