The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is set to issue a directive requiring inspections of certain Airbus A350 engines. This decision follows a recent engine fire incident involving a Cathay Pacific A350-1000.
The recently proposed EU mandate will apply to the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engine. This engine powers the Airbus A350-1000 variant.
Engine Issues Detected This Week
The engine issue was first detected by Cathay Pacific this week. This involved a scheduled flight operated by one of the carrier’s widebody aircraft. Originally bound for Zurich, the aircraft made a precautionary return to Hong Kong after it experienced an engine problem.
Subsequent engine inspections revealed a potential problem with an engine part. This saw the carrier temporarily pull its fleet of A350-1000s from line operations to permit inspections.
The carrier found that 15 of its 48 aircraft were affected by a similar issue. Rectification maintenance was then undertaken on the affected engines. Japan Airlines, which also operates the variant, also carried out fleet inspections this week. JAL has now inspected all five of its aircraft and found they are all unaffected.
As a precaution, Japan Airlines also inspected engines on its A350-900 aircraft. This was an additional safety measure – these planes are not powered by the Trent XWB-97 engine. The airline did not find any problems with these aircraft.
Inspection and Replacement Actions
The one-off inspections will aim to identify and rectify potential problems with high-pressure fuel hoses that could have caused the engine fire. The airworthiness directive will require an inspection of the part, with possible replacement if it’s found to be compromised.
EASA has not yet released specific details about the nature of the issue detected by Cathay Pacific.
Inspections are expected to take place on a segment of the A350 fleet. EASA will determine the exact scope of the applicable fleet. The agency has not yet set a deadline for compliance with the planned directive. This is expected to be issued in the near future.
Click the banner to subscribe to our weekly newsleter.
Click the photo to join our WhatsApp channel so then you can stay up to date with everything going on in the aviation industry!
