Report: Defective component may have caused ‘significant damage’ to Cathay Pacific jet

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong's aviation safety authority said Thursday that a defect in an engine component on a Cathay Pacific Airways Airbus A350 that caused a fire and forced a flight from Zurich to return to Hong Kong may have caused “significant damage” to the plane.

The Hong Kong Aircraft Accident Investigation Board's report on the September 2 incident states that the steel braided sheath of a fuel hose connected to a fuel spray nozzle had ruptured. Had the defective component not been discovered and repaired promptly, an even more serious engine fire could have occurred.

A preliminary investigation found soot on a section of the aircraft's main engine, indicating signs of fire.

The report also said that either “frayed metal mesh or collapsed structures” were found on five other fuel hoses on the Cathay jet.

Cathay Pacific Airways did not immediately comment.

The engine fire on board the Cathay plane led to the cancellation of 70 flights and triggered inspections of the airline's 48 Airbus A350 fleet. Other airlines, such as Japan Airlines, conducted inspections on similar models in their fleet following the incident.

The report, published on Thursday, recommended that Rolls-Royce, manufacturer of the XWB-84 and XWB-97 Trent engines for Airbus' A350 jets, provide, among other things, information on the testing requirements of the components concerned “to ensure their functionality”.

Following the incident, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a directive requiring a one-off fleet inspection for some A350s after receiving safety recommendations from Hong Kong's Air Accident Investigation Authority.