At least part of the Airbus A350 fleet will be inspected as a precautionary measure, Europe’s aviation safety regulator said on Thursday, after an engine part failed during the flight of a Cathay Pacific A350-1000 passenger plane.
Barring fresh evidence as investigators examine the fuel system of a jet that was forced to return to Hong Kong on Monday, manufacturers had been leaning against recommending worldwide checks, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
“We will require a one-time fleet inspection, which may be applicable only to a portion of the A350 fleet, in order to identify and remove from service any potentially compromised high-pressure fuel hoses,” the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said in a statement.
The agency was preparing to release an airworthiness directive with details of the inspection later on Thursday.
“We acknowledge the information provided by EASA and are working closely with (engine maker) Rolls-Royce and the authorities on the implementation of this precautionary measure,” Airbus said in a statement.
Rolls-Royce did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The EASA action marks the first official confirmation that an engine fire broke out in the incident at the start of this week, causing Flight CX383 to turn around and return to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff for Zurich.
“An A350-1041 aircraft operated by Cathay Pacific on flight CX383 from Hong Kong to Zurich experienced an in-flight engine fire shortly after take-off,” EASA said, adding the fire was “promptly detected and extinguished”.
The trouble was detected in a Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engine that powers the A350-1000 model.
Cathay Pacific has said that 15 of its 48 A350s had defective fuel hoses requiring replacement. It was targeting getting all of those jets back in service by Saturday.
Japan Airlines finished checks on all five of its A350-1000s and found no issues. It also started undertaking checks on its 15 of the smaller A350-900 model, with 10 completed and cleared.
Thai Airways International said earlier that it had not detected any problems with its A350s.
Singapore Airlines, the largest operator globally of the A350 with 64 jets, said it started checks, and Etihad said on Thursday that it was undertaking inspections and had found no issues.
