Airbus is taking a turn on the negative-publicity rollercoaster. Cathay Pacific, the flagship carrier for Hong Kong, announced it has grounded its fleet of Airbus A350-1000s for inspection after finding faulty engine components in 15 of 18 aircraft. According to a report today (September 3) in online outlet Channel News Asia, Cathay Pacific Flight CX383 took off from Hong Kong for Zurich, Switzerland, yesterday, but turned back after the failure of an unspecified component of one of its Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines. The twin-aisle Airbus landed safely 75 minutes after takeoff, following two holding circuits to burn fuel.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and boldly predict that there will be no reported deficiencies with any COMAC airliners now or in the foreseeable future.
Sarcasm aside, the public exposure of problems by Boeing and Airbus is a good thing for passenger safety. I agree its a flamethrower, but the scrutiny helps with safety in the long run. I am happy to live in a society where this information is available to the public and the manufacturers are held accountable.