European Regulators Mandate Engine Fixes

[Phil Bunch]

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European aviation-safety regulators, concerned about the hazards of ice building up inside fuel systems and potentially shutting off engines during long flights, have issued mandatory safety directives to replace certain parts on hundreds of wide-body Airbus aircraft.

The fix ordered earlier this week mandates that Airbus A330 and Airbus A340 jetliners equipped with Rolls-Royce PLC engines have their oil-cooler devices swapped out for a new design that isn't susceptible to such blockages. The work must be completed by January 2011

The move has been anticipated for months by airlines and international air-safety safety experts. It follows similar orders issued previously by U,S, and European regulators for replacement of engine oil-cooler devices on Boeing 777 aircraft powered by a related family of Rolls-Royce engines. The problems and the solutions affecting all of the different aircraft models are similar. Airbus earlier this year signaled it was looking to follow Boeing's lead in developing and installing modified oil-coolers less prone to ice buildup during long, high-altitude flights over water or polar regions.