EASA mandates inspection of Trent XWB-97 engines after Cathay Pacific incident
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has mandated the inspection of Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines powering the A350-1000 fleet “as a precautionary measure following a serious incident concerning a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong”.
During the scheduled service to Zurich, Cathay Pacific flight CX383 experienced an engine fire after shortly takeoff. The fire was promptly detected and extinguished, and the aircraft subsequently returned to make a safe landing at Hong Kong, having dumped fuel over the sea to the southeast of the airport. A fleet-wide inspection identified “a number of the same engine components that [needed] to be replaced,” stated the airline, which has since completed the remedial work.
EASA’s Emergency Airworthiness Directive has now “mandated a phased one-off off inspection of flexible fuel hose connections inside the engines to check for damage,” which will “need to take place over the next three to 30 days [from the date of the AD], depending on the individual engine history”.
EASA has based the AD on information “received from the initial investigation of the recent Cathay Pacific serious incident and on the airline’s findings in its own subsequent inspections,” confirmed EASA director Florian Guillermet, who added: “We will continue to follow closely all information that will be made available through the ongoing safety investigation”.
86 A350-1000 aircraft (powered exclusively by the Trent XWB-97) are in service worldwide, with the XWB-84 engines installed on the A350-900 “similar in design and service history,” concluded EASA, which does not warrant “the extension of the measures to these engines … at this stage”.
Qatar is the largest operator of the A350-100 worldwide (with 24 units in its fleet), followed Cathay Pacific and British Airlines, which operate 18 and 17 respectively. Other operators include Virgin Atlantic, Etihad Airways, Japan Airlines, Air Caraibes and French Bee also use the type, according to Cirium data.
