Oil fire may have been the cause of the rotor failure.
SYDNEY – Europe's air safety agency says an oil fire inside the engine of a Qantas superjumbo may have caused the failure that forced it into an emergency landing last week.
The statement was the first indication that investigators suspect an oil fire may have preceded the disintigration of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on the Qantas jet.
The European Aviation Safety Authority on Thursday ordered airlines using the Trent 900 engine to carry out more checks to ensure the planes fitted with them are safe to fly.
In its order to airlines, the agency said that analysis of information so far from the investigation "shows that an oil fire" in part of the engine "may have caused the failure" of a turbine disc in the engine.