Hong Kong aviation investigators say an engine problem that caused Cathay Pacific to ground its entire fleet of Airbus A350 jets for inspection earlier this month could have escalated into “extensive damage.

An engine fire on a Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 earlier this month was the result of a fuel leak and could have caused extensive damage to the plane, according to investigators. Hong Kong’s flagship airline grounded planes after being forced to turn a flight around a couple of weeks ago because of an "engine component failure".

Europe's aviation regulator on Thursday linked a recent engine fire on a Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 to a possible problem with the maintenance of its Rolls-Royce engines.