Cathay Pacific grounds entire A350 fleet over engine component failure - Airline detects ‘first of its kind’ failure in A350 after Zurich flight returns to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff

Hong Kong's air safety authority said Thursday that a defect 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, could have caused ''extensive damage'' to the aircraft.

The Hong Kong airline said 15 of the 48 Airbus A350s in its fleet were found to have engine fuel lines that required replacement.