Airbus is to issue service bulletins to A380 operators early next year detailing checks for leading-edge slat delamination, following an incident involving an Emirates aircraft at Nice.
The crew of the aircraft (A6-EOM) had perceived a muffled noise and slight vibrations while configuring the jet to land on 18 August 2023.
Its slats had been deployed to the ‘CONF 1’ configuration, a setting of 20°, at about 3,500ft and a speed of 212kt – within the maximum of 222kt.
Inspection after arrival found significant damage to the metal composite structure of a right-hand wing slat – located just outboard of the inboard engine. Its upper and lower trailing-edge skin was torn over two-thirds of the slat, with honeycomb structure partially missing.
Airbus informed French investigation authority BEA that no in-service A380 had previously experienced such damage.
But over the subsequent seven months, three Singapore Airlines A380s were found to have sustained similar damage to slats during extension.
BEA says analysis found no evidence of bird-strike, nor indications of an impact from a drone, ruling out a mid-air collision.
No production issue was identified at Belgian firm Sonaca Group, which manufactures the slats, but examination of the damaged structures revealed internal bonding defects – the cause of which has yet to be determined.
None of the 457 occupants of the Emirates A380 was injured and there was no measurable effect, including loss of lift, on the aircraft’s performance.
Airbus plans to issue service bulletins to A380 operators in January 2026, says BEA, instructing repetitive inspections for cracks or delamination of slats, to be carried out during A- and C-checks.
