AIRBUS SUPERJUMBO JET GETS ITS WINGS CLIPPED. “In an industry where safety is an absolute necessity, any defect can be devastating to an aircraft maker. The European company Airbus is learning that the hard way: small cracks on wing brackets of the A380 have angered operators, who have demanded compensation for the time their fleets have been grounded for repairs. As the FT reports, the cracked brackets are minor defects that both Emirates and Airbus say do not make planes unsafe to fly, although regulators disagree. But still, the defect has been found on ten A380s operated by Emirates, who has 69 more of the plane on order. All of Singapore Airlines’ ten A380s have similar cracks as well.”