By Swikblog News Desk | 10 December 2025 | Los Angeles / Sydney
A much-celebrated Qantas Airbus A380 has been dramatically grounded in Los Angeles after passengers spotted what appeared to be a chunk of its wing peeling away on approach to LAX, forcing the airline to cancel its return flight to Sydney and scramble engineers for urgent repairs.
The aircraft, registered VH-OQC and nicknamed Paul McGinness, had only just rejoined the fleet after nearly six years in storage and a 100,000-hour refurbishment program. Qantas had trumpeted the superjumbo’s comeback as proof its long-haul operation was back in full strength. Instead, its first commercial outing has turned into a PR nightmare.
Passenger films wing damage as A380 descends into LA
The drama unfolded on flight QF11 from Sydney to Los Angeles. As the aircraft descended over California, television presenter and poker commentator Lynn Gilmartin noticed torn metal on the left wing and filmed the scene from her window seat. Her video, shared widely on social media, appeared to show part of the leading-edge slat skin peeled back, exposing darker material beneath.
In posts that have since gone viral, Gilmartin described a cascade of issues on board, including power problems, failed in-flight entertainment, dim lighting, malfunctioning seats and overflowing toilets. After landing she wrote that “a chunk of the wing snapped off” and questioned why the aircraft had been allowed to depart Sydney in that condition.
Aviation site Aviation A2Z reports that the crew were aware of technical issues during the flight but the A380 remained controllable and landed without declaring an emergency.
Qantas: “Damaged wing slat, not a structural failure”
Qantas has confirmed that engineers found damage to a section of the slat on the left wing after the aircraft parked at the gate in Los Angeles. Slats are movable panels along the front edge of the wing, deployed during take-off and landing to keep the aircraft flying safely at lower speeds.
“A section of the slat on the left wing of one of our A380s was found to be damaged after landing in Los Angeles,” the airline said in a statement carried by outlets including The Canberra Times. “The aircraft operated normally and landed without incident. Engineers are replacing the slat and the aircraft will return to service once repairs are complete.”
While the carrier insists there was no safety risk, the images of torn metal on a flagship long-haul jet have unsettled travellers and reignited debate about the reliability of heavy jets being brought out of long-term storage. Specialist blog 2PAXfly notes that the incident occurred on the A380’s very first commercial flight after its overhaul – an uncomfortable look for an airline already under pressure over delays, lost bags and previous technical scares.
Return flight cancelled, passengers rebooked
The damage meant VH-OQC could not operate its scheduled QF12 service back to Sydney. Passengers — including former Australian treasurer and ambassador Joe Hockey — received late-night messages telling them their flight was cancelled due to “extended maintenance to ensure a safe flight”.
Qantas has been forced to rebook affected customers on other services at one of the busiest points of the year, tightening an already stretched trans-Pacific schedule. The airline says customers are being re-accommodated and offered compensation, but some have voiced frustration at last-minute changes and a perceived lack of information.
A bruising moment for Qantas’ A380 comeback story
The timing could hardly be worse. Only days ago Qantas promoted the return of its tenth and final A380, stressing that engineers around the world had poured more than 100,000 hours into structural checks, new landing gear and a full cabin refresh. The refurbished aircraft was meant to provide extra capacity and resilience on long-haul routes over the Christmas and New Year peak.
Industry watchers say damage to a slat skin is not in the same league as the catastrophic Qantas A380 engine failure in 2010, but the optics are poor. Photos of shredded metal on a brand-new-looking wing undermine the carefully staged images of champagne-lit cabins and sparkling lounges that accompanied the superjumbo’s return to service.
The incident also feeds into a wider narrative about trust in Qantas after a run of technical diversions, a cyber-attack and consumer anger over vouchers and flight credits. Regulators will review the airline’s internal report, and Australia’s transport safety investigators will decide whether a formal probe is warranted.
What happens next?
Engineers in Los Angeles are now replacing the damaged slat assembly, a process that requires specialist parts and careful testing before the aircraft can re-enter service. Until then, Qantas will have to juggle its long-haul schedule with one less superjumbo than planned.
For passengers, the message from safety experts is that modern airliners are built with extensive redundancy and that slat skin damage, while dramatic to look at, does not automatically mean the wing is about to fail. For Qantas, however, the bigger challenge is reputational: persuading travellers that a heavily marketed “as new” A380 really is ready for prime time.
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