Source: Simple Flying
Cathay Pacific has canceled 24 roundtrip flights following an in-flight failure of an engine component.
Precautionary inspections
According to Reuters, one of Cathay Pacific’s flights, which had just taken off from Hong Kong, had an in-flight failure on an engine component. The incident took place earlier today on CX383 headed for Zurich. Shortly after the plane took off and headed over the sea, it circled around twice before landing about 75 minutes later.
Source: Flightradar24
Reuters reported that Hong Kong’s Air Accident Investigation Authority launched an investigation into the incident, which was the first of its kind worldwide. The aircraft involved was an A350-1000, the largest variant of the A350 family. Cathay has 18 of the type in its fleet and another 30 -900s.
Source: airbus
The A350-900’s engine is different from that of the -1000, which uses the XWB-97. At this moment, the -900s have not been affected, but Cathay has decided to inspect its entire A350 fleet. Though details about the incident were not revealed, Cathay said it contacted Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and its regulators immediately.
Here below, is what Cathay Pacific has shared…
“At Cathay, safety of our customers and our people guides every decision we make. Each aircraft is undergoing a rigorous inspection. Upon completion, the aircraft cleared for operation will return to service, while those identified with technical issues will undergo further repair and maintenance work. Meanwhile, we are liaising with the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department and the aircraft and engine manufacturers. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding.” - Keith Brown, Director Engineering, Cathay Pacific.
Source: South China Morning Post
In its inspection process, which has already begun, Cathay found a number of the same engine components that need to be replaced. The airline added that spare parts have already been sourced and that replacement work has begun. But, this will ground a number of aircraft for some days while the parts are swapped out.
Cathay’s Airbus A350-1000
According to data from Cirium, Cathay Pacific has 2,174 roundtrip flights with its A350s this month. Of those, 1,522 are on the -900s and the remaining 652 on the -100s. In total, the airline’s seat offering with the Airbus widebodies is 643,928.
The airline’s A350-1000s are used on routes as long as 8,070 miles and as short as 877 miles. The longest of the routes is to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) serving New York, which the airline operates daily. The shortest route is to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, which is served only a few times this month.
The busiest route for the -1000s is to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ). Cathay flies the aircraft twice daily to the Canadian city, making it the third-longest A350-1000 route. Cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, and Frankfurt also see service from the -1000.
Source: airbus
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