EASA Emergency Directive Orders Checks Of A350-1000 Fuel Hoses

Airbus A350-1000 operators have been ordered to check fuel manifold hoses on the aircraft’s Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines within as little as three days following an in-service incident on a Cathay Pacific A350 that forced the aircraft to turn back.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in a Sept. 5 emergency airworthiness directive (EAD) ordered one-time visual and dimensional inspections of fuel manifold main fuel hoses. The order, based on Rolls-Royce recommendations, requires engines with at least 18,500 flight hours or 2,300 cycles and two or more shop visits to be checked within three days. Engines with less total time and only one shop visit must be inspected within seven days. All other engines must be checked within 30 days.

Aviation Week Intelligence Network’s Tracked Aircraft Utilization (TAU) module showed 38 of 86 A350-1000s in service had reached the hours or cycles threshold for the three-day checks as of July 1, the most recent data available. Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific, with 18 and 12, respectively, had the most aircraft in the group. TAU does not track engine hours or overhauls.

EASA’s AD, which applies only to European operators but is expected to be adopted globally, says 34 engines are exempt from the checks. It does not explain why.

EASA’s action was prompted by the Sept. 1 inflight engine fire on an A350-1000 operating as Cathay flight CX383 from Hong Kong to Zurich. The fire, discovered shortly after takeoff, prompted the crew to shut down one of the Trent XWB-97 engines, dump fuel and return to Hong Kong about 70 min. after takeoff.

“Damage of a fuel manifold flexible tube was reported, leading to a controlled, temporary engine fire and heat damage to the exterior and interior of the engine nacelle (thrust reverser C-ducts),” EASA’s EAD explains. “The occurrence resulted in a commanded in-flight shut down. The investigation is ongoing to identify the root cause of the event.”

While the directive does not reveal how the damage occurred, prioritizing engines with multiple shop visits suggests that maintenance procedures may be involved. The directive considers any heavy overhaul, hospital, or “check & repair” work as a shop visit.

The directive, based on a Sept. 5 Rolls-Royce service bulletin, is precautionary “to prevent any further similar occurrence,” EASA said. “This decision is based on the preliminary information provided to EASA by the ongoing safety investigation led by AAIA (Air Accident Investigation Authority of Hong Kong), as well as from [CAD] Hong Kong, and from the aircraft and engine manufacturers.”

—Brian Bostick contributed to this report.