A high-profile Qantas Airbus A380 has been dramatically grounded in Los Angeles after a piece of its left wing slat was found damaged at the end of its first commercial flight back in service, forcing the cancellation of its return leg to Sydney and raising fresh questions about the airline's maintenance standards and on-board experience.theaustralian.com.au+ 1 The aircraft at the center of the incident is A380 VH-OQC , named Paul McGinness after one of Qantas' founders. It had only just rejoined the fleet after nearly six years out of regular service – three years in desert storage during the pandemic, followed by about two and a half years undergoing what Qantas itself promoted as the largest maintenance check in its 105-year history .theaustralian.com.au+ 2australianaviation.com.au+ 2