The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has ordered mandated inspections on the A350-1000 fleet powered by the XWB-97 engines. It follows a midflight engine fire on a Cathay Pacific A350 flight from Hong Kong to Switzerland earlier this week. In an emergency airworthiness directive, the EASA mandated a ""phased one-off inspection"" of the engines that exclusively power the A350-1000 fleet. The flexible fuel hose connections inside the engines will be inspected for damage. The regulatory body said inspections need to take place over the next three to 30 days, depending on each engine's history and shop visits. The directive said results from the inspections will be sent to Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce said in a statement it is “committed to working closely with the airline, aircraft manufacturer and the relevant authorities to support their efforts” after an investigation was launched by the relevant authorities in Hong Kong following the incident. ""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. Cathay Pacific had grounded its A350 fleet following the engine fire, cancelling several flights. It had detected 15 aircraft with impacted components. It updated on September 4, 2024, that only nine of those aircraft were left to repair and expected its A350 fleet to fully resume operations by September 7, 2024. ""Completing thorough inspection and maintenance for all A350 aircraft within such a short timeframe has been challenging,"" said Cathay Pacific chief operations and service delivery officer Alex McGowan. ""The ability to safely deal with and resolve this issue reflects the can-do spirit of Cathay’s people."" The EASA classified the event as a serious incident. The directive said: ""This condition, if not detected and corrected could, in combination with additional failures, lead to a more severe engine fire and resulting damage to an aeroplane."" Japan Airlines said on September 6, 2024, that it expected no flight cancellations or delays as a result of the inspections ordered by EASA. According to Reuters , the airline had already inspected its A350s earlier in the week, but would need to complete additional inspections as part of the EASA directive. It found no issues on its aircraft . There are 86 A350-1000 aircraft in service worldwide.
EASA orders inspections on A350 following Cathay Pacific engine fire
