This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

58099

Vol. 69, No. 188

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. 96–ANE–35–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Pratt & 

Whitney JT8D–200 Series Turbofan 

Engines

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to 

supersede an existing airworthiness 

directive (AD) for Pratt & Whitney (PW) 

JT8D–200 series turbofan engines. That 

AD currently requires installing and 

periodically inspecting individual or 

sets of certain part number (P/N) 

temperature indicators on the No. 4 and 

5 bearing compartment scavenge oil 

tube and performance of any necessary 

corrective action. This proposed AD 

would require installing and 

periodically inspecting two P/N 810486 

temperature indicators on all PW JT8D–

200 series turbofan engines, including 

those incorporating high pressure 

turbine (HPT) containment hardware. 

This proposed AD results from five 

uncontained HPT shaft failures out of 

thirteen HPT shaft fractures. The HPT 

shafts fractured through the No. 41⁄2 oil 

return holes due to oil fires within the 

No. 4 and 5 bearing compartment. We 

are proposing this AD to prevent oil 

fires and the resulting fracture of the 

HPT shaft, which can result in 

uncontained release of engine 

fragments; engine fire; in-flight engine 

shutdown; and possible airplane 

damage.

DATES: We must receive any comments 

on this proposed AD by November 29, 

2004.

ADDRESSES: Use one of the following 

addresses to submit comments on this 

proposed AD: 

• By mail: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), New England 

Region, Office of the Regional Counsel, 

Attention: Rules Docket No. 96–ANE–

35–AD, 12 New England Executive Park, 

Burlington, MA 01803–5299. 

• By fax: (781) 238–7055. 

• By e-mail: 9-aneadcomment@faa.gov

You can get the service information 

identified in this proposed AD from 

Pratt & Whitney, 400 Main St., East 

Hartford, CT 06108; telephone (860) 

565–7700, fax (860) 565–1605. 

You may examine the AD docket at 

the FAA, New England Region, Office of 

the Regional Counsel, 12 New England 

Executive Park, Burlington, MA; or 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/

code_of_federal_regulations/

ibr_locations.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Keith Lardie, Aerospace Engineer, 

Engine Certification Office, FAA, Engine 

and Propeller Directorate, 12 New 

England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 

01803–5299; telephone (781) 238–7189, 

fax (781) 238–7199.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to submit any written 

relevant data, views, or arguments 

regarding this proposal. Send your 

comments to an address listed under 

ADDRESSES. Include ‘‘AD Docket No. 96–

ANE–35–AD’’ in the subject line of your 

comments. If you want us to 

acknowledge receipt of your mailed 

comments, send us a self-addressed, 

stamped postcard with the docket 

number written on it; we will datestamp your postcard and mail it back to 

you. We specifically invite comments 

on the overall regulatory, economic, 

environmental, and energy aspects of 

the proposed AD. If a person contacts us 

verbally, and that contact relates to a 

substantive part of this proposed AD, 

we will summarize the contact and 

place the summary in the docket. We 

will consider all comments received by 

the closing date and may amend the 

proposed AD in light of those 

comments. 

We are reviewing the writing style we 

currently use in regulatory documents. 

We are interested in your comments on 

whether the style of this document is 

clear, and your suggestions to improve 

the clarity of our communications that 

affect you. You may get more 

information about plain language at 

http://www.faa.gov/language and http://

www.plainlanguage.gov.

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD Docket 

(including any comments and service 

information), by appointment, between 

8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. See 

ADDRESSES for the location.

Discussion 

On September 10, 1997, the FAA 

issued AD 97–19–13, Amendment 39–

10134 (62 FR 49135, September 19, 

1997). That AD requires installing and 

periodically inspecting temperature 

indicators on the No. 4 and 5 bearing 

compartment scavenge oil tube and 

performance of any necessary corrective 

action. That AD resulted from a report 

of an uncontained turbine failure due to 

an HPT shaft fracture on an engine that 

had the containment hardware installed. 

The HPT shaft fractures were caused by 

oil fires within the No. 4 and 5 bearing 

compartment, due to thirteenth stage 

pressure cooling pressure (PCP) air 

leaking into the bearing compartment. 

The PCP air leakage was due to: 

• Inner heat shield cracking; or 

• No. 5 compartment carbon seal 

support burn-through. 

That condition, if not corrected, could 

result in uncontained release of engine 

fragments, engine fire, in-flight engine 

shutdown, and possible airplane 

damage. 

Actions Since AD 97–19–13 Was Issued 

Since that AD 97–19–13 was issued, 

PW found a new source of thirteenth 

stage PCP air leakage into the No. 4 and 

5 bearing compartments that might lead 

to compartment oil fires. The source of 

air leaks into the No. 4 and 5 bearing 

compartments is from the thirteenth 

stage PCP air, due to: 

• Inner heat shield cracking; or 

• No. 5 compartment carbon seal 

support burn-through; or 

• No. 5 carbon seal sticking in the 

open position. 

This air leakage resulted in oil fires, 

fracturing the HPT shaft through the No. 

41⁄2 oil return holes, leading to an 

uncontained turbine failure. We are 

58100 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 188 / Wednesday, September 29, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

proposing this AD to prevent oil fires 

and the resulting fracture of the HPT 

shaft, which can result in uncontained 

release of engine fragments; engine fire; 

in-flight engine shutdown; and possible 

airplane damage. 

Relevant Service Information 

We have reviewed and approved the 

technical contents of PW Alert Service 

Bulletin (ASB) No. 5944, Revision 4, 

dated April 8, 2004. The ASB describes 

procedures for installing and inspecting 

temperature indicator devices on the 

No. 4 and 5 bearing compartment 

scavenge tubes on PW JT8D–200 series 

turbofan engines. 

FAA’s Determination and Requirements 

of the Proposed AD 

We have evaluated all pertinent 

information and identified an unsafe 

condition that is likely to exist or 

develop on other products of this same 

type design. We are proposing this AD, 

which would require installation and 

inspection of temperature indicator 

devices on the No. 4 and 5 bearing 

compartment scavenge tube. The 

proposed AD would require that you do 

these actions using the service 

information described previously. 

Costs of Compliance 

There are about 2,345 PW JT8D–200 

series turbofan engines of the affected 

design in the worldwide fleet. We 

estimate that 1,143 engines installed on 

airplanes of U.S. registry would be 

affected by this proposed AD. We also 

estimate that it would take about 1 work 

hour per engine to perform the proposed 

actions, and that the average labor rate 

is $65 per work hour. Required parts 

would cost about $37 per engine. Based 

on these figures, we estimate the total 

cost of the proposed AD to U.S. 

operators to be $116,586. 

Regulatory Findings 

We have determined that this 

proposed AD would not have federalism 

implications under Executive Order 

13132. This proposed AD would 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 the 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. Would not have a significant 

economic impact, positive or negative, 

on a substantial number of small entities 

under the criteria of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. 

We prepared a summary of the costs 

to comply with this proposal and placed 

it in the AD Docket. You may get a copy 

of this summary by sending a request to 

us at the address listed under 

ADDRESSES. Include ‘‘AD Docket No. 96–

ANE–35–AD’’ in your request.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39 

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation 

safety, Safety.

The Proposed Amendment 

Accordingly, under the authority 

delegated to me by the Administrator, 

the FAA proposes to amend 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 Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) amends § 39.13 

by removing Amendment 39–10134 (62 

FR 49135, September 19, 1997) and by 

adding a new airworthiness directive 

(AD) to read as follows:

Pratt & Whitney: Docket No. 96–ANE–35–

AD. Supersedes AD 97–19–13, 

Amendment 39–10134. 

Comments Due Date 

(a) The FAA must receive comments on 

this AD action by November 29, 2004. 

Affected ADs 

(b) This AD supersedes AD 97–19–13, 

Amendment 39–10134. 

Applicability 

(c) This AD applies to Pratt & Whitney 

(PW) JT8D–200 series turbofan engines. 

These engines are installed on, but not 

limited to, McDonnell Douglas MD–80 series 

and Boeing 727 series airplanes. 

Unsafe Condition 

(d) This AD results from five uncontained 

high pressure turbine (HPT) shaft failures out 

of thirteen HPT shaft fractures due to oil fires 

in the No. 4 and 5 bearing compartments. We 

are proposing this AD to prevent oil fires; 

fracture of the HPT shaft, which can result 

in uncontained release of engine fragments; 

engine fire; in-flight engine shutdown; and 

possible airplane damage. 

Compliance 

(e) You are responsible for having the 

actions required by this AD performed within 

the compliance times specified unless the 

actions have already been done. 

Installation of the Dual-Window 

Temperature Indicators 

(f) Install two dual-window temperature 

indicators on the No. 4 and 5 bearing 

compartment scavenge oil tubes of PW JT8D–

200 series turbofan engines within 90 days 

after the effective date of this AD. Use 

paragraph 1.A. of Accomplishment 

Instructions of PW Alert Service Bulletin 

(ASB) No. 5944, Revision 4, dated April 8, 

2004, to install the temperature indicators. 

Initial Visual Inspection of the Dual-Window 

Temperature Indicators 

(g) Perform initial visual inspection of the 

dual-window temperature indicators 

installed in paragraph (f) of this AD within 

65 hours time-in-service (TIS) since 

installation. 

(1) If the color of any temperature indicator 

window has turned black, perform 

troubleshooting, diagnostic testing, and 

corrective action as required, using paragraph 

1.B. of the Accomplishment Instructions of 

PW ASB No. 5944, Revision 4, dated April 

8, 2004. 

(2) If one temperature indicator is missing, 

inspect the remaining temperature indicator. 

If the remaining temperature indicator has 

turned black, perform troubleshooting, 

diagnostic testing, and corrective action as 

required, using paragraph 1.B. of the 

Accomplishment Instructions of PW ASB No. 

5944, Revision 4, dated April 8, 2004. If the 

remaining temperature indicator has not 

turned black, replace the missing 

temperature indicator as specified in 

paragraph (f) of this AD, and inspect as 

specified in paragraph (g) of this AD, prior 

to returning the engine to service. 

(3) If both temperature indicators are 

missing, remove the engine from service. 

(4) Prior to returning the engine to service, 

replace any temperature indicator that has 

turned black as specified in paragraph (f) of 

this AD and inspect as specified in paragraph 

(g) of this AD. 

Repetitive Visual Inspection of the DualWindow Temperature Indicators 

(h) Perform repetitive visual inspections of 

the dual-window temperature indicators 

installed in paragraph (f) of this AD within 

65 hours TIS since last inspection. Use 

paragraph (g) of this AD to inspect the 

temperature indicators. 

Material Incorporated by Reference 

(i) None. 

Related Information 

(j) None.

Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on 

September 22, 2004. 

Francis A. Favara, 

Acting Manager, Engine and Propeller 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 04–21812 Filed 9–28–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P