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Europe’s aviation safety regulator has said it will require one-off inspections of some engines on Airbus A350 long-haul aircraft after a Cathay Pacific plane experienced problems mid-flight this week.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it required airlines to conduct a one-time inspection to remove what it said were “potentially compromised high pressure fuel hoses”.
The agency said it was taking “precautionary measures” based on “preliminary information” provided to it by regulators in Hong Kong, as well as from Airbus and Rolls-Royce.
Cathay has been examining its fleet of 48 A350 aircraft after a Zurich-bound flight was forced to return to Hong Kong following an in-flight engine fire. Rolls-Royce is the sole engine provider to the A350 family of aircraft.
The agency’s statement is the first official confirmation that the issues stemmed from problems with the fuel lines to the engines. The inspection may be “applicable only to a portion of the A350 fleet”, it added.
There are 86 A350-1000s in operation globally. Cathay is one of the largest operators of A350s, including 18 A350-1000. Other large A350-1000 operators include Qatar Airways, BA and Virgin Atlantic. The carriers have all been contacted for comment.
Airbus said it acknowledged the “information provided by EASA”, adding that it was “working closely with Rolls-Royce and the authorities on the implementation of this precautionary measure”.
Rolls-Royce was not immediately available for comment. The company’s XWB-97 engine powers the A350-1000, the larger, less popular A350 variant, which experienced the problems on Monday.
EASA said further details will be published on Thursday as part of an emergency “airworthiness directive”.
Cathay has been forced to cancel some of its flights while it has examined its entire fleet of 48 A350 jets following the incident on Monday. The carrier found 15 aircraft where engine fuel lines required replacement, but said it expected to resume full operations by Saturday.
Shares in Rolls-Royce, which has been in focus since the incident, were down 1.4 per cent in afternoon trading in London, following declines on Monday when news of the emergency first emerged.
Additional reporting by Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong