(Alliance News) - Engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings said on Tuesday it had discovered "signs of wear" in compressor blades used in an engine that powers the wide-body Airbus A350 aircraft.
The Trent XWB engines have been in service for four to five years and are approaching their first overhaul, the British-based company said.
The discovery was made during maintenance of the engines on the oldest A350s, which have been in service since 2015.
"None of these engines have experienced any abnormal in-flight operation, however we are inspecting all other Trent XWB-84 engines of a similar service life as a precaution," Rolls-Royce said.
The engine maker said it had inspected most of of the over 100 Trent XWB-84s that have been in service for four to five years and "found signs of wear on an average of only 1 or 2 IPC blades in a minority of those inspected."
The company expects to be able to complete the necessary work quickly. The downtime for the airlines and the costs for the manufacturer should also remain manageable.
According to the manufacturer, the European aviation authority EASA wants to send corresponding instructions to the operators.
The company had earlier spent large sums to resolve a series of problems with the Trent 1000 engine used on Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.
In addition to the extra cost, Rolls-Royce lost market share to rival General Electric Co of the US.
source: dpa
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