Will you trust the A380?

Question

When the 747 first came out, there were many crashes. Now it's extremely reliable. Do you think the A380 will be the same?

Answer 1

First of all, ANYTHING built by human hands is subject to fail..even with the greatest technology. As with any NEW airplane there are many bugs to work out ( This is accomplished through proving flights and certification tests) which are required by the FAA etc.After the aircraft is deemed as SAFE for passenger carrying, it will be certified. Even then, there may be some bugs to work out, but it should be nothing major. There were not that many crashes of the 747 that were a direct result of design/manufacturing problems. Most accidents were a result of pilot error.
Try researching the FAA website for info regarding certification procedures and do a search on the A380.
Feel free to email or message me with any questions I may be able to answer.

Jonathan S.
ATP- LRJET
CFI- AGI
(Former Demo and Cert. Test Pilot- Eagle Aircraft Company)

Answer 2

I think your statement about B-747 having many crashes is incorrect. You should go back and see what caused those accidents, it may surprise you most if not all were caused by pilot error or improper repairs. This information is available at http://www.ntsb.gov. The aircraft was one of the safest aircraft every built and you don’t hear about them breaking up in the air unless some shoots it down.

The B-747 is a very safe and reliable aircraft always has been from the first B-747-100. Boeing did not ask for any FAA waivers such as the A-380 did, kind of makes you wonder why they would ask for waivers.

The reason they asked for a waiver is the aircraft did not meet the same standard in Title 49 Part 25 that the B-747 met. I would reserve any trust issues until Airbus gets all the bugs worked out. I am concerned about he electrical system I wonder if it works correctly now. And if it is such a great aircraft why don’t more airlines purchase it. Simple answer it a looser when it comes to making a profit and money is the bottom line.

I will be on Boeing products well into the future proven products and built in the U.S.A. mostly by Americans and good Yankee know how.

Answer 3

I'll trust the A380 a sight more than I would the Boeing 787!

The A380 has been through an extensive testing and certification program, some of the delivery delays were caused by the rectification of identified faults.

Boeing have still to fly the 787 yet insist that they WILL meet the May 2008 delivery dates; how many corners will they cut on the testing program to ensure they do so? After all, to make the PR date rollout they had to complete with non-standard fittings that then needed removing and replacing. Not good!!!

Answer 4

...I trust it...for now... but believe it is going into production as a failure. I am hoping it will go for at least 3 months before a crash, but when that crash comes, it will be its rapid downfall. In the whole "bigger is better" race, the often overlooked factor of potential casualties is not though about. When she goes down... everybody on board is going down with her. These hundreds of people trying to get out of the same exits, it will be harder to evacuate and there will be more deaths per crash. This, I believe, will lead to the 5 year life of the A380 before it is deemed unsafe and a failure. Boeing made a very smart move to make the 787 to replace mid-sized aircraft that won't be flying as far with as many people. And also, lets keep in mind, the 747 came out long ago (in jet time). It was new and testy. The technology that we have today didn't exist then. Airbus has no excuses if (when) there is a crash, other than they skipped across the job to get it out there and o the public so they could say "oh look we outdid Boeing."..when, in reality, Boeing will "show them up" with time. So I guess, to answer your question, yes, I trust the A380, but no, I don't trust its life lasting more than a few years.

Answer 5

It would take quite a multitude of unfortunate events to bring down an A380. You have to remember the 747 debuted 40+ years ago, and has survived emerging into the digital age of design and control, which is the age the A380 has spawned from.

If you ever do have the misfortune of being on a doomed A380, just go to the bar/lounge area and do a few jager-bombs and you wont be quite as worried about the impending crash.

Answer 6

I will trust it as much as I trust any large airliner. When the 747 was introduced the only airliners the public were familiar with were cramped tubes. Suddenly the wide-body age was here and the public clambered to fly on it. Since then wide bodies airliners are pretty much the norm for anything but short distance travel. In it's effort to match Boeing model for model, Airbus is hoping the public will be as excited again to fly on an airliner which on the surface doesn't really appear to be any larger but carries more people. I don't see this happening again. The traveling public really does not care anymore and are tired of time consuming hub airports.
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EDIT: An 380 has already recently lost a wing tip fence in a ground collision during trials
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Answer 7

No once Airbus (Franco-German Co-operation not english as one said) get the issue about the wiring right its gonna be a great plane. Yet the issue about it is that the Plane is to BIG for most airports to cope with at the moment and many airports reject it because the have to invest millions in modding their Airports to suit it. It is a safe plane otherwise it would not have been certified for passenger transport by the FAA.
Boeings 747 had many crashes???? You mean Douglas had many crashes but the 747 has been one of the most reliable aircrafts around!

Answer 8

I'll surely trust it more than i'll ever trust the B787, because of the delays Airbus has had over 20months to test the aircraft to the extreme and test aircrafts have gained thousands of flying hours. The 787 is yet to fly and it'll probably fly by November(or maybe not with the new rumor of a six month delay), and Boeing still wants to deliver it by May, 2008 saying they'll be running the test schedule on a 24hr basis, wait till fatigue kicks in and one of the engineer does something stupid. So based on the the amount of rigorous testing, i'll surely trust the A380 more. 17 more days till it enters service.

Answer 9

The 747 is nad always has been the safest airliner.
There were 2-3 times when a cargo door blew off and ripped a giant hole in the side, but those aircraft survived.
You cannot say the same about Airbus, which have had tails rip off simply by moving the rudder from full left to full right.

Answer 10

I will and I do trust the A380, Because I have trained on it, I will be one of the lucky Captains that will be flying and big A380. I start flying it in the next couple years, Just got my rating this past August..