EASA AD No : 2013-0042

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EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE

AD No.: 2013-0042

Date: 26 February 2013

Note: This Airworthiness Directive (AD) is issued by EASA, acting in accordance with Regulation 

(EC) No 216/2008 on behalf of the European Community, its Member States and of the European 

third countries that participate in the activities of EASA under Article 66 of that Regulation.

This AD is issued in accordance with EU 748/2012, Part 21.A.3B. In accordance with EC 2042/2003 Annex I, Part M.A.301, the 

continuing airworthiness of an aircraft shall be ensured by accomplishing any applicable ADs. Consequently, no person may operate an 

aircraft to which an AD applies, except in accordance with the requirements of that AD, unless otherwise specified by the Agency [EC 

2042/2003 Annex I, Part M.A.303] or agreed with the Authority of the State of Registry [EC 216/2008, Article 14(4) exemption].

Design Approval Holder’s Name :

ROLLS-ROYCE PLC

Type/Model designation(s) :

RB211-524, Trent 500, Trent 700 and

Trent 800 series Engines

TCDS Numbers: EASA.E.042, EASA.E.060, United Kingdom Nos. 1046, 1048 and 1051

Foreign AD: Not applicable

Supersedure: This AD supersedes EASA AD 2009-0073R1 dated 08 April 2009.

ATA 72 Engine – High Pressure Compressor Rotor Discs and Rotor Shafts –

Inspection / Replacement

Manufacturer(s): Rolls-Royce plc

Applicability: RB211 Trent 553-61, 553A2-61, 556-61, 556A2-61, 556B-61, 556B2-61, 560-61 

and 560A2-61 engines, all serial numbers. These engines are known to be 

installed on, but not limited to, Airbus A340 series aeroplanes.

RB211 Trent 768-60, 772-60, 772B-60 and 772C-60 engines, all serial numbers. 

These engines are known to be installed on, but not limited to, Airbus A330 series 

aeroplanes.

RB211 Trent 875-17, 877-17, 884-17, 884B-17, 892-17, 892B-17 and 895-17 

engines, all serial numbers. These engines are known to be installed on, but not 

limited to, Boeing 777 series aeroplanes.

RB211-524G2-T-19, RB211-524G3-T-19, RB211-524H-T-36 and

RB211-524H2-T-19 engines. These engines are known to be installed on, but not 

limited to, Boeing 747 and 767 series aeroplanes.

Reason: During manufacture of a number of high pressure compressor (HPC) Stage 1 and 

2 discs with axial dovetail slots, anomalies at the disc post corners were found. 

Fatigue crack initiation and subsequent crack propagation at the disc post may 

result in failure of two blades and the disc post.

This condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead to an uncontained engine 

failure and consequent release of high energy debris, possibly resulting in 
EASA AD No : 2013-0042

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damage to the aeroplane and injury to occupants. 

To address this potential unsafe condition, EASA issued AD 2009-0073 (later 

revised) to require repetitive inspections of the axial dovetail slots and, depending 

on findings, accomplishment of the applicable corrective action(s).

Since EASA AD 2009-0073R1 was published, the relevant Rolls-Royce (RR) 

Non-Modification Service Bulletin (NMSB), RB.211-72-AF964, has been 

amended to Revision 3, adding several HPC rotor discs and -shafts, identified by 

Part Number (P/N) in Section 1.A of that NMSB, which also need to be inspected.

For the reasons described above, this new EASA AD retains the requirements of 

EASA AD 2009-0073R1, which is superseded, and extends the applicability to all 

HPC rotor discs and HPC rotor shafts identified in Section 1.A of RR NMSB 

RB.211-72-AF964 at Revision 3.

Effective Date: 12 March 2013

Required Action(s) 

and Compliance 

Time(s):

Required as indicated, unless accomplished previously:

(1) For engines with an HPC rotor disc/shaft installed with a P/N as listed in 

Section 1.A of RR NMSB RB.211-72-AF964 Revision 3, as applicable to 

engine type, during each qualifying shop visit (as defined in Section 1.C.(1) of 

RR NMSB RB.211-72-AF964 Revision 3) after the part exceeds 1 000 cycles 

since new (CSN), inspect the axial dovetail slots in accordance with the 

instructions of Section 3 of RR NMSB RB.211-72-AF964 Revision 3.

(2) If, during any inspection as required by paragraph (1) of this AD, 

discrepancies are detected, before release to service of the engine, 

accomplish the applicable corrective action(s) in accordance with the 

instructions of Section 3 of RR NMSB RB.211-72-AF964 Revision 3.

(3) If, on the effective date of this AD, an engine with an affected part (P/N as 

listed in Section 1.A of RR NMSB RB.211-72-AF964 Revision 3) that has 

accumulated or exceeded 1 000 CSN is undergoing overhaul and in a 

condition as defined in Section 1.C.(2) of RR NMSB RB.211-72-AF964 

Revision 3, before release to service of the engine, inspect the axial dovetail 

slots and, depending on findings, accomplish the applicable corrective 

action(s), in accordance with the instructions of Section 3 of RR NMSB 

RB.211-72-AF964 Revision 3.

(4) From the effective date of this AD, installation on an aeroplane of an engine 

that contains an affected part (HPC rotor disc/shaft with a P/N as listed in 

Section 1.A of RR NMSB RB.211-72-AF964 Revision 3) is allowed, provided 

that, after installation, that engine is inspected and, depending on findings,

corrected, as required by paragraphs (1) and (2) of this AD.

Ref. Publications: Rolls-Royce NMSB RB.211-72-AF964 Revision 3 dated 11 January 2013.

The use of later approved revisions of this document is acceptable for compliance 

with the requirements of this AD.

Remarks : 1. If requested and appropriately substantiated, EASA can approve Alternative 

Methods of Compliance for this AD.

2. This AD was posted on 21 January 2013 as PAD 13-017 for consultation 

until 18 February 2013. The Comment Response Document can be found at 

http://ad.easa.europa.eu.

3. Enquiries regarding this AD should be referred to the Safety Information 

Section, Executive Directorate, EASA. E-mail ADs@easa.europa.eu.

4. For any question concerning the technical content of the requirements in this 

AD, please contact your designated Rolls-Royce representative or download 

the publication from your Aeromanager account at www.aeromanager.com.
EASA AD No : 2013-0042

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If you do not have a designated representative or Aeromanager account, 

please contact Corporate Communications at Rolls-Royce plc.,

P.O. Box 31, Derby, DE24 8BJ, United Kingdom,

telephone: +44 (0) 1332 242424, or send an e-mail through

http://www.rolls-royce.com/contact/civil_team.jsp identifying the 

correspondence as being related to Airworthiness Directives.