EASA AD No.: 2011-0175 

EASA Form 112 Page 1/2 

EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE 

AD No.: 2011-0175 

Date: 08 September 2011 

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 series engines 

TCDS Number : UK CAA No. 1046 and 1048 

Foreign AD : Not applicable 

Supersedure : None 

ATA 73 Engine Fuel and Control – Full Authority Fuel Controller (FAFC) 

– Modification 

Manufacturer(s): Rolls-Royce plc 

Applicability: RB211-524G2-19, RB211-524G2-T-19, RB211-524G3-19, RB211-524G3 

T-19, RB211-524H2-19, RB211-524H2-T-19, RB211-524H-36 and RB211-

524H-T-36 engines, all Serial Numbers up to 13819 inclusive. 

These engines are known to be installed on, but not limited to, Boeing 747 

and Boeing 767 series aeroplanes. 

Reason: Several instances of fan blade cracking have been reported. 

The results of the subsequent technical investigation concluded that the 

cracking was caused by fan blade flutter at certain engine settings during 

prolonged ground running. 

This condition, if not corrected, could affect the integrity of the fan blades, 

leading to cracking of multiple fan blades and could possibly result in engine 

failure and release of uncontained high energy debris. 

To address this potential unsafe condition, Rolls Royce have developed 

modified FAFC software in order to ensure that the engine cannot 

experience prolonged running on ground at engine settings that would 

potentially jeopardise the integrity of the fan blades. 

For the reasons described above, this AD requires replacement of the 

FAFC with a modified one, incorporating software modification at issue 17.
EASA AD No.: 2011-0175 

EASA Form 112 Page 2/2 

Effective Date: 22 September 2011 

Required Action(s) and 

Compliance Time(s): 

Required as indicated, unless accomplished previously: 

(1) Within 40 months after the effective date of this AD, modify the engine 

by installing an FAFC featuring software at issue 17 in accordance with 

paragraph 3 of the Accomplishment Instructions of Rolls-Royce Service 

Bulletin (SB) RB211-73-AG054, Revision 2. 

(2) Engines which have been modified, before the effective date of this AD, 

in accordance with previous revisions of Rolls-Royce SB RB211-73-

AG054 are compliant with the requirement of paragraph (1) of this AD. 

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

unless the FAFC to be installed on that engine incorporates software at 

issue 17. 

Ref. Publications: Rolls-Royce SB RB211-73-AG054 Revision 2 dated 29 June 2011. 

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 26 July 2011 as PAD 11-078 for consultation 

until 23 August 2011. 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. 

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, 

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: