The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued an urgent directive for inspections of Airbus A350-1000 aircraft following a serious incident involving a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong earlier this week.
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The mandate, announced Thursday, requires airlines to conduct phased one-off inspections of flexible fuel hose connections inside the engines within the next 3-30 days, depending on each engine's history.
The order affects 86 A350-1000 aircraft currently in service worldwide.
On September 1, 2024, an A350-1000 aircraft, operated by Cathay Pacific on a flight from Hong Kong to Zurich, experienced an in-flight engine fire shortly after take-off.
The fire was promptly detected and extinguished, and the aircraft returned safely to Hong Kong. The aircraft was powered by Trent XWB-97 engines.
This event was classified as serious incident, and an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex-13 investigation was opened by the Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) of Hong Kong.
Following an inspection by Cathay Pacific of its A350 fleet, the airline reported similar problems on other aircraft.
“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 EASA Executive Director Florian Guillermet.
“We will continue to follow closely all information that will be made available through the ongoing safety investigation.”
EASA is State of Design airworthiness authority for the A350 aircraft and for the Trent XWB engines.
The current measures are mandated for Trent XWB-97 engines.
Trent XWB-84 engines, installed on the A350-900, are similar but differ in design and service history. On the basis of the available information, an extension of the measures to these engines is not warranted at this stage. ■
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