Emirati airline Etihad Airways said it had detected no problems with its Airbus A350 fleet following inspections launched following an engine fire on a Cathay Pacific aircraft.
The incident, which affected the Hong Kong-based airline on Monday, prompted the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to issue an emergency directive to airlines requesting inspections of Airbus A350-1000 aircraft equipped with XWB-97 engines manufactured by Rolls-Royce.
Etihad Airways, which has five such aircraft, is the only carrier in the country to have this model in its fleet. “Etihad Airways has commenced proactive inspections of its Rolls-Royce engines on its A350 fleet over the past 72 hours and continues to do so in accordance with EASA requirements,” the airline said in a statement on Friday.
On Friday, Malaysia Airlines, which also carried out checks, said it had found a “potential issue” with an Airbus A350-900 engine on its fleet, but added that it had been resolved.
“Engine fire in flight”
Cathay, one of the world’s largest users of A350 aircraft, has grounded all 48 of its aircraft after a Zurich-bound plane was forced to return to Hong Kong on Monday.
EASA stressed on Thursday that this Cathay Pacific flight was due to an “engine fire in flight shortly after take-off”, which was initially linked to “faulty high-pressure fuel lines”.
British aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce, meanwhile, said Thursday it was “working closely” with EASA “on a unique preventive engine inspection programme, which could only be applied to a portion of the A350 fleet. A total of 87 A350-1000 aircraft are currently in service worldwide.
Source: BFM TV
