The EASA has issued an updated Airworthiness Directive after a cleaning process was found to be linked to a Cathay A350-1000 engine fire.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Thursday gave an update on the inspections it ordered on Rolls-Royce-made engines used in Airbus A-350 aircrafts following a security incident, pointing to issues possibly stemming from a cleaning process.

European regulators have widened the number of Rolls-Royce Trent engines affected by a potential fuel hose defect, in an updated directive issued 19 September following an engine fire on a Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-1000.

The preliminary investigation into an incident involving Cathay Pacific Airways (OTCPK:CPCAY) operated Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF) A350 revealed a rupture in the fuel hose, said Hong Kong's aviation investigation authority on Thursday.

Hong Kong aviation investigators say an engine problem that caused Cathay Pacific to ground its entire fleet of Airbus A350 jets for inspection earlier this month could have escalated into “extensive damage.

A probe by Hong Kong's aviation authority found a ruptured fuel hose caused a mid-flight fire on a Cathay Pacific operated Airbus A350 plane this month. The aircraft was en-route to Zurich with 348 passengers and crew aboard when the fire was discovered,