This Saturday, the eighteen A350 aircraft of Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific will be flying again without restrictions, after a part of the Rolls Royce engines used in the 1000 version of this aircraft has been replaced. However, yesterday, the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) ordered that the same part be inspected and replaced in Europe, to avoid risks (A problem with the A350 engines sinks Rolls Royce).
The agency, which has issued a mandatory directive, says that this is a preventive measure to avoid fires in the parts that regulate fuel pressure in the engines. It has already been seen in the case of Cathay that, contrary to first impressions, the repair is relatively simple and does not even require disassembling the engine from the plane.
The Rolls Royce Trent XWB97 engine is the most powerful of all the engines made by Rolls. Problems arose last Monday when a plane left Hong Kong for Switzerland and had to return to its base. There are 88 aircraft of this model in the world, with British Airways in Europe being its main user. The EASA guidelines also affect Britain.
Singapore Airlines has announced that it will inspect its 64 A350 900 aircraft as a precautionary measure, even though their engines are different. In this case, as there is no urgency, the inspections will be carried out when the aircraft are available, without altering its flight schedule.
