Contaminated fuel caused the accident last year in which a Cathay Pacific jet's engines failed forcing the aircraft to make an emergency landing in Hong Kong, investigators confirmed yesterday.
An updated report from the Civil Aviation Department into the incident nine months ago said particles found in the Airbus A330's engines were consistent with those found in the fuelling dispenser at Juanda International Airport in Indonesia.
The report also found similar particles in an engine of another Airbus on the same Cathay Pacific route, which had refuelled at the same stand a day before the accident.
In August, the department said 'fine particles' were found inside both engines of the jet. Investigators said the particles could not have come from within the aircraft airframe or engine systems under normal operating conditions.
The update said the 'fine spherical particles' that caused the engines to fail were five to 20 microns in size, and some as big as 30 microns were also found in the fuel system. One micron is equal to one-millionth of a metre.
'Analysis showed that the spheres contained carbon, oxygen, sodium, chlorine and sulphur and were mainly sodium polyacrylate, which was consistent with the super absorbent polymer material used in the filter monitors on a fuelling dispenser,' the report said.
'Such spheres were also present in the hose and strainer of the dispenser used for refuelling the accident flight at Juanda International Airport ... such contamination was believed to be related to the fuel ... through the dispenser. The investigation so far is not able to establish how the spheres were created and how they could enter the aircraft.'