The US Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the replacement of 15 high-pressure turbine interstage seals in selected Engine Alliance GP7200 engines powering Airbus A380 aircraft. Airworthiness Directive 2026-20-12 covers specified GP7270, GP7272 and GP7277 engines and takes effect on 23 October. It is an interim measure following an uncontained seal failure that caused an engine shutdown and aborted take-off, rather than a fleet-wide grounding or a measure covering all GP7200 engines.
The affected seals are identified by part and serial number under Engine Alliance Alert Service Bulletin EAGP7-A72-479, issued on 4 September. Operators must remove the 15 seals with the highest number of flight cycles since overhaul and install eligible replacement parts. Compliance deadlines range from 50 flight cycles or 30 days to 150 flight cycles or 90 days, whichever comes first; an intermediate group has a limit of 100 cycles or 60 days.
The FAA identified the triggering event as an uncontrolled failure of an HPT interstage seal in a GP7270 engine during the take-off roll of an A380. A repeat failure could lead to an engine fire and damage to the aircraft, while the underlying cause remains under investigation. The agency estimates the work at about US$528,150 per affected engine, including US$527,300 for parts. No affected engine is installed on an aircraft registered in the United States.