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

By Pierre Bertrand

The European Union's aviation safety agency called for inspections to be carried out on Airbus A350 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 a statement that it was taking precautionary measures and requiring 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 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 that 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.

The specific details, requirements and time limits of the EASA inspection were still to be determined but would be outlined in an emergency airworthiness directive, the agency said.

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 cancelled.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 05, 2024 11:37 ET (15:37 GMT)

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