Qantas to Sue Rolls Royce Over "Catastrophic" Engine Problem

While the auto business works great, Rolls Royce is now looking into ways to avoid a lawsuit that could be filed by Australian carrier Qantas for an A380 engine problem. The British group hasn't commented on the claims but Qantas has already reserved its right to start legal action against Rolls Royce under the Australian Trade Practices Act.

Investigators said the problem affecting the turbine was "catastrophic" because it could lead to a fire, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.

"This condition could lead to an elevated risk of fatigue crack initiation and growth, oil leakage and potential catastrophic engine failure from a resulting oil fire," an official of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source.

The main recommendation of the Safety Bureau was for Rolls Royce to "address the safety issue and take actions necessary to ensure the safety of flight operations in transport aircraft equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 900 series engines". And the British group replied, through the voice of a spokesperson, in a positive way.

"The safety recommendation of the ATSB is consistent with what we have said before. We have instituted a regime of inspection, maintenance and removal which has assured safe operation," he said in a statement.

While Qantas intends to negotiate a deal with Rolls Royce, the airline carrier is also keeping its other options open and claims it could file a lawsuit against Rolls Royce in case no agreement is reached.

"The airline has today filed a statement of claim and been granted an injunction by the Federal Court of Australia which will ensure that the company can pursue legal action against Rolls-Royce in Australia, particularly under the Trade Practices Act, if a commercial settlement is not possible. Today's action allows Qantas to keep all options available to the company to recover losses, as a result of the grounding of the A380 fleet and the operational constraints currently imposed on A380 services," the company said in a statement on its main website.

"Qantas remains committed to working with Rolls-Royce on the Trent 900 inspection program, in consultation with Airbus and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA)."

Qantas has already replaced the earliest A-version Trent 900 engines produced by Rolls-Royce with a B-version that come with a number of modifications. The two operating A380 are both using B engines, while alternate Boeing 747 aircrafts are being introduced for long-haul routes to the US and Europe.