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What is the problem with Cathay Pacific's A350 Rolls-Royce engines?

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways said on Tuesday it had checked its whole Airbus A350 fleet after the inflight failure of an element in an engine that is made by British maker RollsRoyce .

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE FLIGHT?

An issue unfolded several minutes after liftoff on flight CX383 from Hong Kong to Zurich on Monday, according to flight tracking service FlightRadar24.

The five-year-old A350-1000 plane performed 2 large circles and dumped fuel over the sea before going back to Hong Kong where it landed securely about 75 minutes after its departure.

Cathay Pacific stated it recognized an engine part failure after the airplane returned to Hong Kong.

WHY DID THE A350 ENGINE FAIL?

Cathay Pacific has not defined which engine part stopped working, but the carrier said it was the first of its type to suffer such failure on any A350 aircraft worldwide.

An individual acquainted with the matter informed Reuters the occurrence included a problem with a fuel nozzle inside a XWB-97 engine, the Rolls-Royce model used on the A350-1000.

HOW MANY KINDS OF A350S EXIST?

The Plane A350 is a twin-aisle long-haul airplane that can bring between 300 and 480 guests. It is available in two sizes: the A350-900 and the larger A350-1000, both powered exclusively by Rolls-Royce engines.

WHAT ENGINE DOES THE A350 USE?

The A350-1000 and the A350 truck use Trent XWB-97 engines, Rolls-Royce's biggest civil jet engine.

The more popular A350-900 utilizes its Trent XWB-84 engines.

ARE ALL A350 ENGINES IMPACTED?

Cathay Pacific said the event occurred on among its 18 A350-1000 airplanes. It has actually since identified 15 airplane with engine elements that require replacement and three have already gone through repairs.

Rolls-Royce on Tuesday noted the replacement might take place while the engine stayed on-wing. It likewise stated it was committed to working closely with Cathay Pacific, Airplane and authorities performing an investigation of the incident. The engine maker did not instantly react to an ask for discuss the reported fuel nozzle issue.

HOW MANY A350 AIRCRAFT COULD BE IMPACTED?

There are 88 A350-1000 jets in operation worldwide, according to Swiss air travel intelligence company ch-aviation.

The leading six operators are Qatar Airways with 24 airplanes, British Airways with 18, Cathay Pacific with 18, Virgin Atlantic with 12 and Etihad Airways and Japan Airlines (JAL). with five each.

There are 520 A350-900s in operation worldwide, ch-aviation. data showed.

Broker Jefferies said in a note to customers on Monday that. 234 XWB-97 engines had been provided to clients by the end of. June.

WHICH CATHAY PACIFIC FLIGHTS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED?

Cathay Pacific stated on Tuesday it had cancelled a minimum of 34. round-trip flights between Hong Kong and Sydney, Osaka, Tokyo,. Taipei, Bangkok and Singapore till the end of Wednesday. Long-haul services should not be impacted, it stated.

The airline's A350s also serve destinations in Europe and. The United States and Canada.

WHAT ARE OTHER AIRLINES WITH A350S DOING?

Tokyo-based JAL, which has 5 A350-1000s that are all less. than a year old, stated it has actually asked Rolls-Royce for more. details and had not stopped A350 flights in the meantime.

Singapore Airlines stated it was

examining

the engines on its A350-900 airplane as a preventative measure however. there would be no effect on flights. It does not have any. A350-1000s.

Taiwan's China Airlines, which also operates 15. A350-900s however no A350-1000s, stated its fleet did not utilize the. affected engines, so its operations would not be affected.

Qatar Airways said the concern had no influence on its A350-1000s. and it continues to keep track of any developments.

(source: Reuters)