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Rules and Regulations Federal Register

7027 

Vol. 75, No. 30 

Tuesday, February 16, 2010 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2009–0568; Directorate 

Identifier 2009–NE–20–AD; Amendment 39– 

16200; AD 2010–04–07] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Turbomeca 

Arriel 2S1 Turboshaft Engines 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for the 

products listed above. This AD results 

from mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information (MCAI) 

issued by an aviation authority of 

another country to identify and correct 

an unsafe condition on an aviation 

product. The MCAI describes the unsafe 

condition as: 

During acceleration up to One Engine 

Inoperative (OEI) 30-second rating, one event 

of flight loss of full automatic control 

occurred on an Arriel 2S1 engine. 

The selection of OEI 30-second rating on 

engine 1 was triggered by the automatic 

detection of an OEI situation further to a 

transient deceleration of engine 2. The 

transient deceleration of engine 2 was caused 

by the untimely reset of its digital electronic 

control unit (DECU). Once this reset was 

completed, engine 2 resumed its nominal 

operation. Afterwards the aircraft then 

continued its flight safely with its engine 1 

operating in manual control mode. 

The loss of full automatic control of engine 

1 was caused by loss of steps of the stepper 

motor controlling the fuel metering valve 

inside the Hydro-mechanical Unit (HMU). 

It has been found that high accelerations, 

notably up to OEI 30-second rating, increase 

the risk of loss of steps of the HMU stepper 

motor. 

Therefore, this event has led to the 

consideration of the following unsafe 

condition at aircraft level: In-flight loss of full 

automatic control of the engine induced by 

the loss of steps of the stepper motor during 

acceleration up to OEI 30-second rating, 

further to an actual OEI situation on the other 

engine (such as a power loss event). 

We are issuing this AD to prevent loss 

of full automatic control of the engine 

during acceleration up to the OEI 30- 

second rating. This condition could 

result in reduced controllability of the 

helicopter. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective 

March 23, 2010. 

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 FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kevin Dickert, Aerospace Engineer, 

Engine Certification Office, FAA, Engine 

and Propeller Directorate, 12 New 

England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 

01803; e-mail: kevin.dickert@faa.gov; 

telephone (781) 238–7117; fax (781) 

238–7199. 

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. That 

NPRM was published in the Federal 

Register on October 28, 2009 (74 FR 

55491). That NPRM proposed to correct 

an unsafe condition for the specified 

products. The MCAI states: 

During acceleration up to OEI 30-second 

rating, one event of flight loss of full 

automatic control occurred on an Arriel 2S1 

engine. 

The selection of OEI 30-second rating on 

engine 1 was triggered by the automatic 

detection of an OEI situation further to a 

transient deceleration of engine 2. The 

transient deceleration of engine 2 was caused 

by the untimely reset of its DECU. Once this 

reset was completed, engine 2 resumed its 

nominal operation. Afterwards the aircraft 

then continued its flight safely with its 

engine 1 operating in manual control mode. 

The loss of full automatic control of engine 

1 was caused by loss of steps of the stepper 

motor controlling the fuel metering valve 

inside the HMU. 

It has been found that high accelerations, 

notably up to OEI 30-second rating, increase 

the risk of loss of steps of the HMU stepper 

motor. 

Therefore, this event has led to the 

consideration of the following unsafe 

condition at aircraft level: In-flight loss of full 

automatic control of the engine induced by 

the loss of steps of the stepper motor during 

acceleration up to OEI 30-second rating, 

further to an actual OEI situation on the other 

engine (such as a power loss event). 

Comments 

We gave the public the opportunity to 

participate in developing this AD. We 

considered the comment received. 

One commenter, a private citizen, 

requests that in the applicability 

paragraph, we change ‘‘S–76C+’’ to ‘‘S– 

76C’’ which is how it is listed in the 

helicopter type certificate data sheet. 

We agree and changed the AD. 

Conclusion 

We reviewed the available data, 

including the comment received, and 

determined that air safety and the 

public interest require adopting the AD 

with the change described previously. 

We determined that these changes will 

not increase the economic burden on 

any operator or increase the scope of the 

AD. 

Differences Between This AD and the 

MCAI or Service Information 

The MCAI requires performing the 

DECU software upgrade no later than 

August 31, 2010. This AD requires 

performing the DECU software upgrade 

within 350 operating hours after the 

effective date of the AD. 

Costs of Compliance 

Based on the service information, we 

estimate that this AD will affect about 

136 products of U.S. registry. We also 

estimate that it will take about 3 workhours per product to comply with this 

AD. The average labor rate is $80 per 

work-hour. Required parts will cost 

about $3,500 per product. Based on 

these figures, we estimate the cost of the 

AD on U.S. operators to be $508,640. 

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 


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7028 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 16, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

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 

We determined that 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 this AD: 

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. 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. 

We prepared a regulatory evaluation 

of the estimated costs to comply with 

this AD and placed it in the AD docket. 

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 regulatory 

evaluation, any comments received, and 

other information. The street address for 

the Docket Operations office (telephone 

(800) 647–5527) is provided in the 

ADDRESSES section. Comments will be 

available in the AD docket shortly after 

receipt. 

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39 

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation 

safety, 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 AD: 

2010–04–07 Turbomeca: Amendment 39– 

16200. Docket No. FAA–2009–0568; 

Directorate Identifier 2009–NE–20–AD. 

Effective Date 

(a) This airworthiness directive (AD) 

becomes effective March 23, 2010. 

Affected ADs 

(b) None. 

Applicability 

(c) This AD applies to Turbomeca Arriel 

2S1 turboshaft engines that have not 

incorporated Modification TU 109. These 

engines are installed on, but not limited to, 

Sikorsky S–76C twin-engine helicopters. 

Reason 

(d) This AD results from mandatory 

continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) 

issued by an aviation authority of another 

country to identify and correct an unsafe 

condition on an aviation product. We are 

issuing this AD to prevent loss of full 

automatic control of the engine during 

acceleration up to the One Engine 

Inoperative 30-second rating. This condition 

could result in reduced controllability of the 

helicopter. 

Actions and Compliance 

(e) Unless already done, do the following 

actions: 

(1) Within 350 operating hours after the 

effective date of this AD, perform an upgrade 

of the digital electronic control unit (DECU) 

software to version 11.01, to implement 

modification TU 109. 

(2) Guidance on implementing TU 109 can 

be found in Turbomeca Mandatory Service 

Bulletin No. 292 73 2109, Version E, dated 

September 17, 2008. 

Prohibition of Mixed DECU Software 

Versions on the Same Helicopter 

(3) Do not operate an Arriel 2S1-powered 

twin-engine helicopter with one engine 

upgraded to modification TU 109 if the other 

engine is not upgraded to modification TU 

109. 

FAA AD Differences 

(f) This AD differs from the Mandatory 

Continuing Airworthiness Information 

(MCAI) and/or service information as 

follows: 

(1) The MCAI requires performing the 

DECU software upgrade no later than August 

31, 2010. 

(2) This proposed AD would require 

performing the DECU software upgrade 

within 350 operating hours after the effective 

date of the proposed AD. 

Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(g) The Manager, Engine Certification 

Office, FAA, has the authority to approve 

AMOCs for this AD, if requested using the 

procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. 

Related Information 

(h) Refer to MCAI EASA Airworthiness 

Directive 2009–0010, dated January 20, 2009, 

and Turbomeca Mandatory Service Bulletin 

No. 292 73 2109, Version E, dated September 

17, 2008, for related information. Contact 

Turbomeca, 40220 Tarnos, France; telephone 

(33) 05 59 74 40 00, fax (33) 05 59 74 45 15 

for the service information identified in this 

AD. 

(i) Contact Kevin Dickert, Aerospace 

Engineer, Engine Certification Office, FAA, 

Engine and Propeller Directorate, 12 New 

England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 

01803; e-mail: kevin.dickert@faa.gov; 

telephone (781) 238–7117; fax (781) 238– 

7199, for more information about this AD. 

Material Incorporated by Reference 

(j) None. 

Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on 

February 8, 2010. 

Peter A. White, 

Assistant Manager, Engine and Propeller 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3000 Filed 2–12–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 


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