Three FAA Final Rules: 787 Radio Altimeters, EC130 Doors, BR725 Limits
ADs published 9 November 2026 and effective 14 December 2026 cover certain Boeing 787 radio-altimeter cables, all Airbus EC130B4 helicopters, and all Rolls-Royce BR700-725A1-12 engines.
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Updated November 9, 2026
5 min read
The Federal Register of 9 November 2026 carries three final airworthiness directives that take effect on the same day, 14 December 2026. They do not share an airplane, a defect or an effectivity list. One replaces low-range radio-altimeter cables on certain Boeing 787s. One modifies left-hand doors on Airbus Helicopters EC130B4 helicopters. One revises life limits for Rolls-Royce Deutschland BR700-725A1-12 engines.
The photograph is an Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9, registration A6-BNE, on approach to Washington Dulles on 30 April 2025. It illustrates the 787 item only. It is not a picture of an EC130B4 or of a BR725 engine, and this article does not claim that A6-BNE is inside the Boeing bulletin's effectivity.
The same week's Lycoming piston-pin AD is a separate rule, with its own effective date of 24 November 2026.
787 radio-altimeter cables, not the wing-tank sealant rule
AD 2026-22-09 (amendment 39-23511, Docket No. FAA-2026-1335) applies to Boeing 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10 airplanes identified in Boeing Alert Requirements Bulletin B787-81205-SB340062-00 RB, Issue 001, dated 23 December 2024. That is a bulletin effectivity, not the whole 787 fleet. The FAA estimates 169 airplanes of U.S. registry.
The AD was prompted by reports that the low-range radio altimeter system has an increased rate of non-computed-data outputs at low altitude during approach and landing. The FAA says the unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in loss of continued safe flight and landing. The required action is replacement of the left and right BMS13-65 Type 0G transmit and receive coaxial cables with larger-gauge Type 0J cables, at the times in the requirements bulletin. Where those tables date compliance from the bulletin's own issue date, the AD substitutes 14 December 2026.
In the comment period, American, Turkish Airlines and another commenter asked for more time, citing cable lead times. The FAA refused. It said operators have sufficient time inside a five-year compliance period, and that an extension can still be requested under the AMOC paragraph if the data support it. The FAA also said Issue 002 of the service bulletin, dated 11 August 2025, may be used as accepted procedures. It said Boeing has not released Issue 002 of the requirements bulletin, and it left the AD's applicability on Issue 001 of that bulletin. The FAA rejected a request to keep affected airplanes flying under visual flight rules in place of the cable change. The AD does not prohibit operations while the compliance time is still open.
The FAA's cost table is 31 work-hours at $85 per hour ($2,635) plus $15,170 in parts, or $17,805 per airplane and $3,009,045 for the U.S. estimate. Boeing has indicated that some or all of the cost may be covered under warranty. That is the manufacturer's indication, recorded by the FAA, not a warranty determination.
This is a different 787 rule from AD 2026-22-05, the center-wing fuel-tank sealant inspections published on 2 November and effective 7 December 2026. Different bulletin, different defect, different effective date.
EC130B4 left-hand doors
AD 2026-22-08 (amendment 39-23510, Docket No. FAA-2025-7226) applies to all Airbus Helicopters Model EC130B4 helicopters. It does not name other Airbus helicopter models. The FAA estimates 214 helicopters of U.S. registry.
EASA AD 2024-0232, dated 5 December 2024, is the state-of-design action. EASA reported weaknesses in the locking mechanisms of the left-hand swing and sliding doors, and said EC130B4 helicopters that had embodied modification EC 07 3796 had been left out of an earlier EASA AD in error. The FAA's final rule requires the actions in EASA AD 2024-0232, with stated exceptions. Those actions modify the door locking and unlocking mechanism by installing a reinforcing bracket and replacing rod ends, and they prohibit installation of a composite door unless that modification is done. The unsafe condition the FAA describes is failure of the sliding-door star support, which could stop the sliding door being operated from the inside and delay an evacuation.
Where EASA allowed 24 months, the FAA requires the modification within 460 hours time-in-service after 14 December 2026. The FAA says that interval is based on an average of 230 hours a year. The FAA's cost estimate is 20 work-hours at $85 ($1,700) plus $642 in parts, or $2,342 per helicopter. The AD does not require the reporting that the EASA material asks operators to send to the manufacturer.
BR700-725A1-12 life limits
AD 2026-22-07 (amendment 39-23509, Docket No. FAA-2026-7219) applies to all Rolls-Royce Deutschland Model BR700-725A1-12 engines. The AD does not list other Rolls-Royce models and does not name an airframe. The FAA estimates 758 engines installed on airplanes of U.S. registry.
The manufacturer revised the airworthiness-limitations section of the time-limits manual with new or more restrictive limits, thresholds and intervals for life-limited parts. The FAA says the unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in failure of one or more engines, loss of thrust control and loss of the airplane. The FAA adopts EASA AD 2024-0136, dated 11 July 2024, except specified paragraphs. It does not require compliance with paragraphs (1), (2), (4) and (5) of that EASA AD. Where EASA paragraph (3) allowed 12 months to revise the approved maintenance programme, this AD requires the airworthiness-limitations section of the existing approved engine maintenance or inspection programme to be revised within 30 days after 14 December 2026. The initial compliance time for the tasks in that paragraph is the incorporated limitation or threshold, or 30 days after the effective date, whichever is later. Alternative limits need the approval path named in the EASA AD.
The FAA's published cost is the programme revision only: one work-hour at $85, or $64,430 across the U.S. estimate. The Federal Register table does not price the shop work that a tighter life limit can create.
The three effectivity lists are the record that matters, which is the sorting problem discussed in the AD compliance software guide.
