Updated at 1.06pm: Hong Kong civil aviation officials have ordered Cathay Pacific and Dragonair to check their Boeing 747 aircraft for possible wing fractures, Apple Daily reported on Wednesday.
The requirement comes after a Boeing 747 passenger jet wing plate ? used for decelerating during landing ? was found to have fractured, the paper reported, quoting Civil Aviation acting director-general Leung Yu-keung. The fracture became known after the plane left Hong Kong and landed in Manila on April 22, the newspaper reported.
Boeing 747 jumbo jets have 12 wing plates.
Mr Leung said fractures like these were unprecedented and a Hong Kong-wide check on similar planes was essential, Apple Daily reported.
He said department officers would begin inspecting Boeing 747 aircraft in Hong Kong this week. His staff had obtained guidelines from the United States aircraft manufacturer on which parts would need to be checked, the report said.
Department figures show there were 38 Boeing 747s based in Hong Kong. Of these, 21 are passenger jets owned by Cathay and 17 are cargo carriers co-owned by Cathay and Dragonair.