EASA PAD No.: 2014-0062

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EASA AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE

AD No.: 2014-0062

Date: 11 March 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:

AIRBUS

Type/Model designation(s):

A330 aeroplanes

TCDS Number: EASA.A.004

Foreign AD: Not applicable

Supersedure: None

ATA 78 Exhaust – Thrust Reverser Cowl Door Hinge Sleeves –

Identification / Replacement

Manufacturer(s): Airbus (formerly Airbus Industrie)

Applicability: Airbus A330-243, A330-243F, A330-341, A330-342, and A330-343 aeroplanes, 

all manufacturer serial numbers.

Reason: A manufacturing discrepancy (lack of heat treatment) on a batch of the N°3 and 

N°4 hinge sleeves installed on Thrust Reverser Unit (TRU) was identified.

Those parts are only installed on A330 aeroplanes equipped with Rolls-Royce 

(RR) Trent 700 engines.

This condition, if not corrected, in case of a Fan Blade Off event due to high 

vibration level, could cause in-flight loss of some heavy components of the 

TRU, possibly resulting in injury to persons on the ground.

As current hinge sleeves are not serialized, it is not possible to identify the TRU 

hinge sleeves which did not receive the heat treatment. The part supplier has 

developed an identification procedure for these TRU hinge sleeves in order to 

identify the affected hinge sleeves, and to allow a better part traceability in the 

future. 

For the reason described above, this AD requires identification and 

replacement of the affected TRU hinge sleeves.

Effective Date: 25 March 2014
EASA PAD No.: 2014-0062

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Required Action(s) 

and Compliance

Time(s):

Required as indicated, unless accomplished previously:

(1) Within 12 months after the effective date of this AD, identify and, if found to 

be affected, replace the hinge sleeves N°3 and N°4 of the TRU cowl door

in accordance with the instructions of Airbus Service Bulletin (SB) A330-

78-3021 Revision 01.

(2) Aeroplanes on which Airbus Modification 202463 has been embodied in 

production or aeroplanes modified in accordance with the instructions of 

Airbus SB A330-78-3021 at original issue, are compliant with the 

requirement of paragraph (1) of this AD.

(3) From the effective date of this AD, installation of a TRU is allowed, 

provided that, prior to installation, it is determined, in accordance with the 

instructions of Airbus SB A330-78-3021, that the cowl door hinge sleeves 

installed on the TRU are not affected by the requirements of this AD.

Ref. Publications: Airbus SB A330-78-3021 at original issue dated 17 October 2012, or Revision 

01 dated 30 July 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 19 September 2013 as PAD 13-144 for consultation 

until 17 October 2013, and re-published on 18 December 2013 as PAD 13-

144R1 for additional consultation until 01 January 2014. 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: AIRBUS – Airworthiness Office – EIAL;

E-mail: airworthiness.A330-A340@airbus.com.