Hong Kong investigation prompts Europe to order inspection of A350 aircraft within 1 month
European Union Aviation Safety Agency says checks of Airbus A350 aircraft ordered as precautionary measure
In a statement issued on Thursday evening, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it was taking precautionary measures to prevent any further similar occurrences.
“We will require 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,” it said.
The regulator later issued an emergency airworthiness directive for a phased inspection of flexible fuel hose connections inside Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines that power A350-1000 aircraft. The inspections should be carried out in the next three to 30 days, depending on the history of each individual engine, the agency said.
There are 86 A350-1000 aircraft in service worldwide.
“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,” agency executive director Florian Guillermet said.
