EASA AD No.: 2014-0250

TE.CAP.00110-004 © European Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved. 1/2

Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA-Internet/Intranet.

EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE

AD No.: 2014-0250

Date: 19 November 2014

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 engines

TCDS Number: United Kingdom No. 1043

Foreign AD: Not applicable

Supersedure: None

ATA 72

Engine – High Pressure Turbine Blades – Replacement (Life 

Limitation)

Manufacturer(s): Rolls-Royce plc (RR)

Applicability: RB211-524B4-02, RB211-524C2-19 and RB211-524D4-19 engines, all serial 

numbers, except those that embody RR Modification (MOD) 72-7730 in 

production, or were modified in service in accordance with RR Service Bulletin 

(SB) RB.211-72-7730.

These engines are known to be installed on, but not limited to, Lockheed Martin 

Corporation L-1011 (TriStar) series and Boeing 747 series aeroplanes.

Reason: There were a number of pre-MOD/SB 72-7730 High Pressure Turbine (HPT) 

blade failures, with some occurring within a relatively short time. Engineering 

analysis carried out by RR on those occurrences indicates that certain preMOD/SB 72-7730 blades, Part Number (P/N) UL32958 and P/N UL21691

(hereafter referred to as ‘affected HPT blade’), with an accumulated life of

6 500 flight hours (FH) since new or more, have an increased risk of in-service 

failure.

This condition, if not corrected, could lead to HPT blade failure, release of 

debris and consequent (partial or complete) loss of engine power, possibly

resulting in reduced control of the aeroplane. 

To address this potentially unsafe condition, RR issued Alert Non-Modification 

Service Bulletin (NMSB) RB.211-72-AH789 to introduce a life limit for the 

affected pre-MOD/SB 72-7730 HPT blades.

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

reduced life limit and replacement of the affected HPT blades that have already 

reached or exceeded the reduced life.

Effective Date: 03 December 2014
EASA AD No.: 2014-0250

TE.CAP.00110-004 © European Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved. 2/2

Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA-Internet/Intranet.

Required Action(s) 

and Compliance

Time(s):

Required as indicated, unless accomplished previously:

Note 1: Where, in this AD, reference is made to an RR Mod, SB or NMSB with 

an ‘A’ (Alert) in the number, it should be recognised that an earlier or later 

revision may not have that ‘A’. This kind of change does not effectively alter the 

publication references for the purpose of this AD.

(1) Within 2 months after the effective date of this AD, or before exceeding

6 500 FH accumulated by an affected HPT blade since first installation on 

an engine, whichever occurs later, replace each affected HPT blade with a 

serviceable blade in accordance with the instructions of RR NMSB 

RB.211-72-AH789.

An affected blade where the accumulated FH cannot be determined must 

be replaced with a serviceable blade (see Note 2) within 2 months after the 

effective date of this AD.

Note 2: For the purpose of this AD, a serviceable blade is one that is an 

affected blade that has not exceeded 6 500 FH since first installation on an 

engine, or a blade which is not an affected blade.

(2) From the effective date of this AD, it is allowed to install an affected HPT 

blade on engine, or an engine with an affected HPT blade on an 

aeroplane, provided the blade is a serviceable blade (see Note 2) and, 

following installation, the affected HPT blade is replaced before exceeding 

6 500 FH since first installation on an engine.

Ref. Publications: Rolls-Royce NMSB RB.211-72-AH789 original issue dated 13 June 2014.

Rolls-Royce SB RB.211-72-7730 original issue dated 17 June 1994.

The use of later approved revisions of these documents 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 20 October 2014 as PAD 14-153 for consultation 

until 17 November 2014. No comments were received during the 

consultation period.

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

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.,

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.