EASA AD No : 2010-0262 

EASA Form 110 Page 1/2 

EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE 

AD No.: 2010-0262 

Date: 13 December 2010 

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 Trent 900 series engines 

TCDS Number : EASA.E.012 

Foreign AD : Not applicable 

Supersedure : None 

ATA 73 Engine Fuel & Control – Intermediate Pressure Turbine Overspeed 

Protection System Software – Introduction 

Manufacturer(s): Rolls-Royce plc 

Applicability: RB211 Trent 900 series engines, variants RB211 Trent 970-84, RB211 Trent 

970B-84, RB211 Trent 972-84, RB211 Trent 972B-84, RB211 Trent 977-84, 

RB211 Trent 977B-84 and RB211 Trent 980-84, all serial numbers. 

These engines are known to be installed on, but not limited to, Airbus A380 

series aeroplanes. 

Reason: An uncontained engine failure has recently occurred on a Rolls-Royce RB211 

Trent 900 involving release of high energy debris and resulting in damage to 

the aeroplane. Analysis of the available elements from the incident 

investigation shows that an oil fire in the High Pressure / Intermediate Pressure 

(HP/IP) structure cavity may have initiated a sequence of events leading to 

rupture of the drive arm of the IP Turbine (IPT) disc and subsequent overspeed 

and burst of that same disc. 

This condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead to additional 

uncontained engine failures, possibly resulting in damage to the aeroplane and 

injury to persons on the ground. 

Rolls-Royce has developed a modification of the Engine Electronic Controller 

(EEC) software, featuring an IPT Overspeed Protection System (IPTOS). The 

purpose of the IPTOS functionality is to detect engine conditions that may 

potentially lead to an IP turbine overspeed, and shut down the engine before 

the level of overspeed reaches the disc burst speed. 

For the reasons described above, this AD requires modification of the EEC to 

introduce the IPTOS functionality by installing Software version 10.6. 
EASA AD No : 2010-0262 

EASA Form 110 Page 2/2 

The requirements of this AD address some of the findings from the subject 

incident investigation. It is issued independently from other requirements (*) 

and does not constitute terminating action for any of these requirements. 

(*) At the time of issuance of this AD, the requirements from AD 2010-0242-E 

are in force in response to the same incident investigation. 

Effective Date: 27 December 2010 

Required Action(s) 

and Compliance 

Time(s): 

Required as indicated, unless accomplished previously: 

(1) Within 10 Flight Cycles (FC) after the effective date of this AD, incorporate 

introduction of software 10.6 to the EEC in accordance with the 

instructions of Rolls-Royce Alert Service Bulletin (SB) RB.211-73-AG639. 

(2) After modification of an engine installed on an aeroplane, as required by 

paragraph (1) of this AD, do not intermix with any EEC software standards 

prior to modification 73-F328 (standard 9.2.1) on that aeroplane. 

(3) From the effective date of this AD, do not install an engine on an 

aeroplane, unless the engine has been modified as required by paragraph 

(1) of this AD. 

(4) Incorporation of later approved versions of EEC software standards that 

will include IPTOS functionality is acceptable to comply with the 

requirement of paragraph (1) of this AD. 

Ref. Publications: Rolls-Royce Alert SB RB.211-73-AG639 dated 3 December 2010. 

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. The required actions and the risk allowance have granted the issuance of a 

Final AD with Request for Comments, postponing the public consultation 

process after publication. 

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 your designated Rolls-Royce representative or 

download the publication from your Aeromanager account at 

www.aeromanager.com. 

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

please contact Corporate Communications at Rolls-Royce plc. PO Box 

31, Derby, DE24 8BJ, United Kingdom. Phone: +44 (0) 1332 242424, or 

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

correspondence as being related to Airworthiness Directives.