Qantas keeps A380 grounded, examines three suspect engines

SYDNEY Nov 8 (Reuters) - Australian airline Qantas (QAN.AX) is keeping its Airbus A380 fleet grounded beyond an initial 48-hour deadline as it has found potential issues with three engines on two aircraft, a spokesman said on Monday.

Qantas removed three Rolls-Royce (RR.L) engines for closer investigation after a similar engine broke apart in flight on Thursday, forcing an A380, the world's largest passenger plane, to make an emergency landing in Singapore with 459 passengers and crew on board.

Qantas on Friday said it expected engine checks to take up to 48 hours but spokesman Simon Rushton on Monday said the airline will not give a deadline for checks and Qantas' six A380s would only fly after they were found safe.

"We're still undertaking these very detailed inspections across all our A380 engines, looking at a number of issues related to a range components," Rushton said.

"We'll only clear the engines for operation once we're 100 percent confident to do so, in close consultation with the manufacturer and the regulator," he said.

The A380 engine failure on Thursday was the biggest incident to date for the A380, which went into service in 2007.

Rolls-Royce and Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA) told operators of the Rolls-equipped A380 jets to have them inspected. [ID:nLDE6A322A] (Reporting by Sonali Paul, editing by Balazs Koranyi)