A Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI) Airbus (EAD.PA) A380 turned back to Singapore after an engine problem three hours into flight SQ26 to Frankfurt on Tuesday, the latest in a string of incidents affecting the world's biggest passenger plane.
SIA said crew reported a surge in one of the A380's four Rolls-Royce (RR.L) Trent 900 engines and it would be inspected in consultation with the British enginemaker.
The A380 landed without incident and passengers were put on a replacement flight, an SIA spokeswoman said, adding the original flight left Singapore at 00:05 am local (1605 GMT).
"We are aware of the situation and working with our customer to investigate," a Rolls-Royce spokesman said.
A380 planes have been affected by a number of technical problems including minor cracks on part of its wings.
Earlier this month, Airbus said it would need years to get past problems with wing cracks on its flagship passenger jet after European air safety regulators ordered checks for wing cracks on the entire superjumbo fleet. Engineers had found cracks in almost all planes inspected.
In late 2010, an engine on a Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) A380 exploded in mid-air over Indonesia, forcing the plane into an emergency landing in Singapore and leading the Australian carrier to ground its superjumbo fleet for nearly a month.
SIA, Singapore's flag carrier, is one of the biggest users of the A380, with 16 of the superjumbos in service and three more scheduled for delivery this year.
Shares in Airbus parent EADS were up 0.3 percent at 30.9550 euros at 0820 GMT, while Rolls-Royce shares were 0.2 percent higher.
(Additional reporting by Harry Suhartono in Singapore)
Reuters
