FAA orders crack checks on Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines

The Federal Aviation Administration is tightening inspections on Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG Trent 1000 engines, a family used on several long-haul jet models. The new directive covers the Trent 1000-AE3 through -R3 line and focuses on high-pressure turbine, or HPT, blades that may crack before their expected life runs out.

FAA airworthiness directive 2026-12-06 requires initial and repeated borescope inspections, a camera check inside the engine, for axial cracks in those blades. If the inspections turn up a problem, operators must keep checking the blades or replace them with eligible parts. The agency also added an optional way to end the repeat-inspection cycle.

A rule with little U.S. footprint

The practical effect inside the United States appears limited. The FAA says there are no engines of this type on the U.S. Registry, so it does not expect compliance costs here even though the new rule supersedes an older directive for the same engine family.

The agency is taking comments through July 30, 2026.