Europe orders inspections on A350 planes after engine fire incident

Madrid : Europe's air safety regulator ordered inspections on engines of a flagship Airbus jet on September 5, after a fire broke out during a Cathay Pacific flight.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it was acting to prevent similar events after consulting regulators and accident investigators in Hong Kong, where Cathay is based, as well as Airbus and engine supplier Rolls-Royce.

"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," said EASA Executive Director Florian Guillermet.

EASA also confirmed that the failure of a hose in the fuel system had caused a fire that was quickly tackled by crew.

A "serious incident" is an investigative term in aviation that means there was a high probability of an accident.

"We will continue to follow closely all information that will be made available through the ongoing safety investigation," Guillermet said.

The move affects the larger of two models of twin-engined A350, the A350-1000, which represents 15 per cent of the A350 fleet or 86 jets. The smaller and widely sold A350-900 is not affected.

In an emergency directive issued late on September 5, EASA gave airlines between three and 30 days to carry out visual checks and measurements on the fuel hoses but did not call for parts to be removed for the work, unless they were found to be damaged.

It excluded engines already inspected by Cathay.

Rolls-Royce and Airbus said earlier they were working closely with authorities to comply with the planned directive.