Airbus on Tuesday said it would inspect 16 A380 planes, five of them immediately, after cracks were found in a key wing component on aircraft used by the Emirates and Qantas airlines.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has ordered urgent inspections requiring airlines to examine the wing-spar structure on the affected jets after inspectors found cracks during routine maintenance checks.
The cracks appeared in a structural beam that runs along the wing and carries much of the aerodynamic load during flight.
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