Emirates A388 at Nice on Aug 18th 2023, slat damage
Last Update: July 17, 2025 / 16:17:34 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Aug 18, 2023
Classification
Accident
Airline
Emirates Airlines
Flight number
EK-77
Departure
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Destination
Nice, France
Aircraft Registration
A6-EOM
Aircraft Type
Airbus A380-800
ICAO Type Designator
A388
A post flight inspection revealed damage to at least one of the right hand slats, that needed to be replaced.
The aircraft is still on the ground in Nice about 78 hours (3 days 6 hours) after landing.
On Aug 23rd 2023 the French BEA reported that the crew was selecting CONF 1 (extending first stage of slats and flaps) when the crew heard an unusual noise and felt vibrations. The aircraft continued for a landing without further incident. A post flight examination revealed damage to the #2 slat of the right hand wing, which had sustained substantial damage. The occurrence was rated an accident and is being investigated by the French BEA.
On Jul 17th 2025 the BEA released their final report in French (an English version is to be expected in due time) concluding:
Scenario
During the transition to configuration 1 for landing, when the aerodynamic flow around the leading edge slats was modified, the pilots heard a thud followed by slight vibrations. They continued the approach and landed without further incident. On the ground, an inspection revealed significant damage to the metal composite structure of the trailing edge of slat No. 2 on the right wing. The investigation established that this damage was not the result of a mid-air collision. It was also established that there were pre-existing bonding defects between the upper and lower skins and the honeycomb core. These defects could have weakened the structure.
Actions taken
Airbus recorded three other similar events on the A380 in the following seven months. The manufacturer conducted examinations of the damaged slats, which revealed internal structural defects that may have led to these incidents. Airbus is continuing its analysis to determine the origin of these defects. Pending the findings, an inspection was carried out on all A380s operated by the two affected operators: no similar damage was observed.
Airbus plans to issue two service bulletins in January 2026 to all A380 operators to introduce repetitive inspections during A and C checks to identify potential cracks or delaminations on a leading edge slat trailing edge.
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Aug 18, 2023
Classification
Accident
Airline
Emirates Airlines
Flight number
EK-77
Departure
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Destination
Nice, France
Aircraft Registration
A6-EOM
Aircraft Type
Airbus A380-800
ICAO Type Designator
A388
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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