Europe’s Aviation Regulator Mandates Inspections of Some Airbus A350 Trent XWB Engines

September 27, 2024

Europe’s aviation regulatory agency started requiring mandatory inspections of some Airbus A350-1000 aircraft equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, following a recent incident involving a Cathay Pacific-operated flight featuring that aircraft model and engine type. (Image: Airbus)

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2024-0182 for Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines fitted on Airbus A350 aircraft.

The new AD supersedes EASA AD 2024-0174-E, which was issued in response to the serious incident with Cathay Pacific flight CX383 departing Hong Kong on September 1.

In the previously issued Emergency Airworthiness Directive, EASA mandated a phased one-off inspection of flexible fuel hose connections inside the engines to check for damage. The inspections needed to take place over the next 3-30 days, depending on the individual engine history. In total, 86 A350-1000 aircraft are in service worldwide.

“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. “We will continue to follow closely all information that will be made available through the ongoing safety investigation.”

On September 1, 2024, an A350-1000 aircraft, operated by Cathay Pacific on a flight from Hong Kong to Zurich, experienced an in-flight engine fire shortly after take-off. The fire was promptly detected and extinguished, and the aircraft returned safely to Hong Kong. The aircraft was powered by Trent XWB-97 engines.

This event was classified as serious incident, and an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex-13 investigation was opened by the Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) of Hong Kong.

Following an inspection by Cathay Pacific of its A350 fleet, the airline reported similar problems on other aircraft.

In-service and in-shop inspections since then have identified that a specific cleaning process available during engine refurbishment may lead to fuel manifold main fuel hose degradation. The new AD responds to this development.

EASA acknowledges the publication on September 19, 2024 of the preliminary report on the Annex-13 investigation from the Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) of Hong Kong.

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