Deformed fuel lines behind A350 engine problems at Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific
Cathay completes inspections of all 48 of its grounded A350 fleet and finds 15 planes with affected engine components that require replacement
Cathay Pacific completed inspections of its Airbus A350 fleet on Monday night and found 15 of the 48 aircraft had the Rolls-Royce engine part that required replacement.
A well-informed source said on Tuesday that multiple small fuel manifolds surrounded an aircraft engine for fuel delivery and Cathay’s inspection revealed a number of fuel pipes exhibited some “form of distortion”.
Once the deformed fuel lines were replaced, the planes could resume service, the insider said, adding the carrier was under “no mandate” from the manufacturer or any regulator to inspect or replace the pipes.
“These parts are not intended to be checked or replaced during regular maintenance on the line. So it is not in any way a maintenance failure or oversight,” the source said.
The insider said Cathay, as the world’s third-largest A350 operator and one of the model’s earliest adopters, had a responsibility to share its safety findings with manufacturers, regulators and other airlines.
