The engine explosion on one of the A380s sparked a global safety review Air safety investigators in Australia say they have identified a serious manufacturing fault with engines fitted to Airbus A380 passenger jets.
A misaligned component of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine used on a Qantas A380 which exploded last month thinned the wall of an oil pipe.
This caused "fatigue cracking", which prompted leakage and ultimately a fire.
The investigators warned that the critical safety issue could potentially lead to "catastrophic engine failure".
"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," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said.
It said the problem was "understood to be related to the manufacturing process."
It urged 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."
'No risk'Qantas said it would conduct further engine investigations as a precautionary measure, but stressed that there was "no immediate risk".
"Qantas currently has two A380 aircraft in operational service, following the grounding of the fleet on 4 November. Both A380 aircraft will be inspected at the Qantas Jet Base in Sydney," the airline said.
Airbus A380
- World's biggest passenger jet, with two full-length decks
- Can carry up to 800 passengers
- Can fly 15,200 km (9,424 miles)
- First commercial flight October 2007
- Length 73m (238ft)
- Wingspan 80m (262ft)
- Current operators (Rolls-Royce engine): Qantas (6 planes); Singapore (11); Lufthansa (3)
- Current operators (Engine Alliance engine): Air France (4); Emirates (13)
The pilots of the November flight made a successful emergency landing in Singapore after one of the engines exploded in mid-air.
Singapore Airlines, which also uses A380s with the Rolls-Royce engine, says it is already checking its fleet "on a daily basis".
"The new checks advised by the ATSB will be carried out as quickly as possible," the airline said in a statement.
Qantas Flight QF32 experienced an engine failure over western Indonesia, before safely returning to Changi airport. It was carrying 440 passengers and 26 crew.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said at the time of the emergency landing that it appeared the blowout was "an engine issue" and not one of maintenance on the two-year-old plane.
It was the most serious incident involving the twin-deck A380 superjumbo passenger plane in its three years of service.
Not all A380s use Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines. They are used on 20 aircraft owned by Qantas, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.
The other A380 aircraft - with Air France and Emirates - use a different engine.
The double-decker A380 is the world's largest passenger airliner, and can carry up to 800 people. The six Qantas A380s carry about 475.
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