FAA proposes expanded Airbus A330 airworthiness directive on maintenance limits

The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed a supplemental airworthiness directive for Airbus SAS A330 jets that would replace three earlier directives and require operators to fold new, more restrictive airworthiness limitations into their maintenance programmes. The supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking was published in the Federal Register of Wednesday, 7 October 2026 (Vol. 91, No. 193, Proposed Rules, p. 64121), under Docket No. FAA–2026–1338 and Project Identifier MCAI–2025–00316–T. Comments must reach the agency by 23 November 2026.

The proposal revises a notice of proposed rulemaking published on 25 February 2026 (91 FR 9195) and would supersede AD 2014–16–22, AD 2017–25–13 and AD 2024–25–11, the last of which already required revising maintenance programmes to incorporate Airbus A330 Airworthiness Limitations Section Part 4, System Equipment Maintenance Requirements, Revision 9. The FAA acted after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, the technical agent for the EU member states, issued EASA AD 2026–0059 on 19 March 2026, superseding EASA AD 2025–0057 of 17 March 2025.

The agency says new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations have been developed in Airbus A330 ALS Part 4, SEMR, Revision 11, dated 19 December 2025. The unsafe condition is the failure of system components, which, if not addressed, could reduce the controllability of the airplane.

What the directive would require

Under the SNPRM, the FAA would retain certain requirements of AD 2024–25–11 and add a revision of the existing maintenance or inspection programme. The main elements are:

• Retain the revision of the maintenance or inspection programme required by AD 2024–25–11, with a new terminating action, for airplanes certificated on or before 2 October 2023.
• Require compliance with EASA AD 2026–0059, incorporating the new limitations, within 90 days of the directive’s effective date.
• Retain the incorporation by reference of EASA AD 2024–0014, dated 10 January 2024, approved on 7 March 2025.
• Prohibit alternative actions and intervals once the programme is revised, unless approved under the “Ref. Publications” section of EASA AD 2026–0059.
• Allow alternative methods of compliance to be approved by the Manager, AIR–520, Continued Operational Safety Branch.

Which aircraft are covered

The proposal applies to Airbus SAS airplanes certificated in any category with an original airworthiness certificate or original export certificate of airworthiness issued on or before 19 December 2025:

• Model A330–201, –202, –203, –223 and –243 airplanes.
• Model A330–223F and –243F airplanes.
• Model A330–301, –302, –303, –321, –322, –323, –341, –342 and –343 airplanes.
• Model A330–841 airplanes.
• Model A330–941 airplanes.

Airplanes certificated after 19 December 2025 are excluded because they must already comply with the limitations in the approved type design. The FAA notes that there are currently no Model A340 airplanes on the U.S. registry.

Costs and comment process

The FAA estimates the proposal would affect 156 airplanes of the U.S. registry. It puts the average cost at $7,650 per operator for the retained actions from AD 2024–25–11 (90 work-hours at $85 per hour) and the same $7,650 per operator for the new proposed actions. The Air Line Pilots Association, International commented on the earlier NPRM supporting it without change, and the FAA reopened the comment period because the changes expand the scope of the proposal. For details, the agency names Frank Carreras, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198.

If adopted, the directive would consolidate three separate A330 airworthiness directives into one and tie U.S. maintenance programmes to the latest European limitations, a change that touches every U.S.-registered A330 operator and its inspection planning. The document was issued on 5 October 2026 by Brian Knaup, Acting Deputy Director, Integrated Certificate Management Division, Aircraft Certification Service.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 193, 7 October 2026, Proposed Rules, p. 64121 (official reference: FR Doc. 2026–20543).