Airbus must check for loose evacuation slides on its A350 planes
What happened
The US aviation regulator is ordering Airbus to inspect all A350-941 and -1041 airplanes. This is because an evacuation slide cover detached during a flight, leaving the slide pack unsecured on the cabin floor.
Why it matters
Airlines must now perform visual inspections of the latch hooks that secure evacuation slide covers. If a problem is found, they must fix it. This means a specific safety risk on a particular type of wide-body aircraft is now being addressed directly.
The signal
Watch for any further reports of detached evacuation slide covers on A350 aircraft, which would indicate whether the inspections and corrective actions are effective.