EU Aviation Safety Agency Calls for A350 Inspections After Cathay Pacific Engine Trouble — Update

By Pierre Bertrand

The European Union's aviation-safety agency called for inspections to be carried out on Airbus A350-1000 model planes after Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific discovered earlier this week that engine components on some of its planes required replacement.

The bloc's aviation safety agency said in an emergency airworthiness directive on Thursday that it is requiring a "one-off inspection of flexible fuel hose connections inside the engines to check for damage" on Airbus A350-1000 jets powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines.

"This action is a precautionary measure, based on the information received from the initial investigation of the recent Cathay Pacific serious incident and on the airline's findings in its own subsequent inspections," said European Union Aviation Safety Agency Executive Director Florian Guillermet. "We will continue to follow closely all information that will be made available through the ongoing safety investigation."

Inspections will need to take place over the next three to 30 days, depending on the individual engine history, EASA said. There are a total of 86 A350-1000 aircraft currently in service globally, the agency noted.

The inspections come after 15 Cathay Pacific A350 planes were found to have engine fuel lines in need of replacement, according to the airline. Cathay Pacific said six of those planes had undergone repairs and were cleared to resume flying so far.

The nine remaining planes are expected to be operational by Saturday, the company said.

On Sept. 1, a A350-1041 aircraft operated by Cathay Pacific flying to Zurich from Hong Kong, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, suffered an engine fire shortly after takeoff. The plane was able to safely return and land in Hong Kong.

Cathay Pacific said that as a result of the engine fire and subsequent engine fleet maintenance, 45 return flights between Sept. 2 and Sept. 7 were canceled.

The incident prompted Singapore Airlines and Japan Airlines to inspect their own Airbus A350 fleets following the incident, and no issues have been flagged so far.

--Kimberley Kao contributed to this article.

Write to Pierre Bertrand at pierre.bertrand@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 05, 2024 22:41 ET (02:41 GMT)

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