• Emirates, Airbus A380, Penultimate
    Emirates
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    EK/UAE
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Dubai International Airport
    Year Founded:
    1985
    CEO:
    Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum
    Country:
    United Arab Emirates

UPDATE: 2022/07/03 10:49 UTC BY SUMIT SINGH

Emirates has provided an updated statement.

New statement added below..

An Emirates Airbus A380 landed at Brisbane International Airport on July 1st with a huge hole in its fairing. The superjumbo remains on the ground in Australia following this unusual incident.

Soon after departure

Flight EK430 took off from Dubai International Airport at 03:11 GST before a loud bang was allegedly heard soon after takeoff. On approach to Brisbane, the crew advised air traffic control (ATC) that they suspected a tire was blown and requested emergency services to be on standby. The A380 then landed on the airport's runway 19R at 22:44 AEST.

After the 13.5-hour flight, the aircraft was towed to the apron and a notable hole could be seen in the left-hand wing root fairing at the underside of the widebody's fuselage.

Simple Flying reached out to Emirates for comment on this incident. The airline replied with the following statement:

"Our flight EK430 flying from Dubai to Brisbane on 1 July experienced a technical fault. One of the aircraft’s 22 tyres ruptured during cruise, causing damage to a small portion of the aerodynamic fairing, which is an outer panel or the skin of the aircraft. At no point did it have any impact on the fuselage, frame or structure of the aircraft. The aircraft landed safely in Brisbane and all passengers disembarked as scheduled. The fairing has been completely replaced, checked and cleared by engineers, Airbus and all relevant authorities. The safety of our passengers and crew has always been our top priority."

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Word from the cabin

A commenter named Chris on The Aviation Herald claims to have been on the flight when the incident occurred. He was sitting approximately 10 rows in front of the hole on the left side window and shared the following:

“Around 30-45 mins after takeoff we heard a loud bang, I turned to my wife and said that whatever it was it would be stressing the pilots. Definitely didn’t sound like normal turbulence. The rest of the flight was fine, no funny noises that I could hear. Before we landed they told us we had to land on a different runway and get an engineer to inspect the plane for a suspected landing gear problem. Landing felt really smooth. Then with the engine powered down we had to be towed. So surprised to see a hole in the side now!! Thankful it wasn’t any worse.”

Holes in aircraft fuselage have been reported over the years. For instance, last November, a Frontier Airlines A320 suffered a hole in its fuselage from multiple bird strikes. However, such a significant hole on this week's flight is notably concerning.

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The aircraft in question

Registration A6-EVK was the aircraft that landed with the hole. It is just over three years old, arriving at Emirates' facilities in December 2019. It was painted with Journey to the Future special colors in May and was spotted in the likes of Melbourne, Washington DC, Toronto, Los Angeles, and San Francisco in recent weeks.

1920_museum.of.future Emirates A380
Emirates has nearly 120 Airbus A380 aircraft in its fleet. Photo: Emirates

Altogether, Emirates will be keen to investigate the cause of this hole in one of its A380s. Thankfully, there were no injuries, and all occupants disembarked safely in Brisbane.

What are your thoughts about this incident involving an Emirates Airbus A380? What do you make of the overall situation? Let us know what you think in the comment section.

Source: The Aviation Herald