*

Cathay Pacific found 15 of its 48 A350s had damaged fuel

lines

*

Some other carriers have made precautionary checks

*

Too early to rule out findings that could require further

action-sources

(Adds other airline checks in paragraph 2, details of initial

findings from paragraph 7 onward)

By Tim Hepher

PARIS, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Airlines will likely be told

there is no immediate need for global checks on the Airbus

A350-1000, ending days of uncertainty after an engine

emergency prompted Cathay Pacific to review its fleet,

two people familiar with the matter said.

Some carriers including Singapore Airlines and

Japan Airlines ( JPNRF ) had been conducting precautionary checks

of their entire A350 fleets after Cathay Pacific said it had

found 15 of its 48 A350 jets needed repairs to fuel lines.

Barring last-minute changes as investigators examine parts

from a Cathay Pacific A350 that returned to base on Monday,

Airbus and engine maker Rolls-Royce are expected to move to

allay wider safety concerns in their first briefings to carriers

on Thursday, the people said.

Airbus declined comment and referred queries to Hong Kong

investigators, who could not be reached. Rolls-Royce and Cathay

Pacific did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Although the stance suggests the incident is increasingly

being seen as isolated, it is too early to rule out further

findings or analysis that may eventually require action by other

airlines, the people said, asking not to be identified.

A final decision rests with regulators. It was not

immediately clear whether the European Union Aviation Safety

Agency (EASA) had formally endorsed a decision to refrain from

recommending fleet action, which can cause delays and downtime.

"We have no further comment at this stage as we are still

completing our assessment," an EASA spokesperson said.

The A350-1000, the larger of two models in the Airbus A350

family, and its Rolls-Royce XWB-97 engines have been under the

spotlight since a Zurich-bound jet was forced to return to Hong

Kong after an engine problem, later traced to a fuel leak.

Initial investigations have revealed that a flexible

pipe feeding a fuel injection nozzle in the XWB-97 engine was

pierced, the people said.

Hong Kong investigators are now expected to focus on whether

that hole was the origin of the fuel leak or was itself caused

by a different problem, yet to be identified, they added.

Hong Kong's Air Accident Investigation Authority did not

immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cathay Pacific said earlier it would return all Airbus

A350s, including the smaller A350-900 version, to operation by

Saturday following inspections and fuel line repairs on 15 jets,

having cancelled dozens of flights to examine the planes.

It did not say what criteria it had used to decide whether

the lines should be replaced nor whether the changes had been

approved by Rolls-Royce, which typically oversees maintenance

under long-term engine service contracts. Neither company

responded to a request for comment on the repairs.

So far no other airline has reported damage to fuel

lines. Some have carried out voluntary checks since the incident

while others have said they are awaiting clarity from

Rolls-Royce.