Rolls-Royce starts investigation into Qantas engine failure

4th Nov 2010 15:49

Rolls-Royce shares were under pressure today as it confirmed it made the engine that blew up on a Qantas flight last night, prompting the Aussie airline to ground its whole fleet of Airbus A380 super-jumbos.In a statement, the aeroengine maker said that since the flight,Qantas QF32,landed safely in Singapore it has been working closely with Qantas and the authorities to find out why the engine exploded.The in-service fleet of Trent 900 engines is small and relatively new, Rolls-Royce said, adding that it feels it is prudent to recommend that a number of basic precautionary engine checks are performed. This process is now underway."We will continue to work closely with our customers as the investigation moves forward. This is at a very early stage and it would be inappropriate to draw any conclusions at this time," the statement added. The Qantas jet had 450 people on board when it had to make its forced landing. No-one was hurt but the Australian airline immediately grounded all six of its A380s.Singapore Airlines, another Rolls-Royce customer, also grounded its A380 fleet for checks. Air safety investigators said that the engine had lost its rear housing.Qantas said that flight QF32, which originated in London, developed major engine trouble just six minutes into a flight from Singapore to Sydney.