Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 156 / Tuesday, August 13, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 49111 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2013–0072; Directorate 

Identifier 2013–NE–04–AD; Amendment 39– 

17525; AD 2013–15–09] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Pratt & 

Whitney Division Turbofan Engines 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for all Pratt 

& Whitney Division (PW) turbofan 

engine model PW4074, PW4074D, 

PW4077, PW4077D, PW4084D, 

PW4090, and PW4090–3 with a certain 

second-stage high-pressure turbine 

(HPT) air seal part number installed. 

This AD was prompted by discovery of 

cracks in second-stage HPT air seals. 

This AD requires inspection and 

removal from service of HPT air seals 

that fail inspection. We are issuing this 

AD to prevent failure of the secondstage HPT air seal, which could lead to 

an uncontained engine failure and 

damage to the airplane. 

DATES: This AD is effective September 

17, 2013. The Director of the Federal 

Register approved the incorporation by 

reference of a certain publication listed 

in the AD as of September 17, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: The Docket Operations 

office is located at Docket Management 

Facility, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., West Building Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC 

20590–0001. 

For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Pratt & Whitney, 400 

Main St., East Hartford, CT 06108; 

phone: 860–565–8770; fax: 860–565– 

4503. You may view this service 

information at the FAA, Engine & 

Propeller Directorate, 12 New England 

Executive Park, Burlington, MA. For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call 781–238–7125. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; or in person at the 

Docket Management Facility between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD 

docket contains this AD, the regulatory 

evaluation, any comments received, and 

other information. The street address for 

the Docket Office (phone: 800–647– 

5527) is provided in the ADDRESSES

section. Comments will be available in 

the AD docket shortly after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Gray, Aerospace Engineer, Engine 

& Propeller Directorate, FAA, 12 New 

England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 

01803; phone: 781–238–7742; fax: 781– 

238–7199; email: james.e.gray@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

We issued a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR 

part 39 to include an AD that would 

apply to the specified products. The 

NPRM published in the Federal 

Register on March 18, 2013 (78 FR 

16620). The NPRM proposed to require, 

for those air seals that meet certain 

cycles since new criteria, inspection and 

removal from service of HPT air seals 

that fail inspection. 

Comments 

We gave the public the opportunity to 

participate in developing this AD. The 

following presents the comments 

received on the proposal (78 FR 16620, 

March 18, 2013) and the FAA’s response 

to each comment. 

Request To Provide Credit for Prior 

Compliance 

All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd (ANA) 

and Japan Airlines (JAL) requested that 

credit be provided for inspections that 

were performed using prior versions of 

Alert Service Bulletin (ASB) No. PW4G– 

112–A72–330. The reason for this 

request is that the inspection procedure 

and inspection limits have not changed, 

so inspections using the prior version of 

the ASB should remain valid. 

We agree. We added a Credit for 

Previous Actions paragraph as follows: 

‘‘You may take credit for eddy current 

inspections (ECIs) performed prior to 

the effective date of this AD using PW 

ASB No. PW4G–112–A72–330, dated 

December 3, 2012 or PW ASB No. 

PW4G–112–A72–330, Revision 1, dated 

February 26, 2013.’’ 

Request To Change Compliance Time 

ANA, JAL, PW, and United Airlines 

(UAL) requested that the Compliance 

paragraph for the on-wing ECI be 

changed to remove the air seal from 

service within five cycles, instead of 

before further flight. The inspection will 

likely be performed on-wing and not at 

a major maintenance facility. Removal 

from service before further flight would 

lead to potential aircraft-on-ground 

situations. The change is also consistent 

with the PW ASB. 

We agree. Removal from service 

within five cycles maintains an 

acceptable level of safety while allowing 

the operators some flexibility in 

removing the part from service. We 

changed the Compliance paragraph of 

this AD to fulfill this request. 

Request for Clarification of Terminating 

Action 

ANA requested clarification on what 

the terminating action is. Although not 

specifically stated, the inferrence is that 

the commenter wants terminating action 

to be included in the AD. 

We partially agree. We agree that the 

inspection program is an interim action. 

The terminating action to the repetitive 

inspections will be installation of a 

redesigned second-stage HPT air seal. 

We disagree with revising the AD to 

include terminating action at this time 

because the redesign is not yet available. 

We will take appropriate actions when 

the redesign is available. We did not 

change the AD. 

Request To Delay Issuance of AD 

UAL requested that the AD be delayed 

for six months and that the comment 

period be re-opened. The reason for this 

request is that the majority of operators 

have not received training or have just 

received training on the inspection 

procedure and therefore are unable to 

provide substantive comments. Delaying 

the comment period will allow for more 

substantive comments to the NPRM (78 

FR 16620, March 18, 2013). 

We do not agree. The risk analysis 

does not support delaying the AD an 

additional six months. It is anticipated 

that all operators will receive training 

prior to the AD becoming effective. If 

changes to the inspection procedure are 

required, they can be handled through 

the Alternative Methods of Compliance 

paragraph of this AD. We did not 

change the AD. 

Request To Not Mandate Use of the 

Service Bulletin Incorporated By 

Reference (IBR) 

UAL and PW requested that the AD 

not mandate the service bulletin IBR 

and include just the inspection criteria 

in the AD, or modify the mandated 

actions to only include the inspection 

criteria. The reason for this request is 

that the inspection procedure needs to 

be flexible and adaptable as unexpected 

inspection procedures are found. One 

commenter also identified several issues 

with the way the inspection procedure 

is currently worded, including use of a 

‘‘50 foot extension cord’’ and a ‘‘black 

Sharpie’’ which, if included in the IBR, 

would force operators to use these 

specific items. 

We partially agree. We agree that the 

the AD does not need to mandate the 


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49112 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 156 / Tuesday, August 13, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

entire inspection procedure, because not 

all aspects of the inspection procedure 

are unique. We disagree with not 

mandating the service bulletin at all, 

because aspects of the ECI are unique 

and would not necessarily be covered 

under general maintenance. If 

performed incorrectly, the inspection 

might not detect potential cracks. We 

revised this AD to only mandate the 

inspection itself, including how to 

disposition the ECI results. 

Request To Address Serviceability 

Limits 

UAL noted that ASB No. PW4G–112– 

A72–330, Revision 1, dated February 26, 

2013, allows for some grinding of the T– 

2 nozzle guide vane (NGV), if needed, 

to gain access to the second-stage HPT 

airseal. There is also a procedure in the 

ASB to use an alternate access port if 

there is entrapped material preventing 

access to the primary port. The 

commenter requested that serviceability 

limits for both of these scenarios be 

included in the ASB. There was no 

justification provided for this request. It 

is inferred that the commenter is 

concerned that serviceability limits 

were not included. 

We do not agree. Grinding of the T– 

2 NGV and using the alternate access 

port are not necessarily required to 

perform the inspection and are not 

mandated as part of this AD. We did not 

change the AD. 

Request To Include Reduced Inspection 

Interval 

UAL requested that we include a 

reduced inspection interval based on 

the results of the ECI, as described in 

PW ASB No. PW4G–112–A72–330. The 

change is requested because this 

interval is included in the ASB, but not 

included in the NPRM (78 FR 16620, 

March 18, 2013). 

We agree. The reduced inspection 

interval was unintentionally omitted in 

the NPRM (78 FR 16620, March 18, 

2013). We revised the AD as requested. 

Request To Change Compliance Time 

PW requested that the 1,000 cycle 

drawdown in paragraph (e)(2) of the 

NPRM (78 FR 16620, March 18, 2013) be 

effective December 2012, as opposed to 

after the effective date of the AD, to 

coincide with PW ASB No. PW4G–112– 

A72–330. 

We do not agree. We cannot reference 

a date in the past, as requested, since 

operators must have the opportunity to 

comply with the AD. We did not change 

the AD. 

Conclusion 

We reviewed the relevant data, 

considered the comments received, and 

determined that air safety and the 

public interest require adopting this AD 

with the changes described previously 

and minor editorial changes. We have 

determined that these minor changes: 

• Are consistent with the intent that 

was proposed in the NPRM (78 FR 

16620, March 18, 2013) for correcting 

the unsafe condition; and 

• Do not add any additional burden 

upon the public than was already 

proposed in the NPRM (78 FR 16620, 

March 18, 2013). 

We also determined that these 

changes will not increase the economic 

burden on any operator or increase the 

scope of this AD. 

Interim Action 

We consider this AD interim action. 

PW has not determined the root cause 

of the cracks discovered in second-stage 

HPT air seals. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this AD will affect 

83 engines installed on airplanes of U.S. 

registry. We also estimate that it will 

take about 5 hours to perform the 

inspection required by this AD. The 

costs of an on-wing ECI or in-shop 

fluorescent-penetrant inspection (FPI) 

are assumed to be equal. The average 

labor rate is $85 per hour. Based on 

these figures, we estimate the total cost 

of the AD to U.S. operators will be 

$35,275. 

Authority for This Rulemaking 

Title 49 of the United States Code 

specifies the FAA’s authority to issue 

rules on aviation safety. Subtitle I, 

section 106, describes the authority of 

the FAA Administrator. Subtitle VII: 

Aviation Programs, describes in more 

detail the scope of the Agency’s 

authority. 

We are issuing this rulemaking under 

the authority described in Subtitle VII, 

Part A, Subpart III, Section 44701: 

‘‘General requirements.’’ Under that 

section, Congress charges the FAA with 

promoting safe flight of civil aircraft in 

air commerce by prescribing regulations 

for practices, methods, and procedures 

the Administrator finds necessary for 

safety in air commerce. This regulation 

is within the scope of that authority 

because it addresses an unsafe condition 

that is likely to exist or develop on 

products identified in this rulemaking 

action. 

Regulatory Findings 

This AD will not have federalism 

implications under Executive Order 

13132. This AD 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. 

For the reasons discussed above, I 

certify that this AD: 

(1) Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ under Executive Order 12866, 

(2) Is not a ‘‘significant rule’’ under 

DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures 

(44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979), 

(3) Will not affect intrastate aviation 

in Alaska to the extent that it justifies 

making a regulatory distinction, and 

(4) Will not have a significant 

economic impact, positive or negative, 

on a substantial number of small entities 

under the criteria of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. 

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39 

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation 

safety, Incorporation by reference, 

Safety. 

Adoption of the Amendment 

Accordingly, under the authority 

delegated to me by the Administrator, 

the FAA amends 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. 

§ 39.13 [Amended] 

■ 2. The FAA amends § 39.13 by adding 

the following new airworthiness 

directive (AD): 

2013–15–09 Pratt & Whitney Division: 

Amendment 39–17525; Docket No. 

FAA–2013–0072; Directorate Identifier 

2013–NE–04–AD. 

(a) Effective Date 

This AD is effective September 17, 2013. 

(b) Affected ADs 

None. 

(c) Applicability 

This AD applies to all Pratt & Whitney 

Division (PW) turbofan engine models 

PW4074, PW4074D, PW4077, PW4077D, 

PW4084D, PW4090, and PW4090–3 with 

second-stage high-pressure turbine (HPT) air 

seal, part number 54L041, installed. 

(d) Unsafe Condition 

This AD was prompted by discovery of 

cracks in second-stage HPT air seals. We are 

issuing this AD to prevent failure of the 

second-stage HPT air seal, which could lead 

to uncontained engine failure and damage to 

the airplane. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 156 / Tuesday, August 13, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 49113 

(e) Compliance 

Comply with this AD within the 

compliance times specified, unless already 

done. 

(1) For second-stage HPT air seals that have 

1,200 or fewer cycles since new (CSN) on the 

effective date of this AD, perform an initial 

on-wing eddy current inspection (ECI) or 

initial in-shop fluorescent-penetrant 

inspection (FPI) for cracks within 2,200 CSN. 

(2) For second-stage HPT air seals that have 

more than 1,200 CSN on the effective date of 

this AD, perform an initial on-wing ECI or 

initial in-shop FPI for cracks within 1,000 

cycles after the effective date of this AD. 

(3) Thereafter, repeat either the on-wing 

ECI or in-shop FPI every 1,200 cycles or 

fewer, since last inspection, depending on 

the results of the inspection. 

(4) For the on-wing ECI, use section 4.0 of 

the Appendix of PW Alert Service Bulletin 

(ASB) No. PW4G–112–A72–330, Revision 2, 

dated July 11, 2013, to perform the 

inspection and use paragraph 8 of the 

Accomplishment Instructions of PW ASB No. 

PW4G–112–A72–330, Revision 2, dated July 

11, 2013, to disposition the results of the 

inspection. 

(5) For the in-shop FPI, remove the air seal 

from service if you find a crack. 

(f) Credit for Previous Actions 

You may take credit for ECIs performed 

prior to the effective date of this AD using 

PW ASB No. PW4G–112–A72–330, dated 

December 3, 2012 or PW ASB No. PW4G– 

112–A72–330, Revision 1, dated February 26, 

2013. 

(g) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

The Manager, Engine Certification Office, 

FAA, may approve AMOCs for this AD. Use 

the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19 to 

make your request. 

(h) Related Information 

For more information about this AD, 

contact James Gray, Aerospace Engineer, 

Engine & Propeller Directorate, FAA, 12 New 

England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 

01803; phone: 781–238–7742; fax: 781–238– 

7199; email: james.e.gray@faa.gov. 

Material Incorporated by Reference 

(1) The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

(IBR) of the service information listed in this 

paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR 

part 51. 

(2) You must use this service information 

as applicable to do the actions required by 

this AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise. 

(i) Pratt & Whitney Alert Service Bulletin 

No. PW4G–112–A72–330, Revision 2, dated 

July 11, 2013. 

(ii) Reserved. 

(3) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Pratt & Whitney, 400 Main 

St., East Hartford, CT 06108; phone: 860– 

565–8770; fax: 860–565–4503. 

(4) You may view this service information 

at the FAA, Engine & Propeller Directorate, 

12 New England Executive Park, Burlington, 

MA. For information on the availability of 

this material at the FAA, call 781–238–7125. 

(5) You may view this service information 

at the National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). For information on 

the availability of this material at NARA, call 

202–741–6030, or go to: http:// 

www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibrlocations.html. 

Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on 

July 19, 2013. 

Colleen M. D’Alessandro, 

Assistant Manager, Engine & Propeller 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–19429 Filed 8–12–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2013–0145; Directorate 

Identifier 2012–SW–059–AD; Amendment 

39–17554; AD 2013–16–16] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Agusta 

S.p.A. and Bell Helicopter Textron 

Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for Agusta 

S.p.A. (Agusta) Model AB412 and 

AB412 EP, and Bell Helicopter Textron 

(Bell) Model 412, 412CF, and 412EP 

helicopters with certain DART 

Aerospace Ltd. (Dart) high gear aft 

crosstubes (crosstube) installed. This 

AD requires adding a life limit of 10,000 

landings to the crosstube and removing 

from service any crosstubes with more 

than 10,000 accumulated landings. This 

AD is prompted by five separate reports 

of crosstube failures. The actions in this 

AD are intended to prevent failure of the 

crosstube and subsequent collapse of 

the landing gear. 

DATES: This AD is effective September 

17, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: For service information 

identified in this AD, contact Dart 

Aerospace LTD., 1270 Aberdeen St, 

Hawkesbury, ON, K6A 1K7, Canada; 

telephone: 1 613 632 5200; Fax: 1 613 

632 5246; or at www.dartaero.com. You 

may review the referenced service 

information at the FAA, Office of the 

Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 

2601 Meacham Blvd., Room 663, Fort 

Worth, Texas 76137. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in person at the 

Docket Operations Office between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD 

docket contains this AD, the foreign 

authority’s AD, any incorporated-byreference service information, the 

economic evaluation, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for the Docket Operations 

Office (phone: 800–647–5527) is U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations Office, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeffrey Zimmer, Airframe Engineer, New 

York Aircraft Certification Office, 

Engine and Propeller Directorate, FAA, 

1600 Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, 

New York 11590; telephone (516) 228– 

7306; email jeffrey.zimmer@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

On February 25, 2013, at 78 FR 12646, 

the Federal Register published our 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), 

which proposed to amend 14 CFR part 

39 to include an AD that would apply 

to Agusta Model AB412 and AB412 EP, 

and Bell Model 412, 412CF, and 412EP 

helicopters with certain Dart crosstubes 

installed. The NPRM proposed to 

require establishing a component 

history card for each crosstube, P/N 

D412–664–203; revising the 

airworthiness limitations of the 

maintenance manual to establish a life 

limit of 10,000 landings for each 

crosstube; and removing from service 

any crosstube with more than 10,000 

landings. The proposed requirements 

were intended to prevent failure of the 

crosstube and subsequent collapse of 

the landing gear. 

The NPRM was prompted by AD No. 

CF–2012–14R1, dated May 9, 2012, 

issued by Transport Canada Civil 

Aviation (TCCA), which is the aviation 

authority for Canada. TCCA issued AD 

No. CF–2012–14R1 to correct an unsafe 

condition for the Dart high gear aft 

crosstube assembly, part number (P/N) 

D412–664–203, approved under TCCA 

Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) 

SH01–9, FAA STC No. SR01298NY, and 

European Aviation Safety Agency STC 

IM.R.S.01304, and installed on Agusta 

Model AB412 and AB412 EP and Bell 

Model 412, 412EP, and 412CF 

helicopters. TCCA advises that they 

have received five reports of these 

crosstubes failing. According to TCCA, 

based on these reports, the affected 

crosstube requires a life limitation of 

10,000 landings. As a result, TCCA 

issued AD No. CF–2012–14R1, which 


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