Faulty component could have caused ‘significant damage’ to Cathay Pacific plane, report says

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s aviation safety authority said Thursday that a fault in an engine component of a Cathay Pacific Airways Airbus A350 that caused a fire, forcing a Zurich-bound flight to return to Hong Kong, may have caused “significant damage” to the plane.

The report on the September 2 incident, prepared by the Hong Kong Air Accident Investigation Authority, said the steel braided sheath of a fuel hose connected to a fuel spray nozzle had ruptured. Had the faulty component not been quickly detected and repaired, the situation could have escalated into a more serious engine fire.

A preliminary investigation found soot on part of the plane’s main engine, indicating signs of fire.

Five other fuel lines on the Cathay jet also had “frayed metal braids or collapsed structures,” the report said.

Cathay Pacific Airways did not immediately comment.

The Cathay Airlines plane’s engine fire led to the cancellation of 70 flights and triggered inspections of the airline’s fleet of 48 Airbus A350s. Other airlines, including Japan Airlines, have conducted inspections of similar models in their fleets following the incident.

The report released Thursday recommended that Rolls-Royce, which makes the Trent XWB-84 and XWB-97 engines that power Airbus’ A350 jets, provide information including inspection requirements for affected components “to ensure their maintainability.”

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