(Yicai) Sept. 3 -- China’s civil aviation regulator has launched an investigation to assess whether the  Airbus A350 aircraft operated by Chinese mainland airlines need to be checked after Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong's flagship carrier, grounded its A350 fleet because of engine issues.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China will assess whether the A350 planes operated by Chinese carriers need further inspections, informed sources told Yicai today.

Cathay Pacific flight CX383 from Hong Kong to Zurich had to turn back shortly after takeoff yesterday due to an issue with a component of its Rolls-Royce engine. The airline then grounded its fleet of 48 A350s for checks and found that several identical engine parts needed to be replaced.

Air China, China Southern Airlines, and China Eastern Airlines, the country’s three big state-owned carriers, as well as Sichuan Airlines, operate 78 A350 jets, all with Rolls-Royce engines, but the specific models vary.

London-based Rolls-Royce Holdings supplies all A350 engines worldwide. The problematic engine is a Trent XWB-97 model, the most powerful engine in the Trent XWB series.

Cathay Pacific is buying the replacement parts overseas and shipping them to Hong Kong for maintenance work. Due to some aircraft needing to be grounded for several days while awaiting repairs, the airline canceled 24 round-trip flights yesterday and today.

Rolls-Royce is aware of the incident and is actively cooperating with Cathay Pacific, Airbus, and relevant authorities to conduct an investigation, Reuters reported yesterday, citing the engine maker.

Shares of Rolls-Royce [LSE: RR] were trading 3.1 percent higher at 478.40 British pence each in London as of 12.57 p.m. local time today, after sinking 6.5 percent yesterday. 

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev