An Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger jet, operated by Emirates airline, was damaged on July 1 during a 14-hour flight from Dubai to Brisbane. During the flight, passengers are said to have heard a loud bang.
“There was a loud bang and I could feel it through the floor,” a passenger told Australian newspaper The Courier Mail. “The cabin crew remained calm, stopped distributing meals and started making phone calls. They checked the wings and the engines.”
According to aviation website ‘The Aviation Herald’, the pilots informed air traffic control about a possible problem when landing in Brisbane. Emergency services were on standby on landing.
The plane landed safely in Brisbane. According to an Emirates spokesperson, who spoke to the website ‘Simple Flying’, 1 of the 22 tires would have exploded when the aircraft was at cruising altitude. Images on Twitter show a hole in the fuselage, but according to Emirates the hole is limited to “the aerodynamic fairing”. That is a part on the wing that gives the aircraft less air resistance.
The airline emphasizes that “at no point was there any impact to the fuselage, frame or structure of the aircraft.” After landing, the aircraft was towed to the tarmac. After repairs, the aircraft flew back to Dubai on 3 July.
