Error at Cathay Pacific Airbus could have caused major damage, says a report

An engine fire on a Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 earlier this month was caused by a fuel leak and could have caused significant damage to the aircraft, according to investigators.

Hong Kong's leading airline has grounded planes after having to turn around a flight several weeks ago due to an “engine component failure”.

The Trent XWB-97 engine was manufactured by British engineering giant Rolls-Royce.

A preliminary report by the Hong Kong Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the incident was caused by a ruptured fuel hose – one of several that were damaged.

Rolls-Royce and Cathay Pacific both said they would continue to support the investigation.

The incident occurred shortly after the plane took off from Hong Kong to Zurich in early September. The pilots received a fire warning in the cockpit, turned off the engine and used fire extinguishers.

The plane with 348 passengers and crew on board landed safely in Hong Kong.

However, the incident raised doubts about the safety of the engines on Cathay Pacific's A350 fleet, especially after inspections revealed problems on 15 other aircraft.

The preliminary report found that the protective cover on a fuel hose had ruptured, creating “a noticeable hole in the hose.” There were signs of fire in parts of the engine, including soot and burn marks.

Further checks revealed that five other fuel hoses in the same engine were defective.

If this is not immediately identified and corrected, The report saidThis situation “could have developed into a more serious engine fire, potentially causing significant damage to the aircraft.”

To resolve the issue, the AAIA recommended that the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) require Rolls-Royce to develop new inspection requirements for the engines in question.

EASA responded in the days following the incident by requiring operators using the same engine type to conduct fuel line inspections and remove any “potentially damaged” fuel lines.

Those emergency measures have since been replaced by a more comprehensive inspection program covering several variants of the Trent XWB engine. The agency said the inspections showed that “a special cleaning process available during engine overhaul” could lead to fuel hose deterioration.

In a statement, Cathay Pacific said that following the incident, it had “proactively initiated a fleet-wide inspection of its Airbus A350 aircraft, which cleared the aircraft for operation.” It had fully complied with EASA guidelines and was continuing to “work closely with the aircraft and engine manufacturers and the regulator.”

Cathay Pacific took delivery of its first Airbus A350 in 2016. The aircraft is quickly becoming a staple in the long-haul fleets of airlines around the world. Its key selling point is its high efficiency and low operating costs.

A key component of this efficiency is the engine. The Trent XWB was developed by Rolls-Royce specifically for the A350. The incident initially raised fears that there could be a serious problem with the global A350 fleet. That would have been a major setback for the British manufacturer.

However, it was quickly discovered that the problem was not with the moving parts in the engine itself, but with the fuel lines on the outside. This meant that the problem could be fixed relatively quickly without the need for an expensive redesign.

Initially, it was assumed that the problem only occurred with the XWB-97, a high-performance variant of the engine that was installed in a relatively limited number of long-haul aircraft. But now EASA is demanding checks on other versions as well.

Responding to the investigators' report, Rolls-Royce said: “We continue to work closely with regulators to support the authorities' ongoing investigation into Cathay Pacific Flight CX383.”

It was further stressed that “the engine and aircraft systems promptly detected and corrected the problem, as expected in such an incident,” with the crew being alerted and able to use the fire extinguisher.

This year, Rolls-Royce announced plans to invest heavily in improving its engine range, which includes the Trent XWB-97.

In 2023, Tim Clark, the head of Gulf airline Emirates, raised concerns about the durability of the engine and the prices Rolls-Royce was charging for maintenance.