Singapore Airlines grounds A380 after wheels roll off runway
An AFP report says that Singapore Airlines announced on Friday that it had grounded an Airbus A380 bound for Sydney after the plane’s front wheels rolled onto grass beside a runway when it came loose from a tow truck.
Nobody was injured in the incident Thursday involving the world’s biggest airliner, a company spokesman said, but the 450 passengers onboard were taken off so the plane could be moved and inspected for any damage.
“The plane steered to the right after it was unhinged on the runway,” an airline spokeswoman told AFP. “The front wheels moved onto the grass patch next to the runway but the aircraft did not move any further.”
There had been no significant damage and the double-decker plane is scheduled to resume its regular flight to Sydney later Friday, the spokeswoman said.
An airline spokesman said earlier Friday that a truck, which was being used to push back the plane in preparation for Thursday’s flight, “experienced some form of failure” causing it disconnect from the aircraft.
The aircraft was not under its own power at the time, the spokesman said in a statement.
Singapore Airlines said most of the passengers who were on the plane had left for Sydney on an overnight flight, while some others flew to alternate destinations such as Melbourne and Brisbane.
Some 10 remaining passengers left for Sydney Friday, the airline said.
In the meantime, Singapore Airlines has received its second A380, with the aircraft handed over in France on Friday morning and expected to land in Singapore on 12 January at 9am.
A Report by The Mole
