PARIS, Sept 19 (Askume) – European aviation regulators on Thursday blamed Rolls-Royce for a recent engine fire on a Cathay Pacific (0293.HK) Airbus A350.(RR.L) deals with potential problems in engine maintenance .
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued a warning following an incident involving an Airbus (AIR.PA) A350-1000 after a flight to Zurich on September 2.The airline was ordered to conduct a visual inspection of its Rolls-Royce XWB-97 engines.
“Inspections since then in service and shops indicate that corrosion of the fuel manifold main fuel hose may have occurred due to typical cleaning procedures not available during engine rebuilds,” the agency said in a statement.
Earlier, Hong Kong investigators confirmed they had searched Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK).A (RR.L) Rolls-Royce (AIR.PA) Airbus
Their preliminary report also said that the pending investigation would cover the entire process from design to production, installation and maintenance, with officials seeking more information from manufacturers and repair shops.
The detailed analysis is the responsibility of the Hong Kong authorities and the investigation is still ongoing.
In the revised advice, EASA expanded the scope of previously required engine inspections to include all A350 jet models that have undergone a certain number of maintenance inspections.
But it downgraded the measure in a revised airworthiness directive, removing it from the most serious “emergency” category, suggesting it was less concerned about the immediate safety risk.
Visual inspection and measurement of parts does not require much time or resources, analysts say.
