The European aviation regulator has ordered airlines using Airbus A350 aircraft to inspect the planes in a bid to identify any faulty fuel hoses after Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways suffered an engine fire and grounded 90 flights.
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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.
Details and requirements of the inspection, as well as the compliance time, were still being determined and would be outlined in an emergency airworthiness directive to be issued later on Thursday, the agency said.
The decision to order a check was based on preliminary information provided by an ongoing safety investigation led by the Air Accident Investigation Authority of Hong Kong, as well as the city’s civil aviation authority, and the aircraft and engine manufacturers Airbus and Rolls-Royce.