EASA AD No : 2009-0073R1 

EASA Form 110 Page 1/2 

EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE 

AD No.: 2009-0073R1 

Date: 08 April 2009 

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 EC 1702/2003, Part 21A.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]. 

Type 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 

Revision : This AD revises and replaces AD 2009-0073 dated 30 March 2009. 

ATA 72 Engine – High Pressure (HP) Compressor Stage 1 to 4 Rotor Discs 

and HP Compressor Rotor Shafts – Inspection 

Manufacturer(s): Rolls-Royce plc 

Applicability: 

1) RB211 Trent 553-61, 553A2-61, 556-61, 556A2-61, 556B-61, 556B2-61, 

560-61 and 560A2-61 engines, all serial numbers, if HP Compressor Stage 1 to 

4 Rotor Discs, Part Number (P/N) FK30524 are installed. These engines are 

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

2) RB211 Trent 768-60, 772-60, 772B-60 and 772C-60 engines, all serial 

numbers, if a HP Compressor Rotor Shaft, P/N FK22745, FK24031, FK26185, 

FK23313, FK25502, FK32129, FW20195, FW20196, FW20197, FW20638 or 

FW23711 is installed. These engines are known to be installed on, but not 

limited to, Airbus A330 series aeroplanes. 

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

engines, all serial numbers, if HP Compressor Stage 1 to 4 Rotor Discs, P/N 

FK24009, FK26167, FK32580, FW11590 or FW61622 are installed. These 

engines are known to be installed on, but not limited to, Boeing 777 series 

aeroplanes. 

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

524H2-T-19 engines, if a HP Compressor Rotor Shaft, P/N FK25502, FK20195 

or FW23711 is installed. These engines are known to be installed on, but not 

limited to, Boeing 747 and Boeing 767 series aeroplanes. 

Reason: During manufacture of a number of HP Compressor Stage 1 and 2 discs with 

axial dovetail slots, anomalies at the disc post corners have been found. 

Fatigue crack initiation and subsequent crack propagation at the disc post may 
EASA AD No : 2009-0073R1 

EASA Form 110 Page 2/2 

result in release of two blades and the disc post. This may potentially be 

beyond the containment capabilities of the engine casings. Thus, these 

anomalies present at the disc posts constitute a potentially unsafe condition. 

For the reasons described above, this AD requires repetitive inspections of the 

axial dovetail slots and follow-on corrective action, depending on findings. 

This revised AD has been issued to correct a discrepancy between the original 

AD Applicability and the related Rolls-Royce publication. In addition, a small 

editorial change has been made to paragraph (4) of the Compliance section, for 

clarification purposes. 

Effective Date: 14 April 2009 

Required Action(s) 

and Compliance 

Time(s): 

Required as indicated, unless accomplished previously: 

(1) If, on the effective date of this AD, the life of the HP Compressor Stage 1 to 

4 Rotor Discs or the HP Compressor Rotor Shafts is equal to or greater 

than 1 000 Cycles Since New (CSN) and the engine is at Refurbishment 

(Level 3) shop visit, carry out the inspections defined in Section 3. 

Accomplishment Instructions of Rolls-Royce Non-Modification Service 

Bulletin (NMSB) 72-AF964, Revision 1. 

(2) If, on the effective date of this AD, the life of the HP Compressor Stage 1 to 

4 Rotor Discs or the HP Compressor Rotor Shafts is equal to or greater 

than 1 000 CSN and the engine is at Overhaul (Level 4) shop visit, carry 

out the inspections defined in Section 3. Accomplishment Instructions of 

Rolls-Royce NMSB 72-AF964, Revision 1. 

(3) If, on the effective date of this AD, the life of the HP Compressor Stage 1 to 

4 Rotor Discs or the HP Compressor Rotor Shafts is equal to or greater 

than 1 000 CSN and the HP Compressor Rotor is at piece part level, carry 

out the inspections defined in Section 3. Accomplishment Instructions of 

Rolls-Royce NMSB 72-AF964, Revision 1. 

(4) When the life of the HP Compressor Stage 1 to 4 Rotor Discs or the HP 

Compressor Rotor Shaft is greater than or equal to 1 000 CSN, carry out 

the actions defined in Section 3. Accomplishment Instructions of RollsRoyce NMSB No. 72-AF964, Revision 1 at every engine Refurbishment 

(Level 3) shop visit, every engine Overhaul (Level 4) shop visit and each 

time the HP Compressor is at piece part level. 

Ref. Publications: 

Rolls-Royce RB211 Propulsion System NMSB 72-AF964 Revision 1 

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 published on 17 February 2009 as PAD 09-039 for 

consultation until 10 March 2009. The Comment Response Document can 

be found at http://ad.easa.europa.eu/. 

3. Enquiries regarding this AD should be referred to the Airworthiness 

Directives, Safety Management & Research Section, Certification 

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

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

this AD, please contact: 

Rolls-Royce plc., P.O. Box 31, Derby, DE24 8BJ, United Kingdom; 

Telephone: +44 (0) 1332 242424, Fax: +44 (0) 1332 249936; 

Email: tech.help@rolls-royce.com or download the publication from 

https://www.aeromanager.com/