Europe orders checks on A350 planes after engine fire on Cathay flight
CNN
Europe’s air safety regulator ordered inspections on engines of a flagship Airbus jet on Thursday, after a fire broke out during a Cathay Pacific flight.
Europe’s air safety regulator ordered inspections on engines of a flagship Airbus jet on Thursday, after a fire broke out during a Cathay Pacific flight. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it was acting to prevent similar events after consulting regulators and accident investigators in Hong Kong, where Cathay is based, as well as Airbus and engine supplier Rolls-Royce. “This action is a precautionary measure, based on the information received from the initial investigation of the recent Cathay Pacific serious incident and on the airline’s findings in its own subsequent inspections,” EASA Executive Director Florian Guillermet said in a statement. EASA also confirmed that the failure of a hose in the fuel system had caused a fire that was quickly tackled by crew. A “serious incident” is an investigative term in aviation that means there was a high probability of an accident. “We will continue to follow closely all information that will be made available through the ongoing safety investigation,” Guillermet said.
Union members at Boeing overwhelmingly rejected a proposed a four-year contract with the troubled aircraft manufacturer, authorizing the first strike at the company in 16 years, said the International Association of Machinist (IAM) union. About 33,000 workers are prepared to walk off the job, and the strike is set to begin early Friday morning.