[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 248 (Thursday, December 27, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66819-66821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-31557]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 39
[Docket No. 98-ANE-61-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64
Airworthiness Directives; Pratt & Whitney (PW) PW2000 Series
Turbofan Engines
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); reopening of
comment period.
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SUMMARY: This action revises an earlier proposed airworthiness
directive (AD), applicable to certain Pratt & Whitney (PW) PW2000
series turbofan engines, that would supersede an existing airworthiness
directive (AD) by modifying the airworthiness limitations section of
the manufacturer's manual and an air carrier's approved continuous
airworthiness maintenance program to incorporate additional inspection
requirements. This action revises the proposed rule by adding the low
pressure compressor (LPC) hub assembly, high pressure turbine (HPT) 1st
stage disk, and HPT 2nd stage hub to the additional inspection
requirements. The regulatory section revises the manufacturer's
Airworthiness Limitations Section (ALS) of the Instructions for
Continued Airworthiness (ICA), and for air carrier operations revises
the approved continuous airworthiness maintenance program. The actions
specified by this proposed AD are intended to prevent critical life-
limited rotating engine part failure, which could result in an
uncontained engine failure and damage to the airplane.
DATES: Comments must be received by January 28, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments in triplicate to the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), New England Region, Office of the Regional
Counsel, Attention: Rules Docket No. 98-ANE-
[[Page 66820]]
61-AD, 12 New England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803-5299.
Comments may be inspected at this location, by appointment, between 8
a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Comments may also be sent via the Internet using the following address:
``9-ane-adcomment@faa.gov.'' Comments sent via the Internet must
contain the docket number in the subject line.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Yang, Aerospace Engineer, Engine
Certification Office, FAA, Engine and Propeller Directorate, 12 New
England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803-5299; telephone (781) 238-
7747, fax (781) 238-7199.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
Interested persons are invited to participate in the making of the
proposed rule by submitting such written data, views, or arguments as
they may desire. Communications should identify the Rules Docket number
and be submitted in triplicate to the address specified above. All
communications received on or before the closing date for comments,
specified above, will be considered before taking action on the
proposed rule. The proposals contained in this action may be changed in
light of the comments received.
Comments are specifically invited on the overall regulatory,
economic, environmental, and energy aspects of the proposed rule. All
comments submitted will be available, both before and after the closing
date for comments, in the Rules Docket for examination by interested
persons. A report summarizing each FAA-public contact concerned with
the substance of this proposal will be filed in the Rules Docket.
Commenters wishing the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their comments
submitted in response to this proposal must submit a self-addressed,
stamped postcard on which the following statement is made: ``Comments
to Docket Number 98-ANE-61-AD.'' The postcard will be date stamped and
returned to the commenter.
Availability of NPRM's
Any person may obtain a copy of this NPRM by submitting a request
to the FAA, New England Region, Office of the Regional Counsel,
Attention: Rules Docket No. 98-ANE-61-AD, 12 New England Executive
Park, Burlington, MA 01803-5299.
Discussion
A proposal to amend part 39 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14
CFR part 39) to add an airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to
certain Pratt & Whitney (PW) PW2000 series turbofan engines, was
published as a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal
Register on November 1, 2001 (66 FR 55138). That NPRM would have
modified the airworthiness limitations section of the manufacturer's
manual and an air carrier's approved continuous airworthiness
maintenance program to incorporate additional inspection requirements.
That NPRM was prompted by an FAA study of in-service events involving
uncontained failures of critical rotating engine parts. That condition,
if not corrected, could result in an uncontained engine failure and
damage to the airplane.
Since the issuance of that NPRM, the FAA has become aware that the
LPC hub assembly, HPT 1st stage disk, and HPT 2nd stage hub were
inadvertantly omitted from the list of parts for enhanced inspection,
and must be added. This proposal would add to that NPRM, modification
of the airworthiness limitations section of the manufacturer's manual
and air carrier's approved continuous airworthiness maintenance program
to incorporate additional inspection requirements.
Since this change expands the scope of the originally proposed
rule, the FAA has determined that it is necessary to reopen the comment
period to provide additional opportunity for public comment.
Economic Analysis
The FAA estimates that 724 engines installed on airplanes of US
registry would be affected by this proposed AD, that it would take
approximately 20 work hours per engine to do the proposed actions. The
average labor rate is $60 per work hour. The cost effect of the added
inspections per engine is approximately $1,200 per year, with the
approximate total cost for the U.S. fleet of $868,800 per year.
Regulatory Analysis
The regulations adopted herein will not have a substantial direct
effect on the States, on the relationship between the national
Government and the States, or on the distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various levels of government. Therefore, it
is determined that this action does not have federalism implications
under Executive Order 13132.
For the reasons discussed above, I certify that this proposed
regulation (1) is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under
Executive Order 12866; (2) is not a ``significant rule'' under the DOT
Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979);
and (3) if promulgated, will not have a significant economic effect,
positive or negative, on a substantial number of small entities under
the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. A copy of the draft
regulatory evaluation prepared for this action is contained in the
Rules Docket. A copy of it may be obtained by contacting the Rules
Docket at the location provided under the caption ADDRESSES.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39
Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Safety.
The Proposed Amendment
Accordingly, pursuant to the authority delegated to me by the
Administrator, the Federal Aviation Administration proposes to amend
part 39 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) as
follows:
PART 39--AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES
1. The authority citation for part 39 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.
Sec. 39.13 [Amended]
2. Section 39.13 is amended by adding the following new
airworthiness directive:
Pratt & Whitney: Docket No. 98-ANE-61-AD. Supersedes AD 2000-21-09,
Amendment 39-11914.
Applicability: This airworthiness directive (AD) is applicable
to Pratt & Whitney (PW) PW2037, PW2040, PW2037M, PW2240, PW2337,
PW2043, PW2643, and PW2143, series turbofan engines, installed on
but not limited to Boeing 757 series and Ilyushin IL-96T series
airplanes.
Note 1: This AD applies to each engine identified in the
preceding applicability provision, regardless of whether it has been
modified, altered, or repaired in the area subject to the
requirements of this AD. For engines that have been modified,
altered, or repaired so that the performance of the requirements of
this AD is affected, the owner/operator must request approval for an
alternative method of compliance in accordance with paragraph (c) of
this AD. The request should include an assessment of the effect of
the modification, alteration, or repair on the unsafe condition
addressed by this AD; and, if the unsafe condition has not been
eliminated, the request should include specific proposed actions to
address it.
Compliance: Required as indicated, unless already done.
To prevent critical life-limited rotating engine part failure,
which could result in an
[[Page 66821]]
uncontained engine failure and damage to the airplane, do the
following:
(a) Within 30 days after the effective date of this AD, revise
the manufacturer's Time Limits section (TLS) of the manufacturer's
engine manual, as appropriate for PW PW2037, PW2040, PW2037M,
PW2240, PW2337, PW2043, PW2643, and PW2143 series turbofan engines,
and for air carriers revise the approved continuous airworthiness
maintenance program, by adding the following:
``MANDATORY INSPECTIONS
(1) Perform inspections of the following parts at each piece-
part opportunity in accordance with the instructions provided in
PW2000 Engine Manuals 1A6231 and 1B2412:
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Nomenclature Part number EM manual section Inspection check Subtask
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Hub, LPC Assembly..................... ALL......... 72-31-04.......... -06...............
Disk, HPT 1st Stage................... ALL......... 72-52-02.......... FPI entire disk 72-52-02-230-007
per 72-52-00,
Inspection/Check-
02.
Hub, HPT 2nd Stage.................... ALL......... 72-52-16.......... Fpi entire hub per 72-52-16-230-007
72-52-00,
Inspection/Check-
02.
Hub, HPC Front........................ ALL......... 72-35-02.......... -05...............
Disk, HPC Drum Rotor Assembly (7-15).. ALL......... 72-35-03.......... -04...............
Disk, HPC Drum Rotor Assembly (16-17). ALL......... 72-35-10.......... -05...............
Disk, HPC 16th Stage.................. ALL......... 72-35-06.......... -04...............
Disk, HPC 17th Stage.................. ALL......... 72-35-07.......... -04...............
LPC Drive Turbine Shaft............... ALL......... 72-32-01.......... -06...............
Hub, Turbine Rear..................... ALL......... 72-53-81.......... -06...............
Disk, LPT 3rd Stage................... ALL......... 72-53-31.......... -01...............
Disk, LPT 4th Stage................... ALL......... 72-35-41.......... -01...............
Disk, LPT 5th Stage................... ALL......... 72-32-51.......... -01...............
Disk, LPT 6th Stage................... ALL......... 72-53-61.......... -01...............
Disk, LPT 7th Stage................... ALL......... 72-53-71.......... -01...............
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(2) For the purposes of these mandatory inspections, piece-part
opportunity means:
(i) The part is considered completely disassembled when done in
accordance with the disassembly instructions in the manufacturer's
engine manual to either part number level listed in the table above,
and
(ii) The part has accumulated more than 100 cycles in service
since the last piece-part opportunity inspection, provided that the
part was not damaged or related to the cause for its removal from
the engine.''
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this AD, and
notwithstanding contrary provisions in Sec. 43.16 of Federal
Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 43.16), these enhanced inspections must
be performed only in accordance with the TLS of the appropriate
PW2000 series engine manuals.
Alternative Methods of Compliance
(c) An alternative method of compliance or adjustment of the
compliance time that provides an acceptable level of safety may be
used if approved by the Manager, Engine Certification Office (ECO).
Operators must submit their requests through an appropriate FAA
Principal Maintenance Inspector (PMI), who may add comments and then
send it to the Manager, ECO.
Note 2: Information concerning the existence of approved
alternative methods of compliance with this airworthiness directive,
if any, may be obtained from the ECO.
Special Flight Permits
(d) Special flight permits may be issued in accordance with
Secs. 21.197 and 21.199 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR
21.197 and 21.199) to operate the aircraft to a location where the
requirements of this AD can be done.
(e) FAA-certificated air carriers that have an approved
continuous airworthiness maintenance program in accordance with the
record keeping requirement of Sec. 121.369 (c) of the Federal
Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 121.369 (c)) of this chapter must
maintain records of the mandatory inspections that result from
revising the Time Limits section of the Instructions for Continuous
Airworthiness (ICA) and the air carrier's continuous airworthiness
program. Alternatively, certificated air carriers may establish an
approved system of record retention that provides a method for
preservation and retrieval of the maintenance records that include
the inspections resulting from this AD, and include the policy and
procedures for implementing this alternate method in the air
carrier's maintenance manual required by Sec. 121.369 (c) of the
Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 121.369 (c)); however, the
alternate system must be accepted by the appropriate PMI and require
the maintenance records be maintained either indefinitely or until
the work is repeated. Records of the piece-part inspections are not
required under Sec. 121.380 (a)(2)(vi) of the Federal Aviation
Regulations (14 CFR 121.380 (a)(2)(vi)). All other operators must
maintain the records of mandatory inspections required by the
applicable regulations governing their operations.
Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on December 17, 2001.
Jay J. Pardee,
Manager, Engine and Propeller Directorate, Aircraft Certification
Service.
[FR Doc. 01-31557 Filed 12-26-01; 8:45 am]
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