Subject Concerned: Aircraft   Airlines   

On Oct. 4, Rolls-Royce recommended that "basic precautionary checks" are carried out on its Trent 900 engines, after an engine made by the firm caught fire on a Qantas-operated Airbus A380 jet.

The Qantas flight with more than 450 people on board made a dramatic forced landing in Singapore on Oct. 4, trailing smoke from a blackened engine, in the superjumbo's first mid-air emergency.

"Since Qantas QF32 suffered an engine failure and returned safely to Singapore Changi Airport we have been working closely with our customer and the authorities," Rolls-Royce said in an official statement on Oct. 4.

"In situations like these Rolls-Royce has well established processes to collect and understand information relating to the event and to determine suitable actions."

It added: "As always the safe operation of our products is our number one priority.

"The in-service fleet of Trent 900 engines is small and relatively new, and the group feels that it is prudent to recommend that a number of basic precautionary engine checks are performed. This process is now underway."

Rolls-Royce added that it would work closely with its customers to probe the incident, but stressed that the matter was at a "very early" stage.

"We will continue to work closely with our customers as the investigation moves forward.

"This is at a very early stage and it would be inappropriate to draw any conclusions at this time."

In reaction to the latest news, Rolls-Royce shares slumped 4.75 percent to 622 pence in afternoon London trading on London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading shares, which was up 1.99 percent.

Photograph: The first Airbus A380 received by Australia's national carrier - Qantas. Photo by CARNOC.com message board member - patricio.