News on the matter of painting the Airbus A350. In the legal and technological field.
As a reminder, in December 2022, Qatar Airways announced that it was suing its supplier in British courts after it grounded its plane, saying that a crumbling paint job on the fuselage poses significant safety concerns.
He then demands $200,000 in compensation per plane and per day of immobilization, or about $2.5 billion at this stage. A few days later, in response to this announcement, Airbus cancel a contract apart for the delivery of 50 A321neos.
The trial will take place in the summer of 2023 to judge the case on the merits. But this Thursday, both Airbus and Qatar Airways denounced before the British justice the obstacles placed by their opponent in the preparation of the trial.
In a memorandum submitted to London’s High Court on the occasion of a new preliminary hearing and consulted by AFP, Airbus stated that it was encountering “long delays, followed by unhelpful, obstructive and evasive responses” from the company to requests for documents. that he sends to prepare the trial.
The disclosures of Qatar Airways documents, requested by Airbus in court, are “unacceptably flawed” and have “obvious shortcomings”, according to the planemaker.
Airbus thus estimates that it has received only 11% of the around 900 A350 maintenance bulletins considered necessary and requested by its experts. He is also surprised that he has not received any documents or correspondence addressed to or from the CEO of the company, Akbar Al Baker, regarding the A350 problems.
Unless Qatar Airways “takes a cooperative approach, the parties will not be able to complete the required steps before trial,” the planemaker worries.
The Qatari company judges in its letter that the schedule is “tight but sustainable” and says that it is ready to respond to “specific requests”. However, according to her, Airbus’s strategy is to make “increasingly large disclosure requests” (of documents), sometimes at very short notice, while the aircraft manufacturer at the same time has “provided no information” in response. to company requests.
new copper foil
Qatar Airways also denounces the behavior of an Airbus expert whom it accuses of having attempted to take paint samples from an aircraft without this having been planned. He also highlights Airbus’ “totally inadequate response” to his questions about repairs it has made to other airlines’ A350s that have encountered the same problem.
In any case, the aircraft manufacturer has confirmed to Reuters that since late last year it has been using a new type of perforated copper foil (PCF) in the fuselage of these long-haul aircraft.
This sheet is placed between the paint and the carbon fuselage to ensure the strength of the fuselage in the event of a lightning strike. “PCF is used in the rear parts of aircraft delivered from the end of 2022,” an Airbus spokesperson said.
Although Airbus acknowledges that this modification of the equipment used should solve the problem of peeling paint from the fuselage, it still considers that its old technical approach does not pose a safety problem.
EASA supports the position of Airbus
Let’s remember that it all started in June 2020 when Qatar Airways announced the immobilization of 23 A350 of its fleet required by the country’s regulator. She says he has observed “cracks, some severe, particularly around windows, exposure of lightning protection, and damage to lightning protection.”
Qatar Airways maintained that this problem could cause a fire in the fuel tanks. Conclusion, flight safety is compromised
Very quickly, the aircraft manufacturer confirmed this wear, which could reveal a metal mesh integrated into the fuselage made of composite materials, but stressed that it was a “cosmetic” problem.
An explanation confirmed last June by EASA, the main European aviation regulator, which said it had found no evidence that the paint or erosion of the aircraft’s surface represented a safety problem.
“We inspected the aircraft. We did not see any damage that could imply safety concerns,” said Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
Source: BFM TV
