The Federal Aviation Administration has filed a final airworthiness directive requiring affected low-pressure compressor blades in three Rolls-Royce Trent engine models to be removed from service and replaced with serviceable parts. The rule is scheduled for October 13 publication.
The FAA says a batch of blades received nonconforming repairs that left them more prone to cracking. It estimates the directive affects eight engines installed on U.S.-registered airplanes.
Models and affected parts
The directive applies to Rolls-Royce Deutschland Model RB211 Trent 768-60, 772-60 and 772B-60 engines. The action concerns affected compressor blades, rather than ordering replacement of every blade in every Trent engine.
Its required-action paragraph incorporates European Union Aviation Safety Agency directive 2025-0288R1, dated June 26, 2026, with exceptions specified by the FAA. The separate EASA document supplies details that this report has not independently read; operators need the incorporated instructions to determine the applicable actions and times.
A change from the earlier proposal
The FAA's June 1 proposal referred to an earlier EASA directive. After that proposal, EASA revised an exception concerning removal and reinstallation of the same affected part on the same engine within one maintenance activity.
The FAA describes the revised exception as applying regardless of the part's position on that engine. It updated the final rule to refer to the revised EASA directive. The European document also covers Trent 772C-60 engines, which the FAA excludes because that model does not have an FAA type certificate.
When the directive takes effect
The inspection PDF brackets effectiveness at 35 days after publication. By this desk's count from the scheduled October 13 issue, that is November 17, 2026, the date already listed in the Register metadata.
The rule provides a process for requesting FAA approval of an alternative method of compliance. It does not establish that an individual operator has completed the work, or support a general instruction for passengers to cancel travel.