9874 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 21, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

are approved by the State of Design Authority 

(or their delegated agent). You are required 

to assure the product is airworthy before it 

is returned to service. 

(n) Related Information 

Refer to MCAI EASA Airworthiness 

Directive 2011–0157, dated August 25, 2011, 

and the service information specified in 

paragraphs (n)(1), (n)(2), and (n)(3) of this 

AD, for related information. 

(1) Fokker Services B.V. Report SE–473, 

‘‘Fokker 70/100 Certification Maintenance 

Requirements,’’ Issue 8, dated September 1, 

2009. 

(2) Fokker Services B.V. Report SE–623, 

‘‘Fokker 70/100 Airworthiness Limitation 

Items and Safe Life Limits,’’ Issue 8, dated 

December 20, 2010. 

(3) Fokker Services B.V. Report SE–672, 

‘‘Fokker 70/100 Fuel Airworthiness 

Limitation Items (ALI) and Critical Design 

Configuration Control Limitations (CDCCL),’’ 

Issue 2, dated December 1, 2006. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on February 

1, 2012. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3906 Filed 2–17–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0057; Directorate 

Identifier 2012–NE–04–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Turbomeca 

S.A. Turboshaft Engines 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for 

Turbomeca S.A. Arriel 2C1, 2C2, and 

2S2 turboshaft engines. This proposed 

AD was prompted by a report of a 

helicopter experiencing a digital engine 

control unit (DECU) malfunction during 

flight. We are proposing this AD to 

prevent loss of automatic control on one 

or both engines installed on the same 

helicopter, which could result in an 

uncommanded in-flight engine 

shutdown, forced autorotation landing, 

or accident. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by April 23, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: Deliver to Mail 

address above between 9 a.m. and 

5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

For service information identified in 

this proposed AD, contact Turbomeca, 

40220 Tarnos, France; phone: 33 05 59 

74 40 00; fax: 33 05 59 74 45 15. You 

may review copies of the referenced 

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 Operations office between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. The AD docket 

contains this proposed AD, the 

regulatory evaluation, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for the Docket Operations 

office (phone: 800–647–5527) is the 

same as the Mail address provided in 

the ADDRESSES section. Comments will 

be available in the AD docket shortly 

after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rose 

Len, Aerospace Engineer, Engine 

Certification Office, FAA, Engine & 

Propeller Directorate, 12 New England 

Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803; 

phone: 781–238–7772; fax: 781–238– 

7199; email: rose.len@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to send any written 

relevant data, views, or arguments about 

this proposed AD. Send your comments 

to an address listed under the 

ADDRESSES section. Include ‘‘Docket No. 

FAA–2012–0057; Directorate Identifier 

2012–NE–04–AD’’ at the beginning of 

your comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of this proposed AD. We will 

consider all comments received by the 

closing date and may amend this 

proposed AD based on those comments. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. We 

will also post a report summarizing each 

substantive verbal contact with FAA 

personnel concerning this proposed AD. 

Using the search function of the Web 

site, anyone can find and read the 

comments in any of our dockets, 

including, if provided, the name of the 

individual who sent the comment (or 

signed the comment on behalf of an 

association, business, labor union, etc.). 

You may review the DOT’s complete 

Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 

Register published on April 11, 2000 

(65 FR 19477–78). 

Discussion 

The European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Community, has issued EASA 

Airworthiness Directive 2011–0249, 

dated December 22, 2011 (referred to 

after this as ‘‘the MCAI’’), to correct an 

unsafe condition for the specified 

products. The MCAI states: 

An incident has been reported of a 

helicopter which experienced a Digital 

Engine Control Unit (DECU) malfunction in 

flight from one of its Arriel 2C1 engines. The 

indicating system of the helicopter displayed 

a ‘‘FADEC FAIL’’ message, with a concurrent 

loss of automatic control of the engine. The 

mission was aborted and the helicopter 

returned to its base without any further 

incident. 

The subsequent technical investigations 

carried out by Turbomeca revealed that a 

Digital Engine Control Unit (DECU) assembly 

non-conformity was at the origin of this 

event. Further investigations performed with 

the supplier of the DECU led to the 

conclusion that only a limited number of 

DECU are potentially affected by the nonconformity. 

You may obtain further information 

by examining the MCAI in the AD 

docket. 

Relevant Service Information 

Turbomeca S.A. has issued Alert 

Mandatory Service Bulletin No. A292 73 

2845, Version A, dated December 19, 

2011. The actions described in this 

service information are intended to 

correct the unsafe condition identified 

in the MCAI. 

FAA’s Determination of This Proposed 

AD 

This product has been approved by 

the aviation authority of France, and is 

approved for operation in the United 

States. Pursuant to our bilateral 

agreement with EASA, EASA has 

notified us of the unsafe condition 

described in the MCAI and service 

information referenced above. We are 

proposing this AD because we evaluated 

all information provided by EASA and 

determined the unsafe condition exists 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 34 / Tuesday, February 21, 2012 / Proposed Rules 9875 

and is likely to exist or develop on other 

products of the same type design. 

Costs of Compliance 

Based on the service information, we 

estimate that this proposed AD would 

affect about two engines installed on 

helicopters of U.S. registry. We also 

estimate that it would take about one 

work-hour per engine to comply with 

this proposed AD. The average labor 

rate is $85 per work-hour. Required 

parts would cost about $12,551 per 

engine. Based on these figures, we 

estimate the cost of the proposed AD on 

U.S. operators to be $25,272. Our cost 

estimate is exclusive of possible 

warranty coverage. 

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 

We 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 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. 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 proposed AD and placed it in the 

AD docket. 

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39 

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation 

safety, Incorporation by reference, 

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 FAA amends § 39.13 by adding 

the following new AD: 

Turbomeca S.A.: Docket No. FAA–2012– 

0057; Directorate Identifier 2012–NE– 

04–AD. 

(a) Comments Due Date 

We must receive comments by April 23, 

2012. 

(b) Affected Airworthiness Directives (ADs) 

None. 

(c) Applicability 

This AD applies to Turbomeca S.A. Arriel 

2C1, 2C2, and 2S2 turboshaft engines with 

any of the digital engine control units 

(DECUs) listed in Table 1 of this AD 

installed. 

TABLE 1—SERIAL NUMBERS OF

AFFECTED DECU 

529 558 560 655 

696 869 878 939 

983 1039 1050 1052 

1150 1195 1208 1236 

1302 1304 1329 1330 

1350 1384 1408 1412 

1416 1429 1430 1440 

1464 1468 1472 1499 

1508 1528 1557 1558 

1560 1567 1578 1615 

1616 1656 1689 N/A 

(d) Reason 

This AD was prompted by a report of a 

helicopter experiencing a DECU malfunction 

during flight. We are issuing this AD to 

prevent loss of automatic control on one or 

both engines installed on the same 

helicopter, which could result in an 

uncommanded in-flight engine shutdown, 

forced autorotation landing, or accident. 

(e) Actions and Compliance 

Unless already done, do the following 

actions. 

(1) For any helicopter fitted with two 

DECUs listed in Table 1 of this AD: 

(i) Within 50 engine hours after the 

effective date of this AD, replace one of the 

two DECUs with a DECU that is not listed in 

Table 1 of this AD. 

(ii) Within 1,000 engine hours or 12 

months after the effective date of this AD, 

whichever occurs first, replace the other 

DECU with a DECU that is not listed in Table 

1 of this AD. 

(2) For any helicopter fitted with one 

DECU listed in Table 1 of this AD, within 

1,000 engine hours or 12 months after the 

effective date of this AD, whichever occurs 

first, replace the DECU with a DECU that is 

not listed in Table 1 of this AD. 

(f) Installation Prohibition 

From the effective date of this AD, do not 

install a DECU listed in Table 1 of this AD 

onto any engine, and do not install any 

engine having a DECU listed in Table 1 of 

this AD, onto a helicopter. 

(g) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

The Manager, Engine Certification Office, 

may approve AMOCs for this AD. Use the 

procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19 to make 

your request. 

(h) Related Information 

(1) For more information about this AD, 

contact Rose Len, Aerospace Engineer, 

Engine Certification Office, FAA, Engine & 

Propeller Directorate, 12 New England 

Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803; 

phone: 781–238–7772; fax: 781–238–7199; 

email: rose.len@faa.gov. 

(2) Refer to European Aviation Safety 

Agency AD 2011–0249, dated December 22, 

2011, and Turbomeca Alert Mandatory 

Service Bulletin No. A292 73 2845, Version 

A, dated December 19, 2011, for related 

information. 

(3) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Turbomeca, 40220 Tarnos, 

France; phone: 33 05 59 74 40 00; fax: 33 05 

59 74 45 15. You may review copies of the 

referenced 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. 

Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on 

February 10, 2012. 

Peter A. White, 

Manager, Engine & Propeller Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3860 Filed 2–17–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 


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