This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

68451 

Vol. 88, No. 191 

Wednesday, October 4, 2023 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2023–1988; Project 

Identifier AD–2023–00991–E; Amendment 

39–22567; AD 2023–20–08] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; General 

Electric Company Engines 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

General Electric Company (GE) Model 

CF6–80C2B1F, CF6–80C2B2F, CF6– 

80C2B4F, CF6–80C2B5F, CF6–80C2B6F, 

CF6–80C2B7F, and CF6–80C2K1F 

engines. This AD was prompted by an 

uncontained engine fire and consequent 

manufacturer investigation, which 

revealed that certain bearings were 

installed improperly. This AD requires 

inspection of the magnetic chip detector 

(MCD) probe tip for metallic particles 

and, if necessary, removal of the engine 

from service. The FAA is issuing this 

AD to address the unsafe condition on 

these products. 

DATES: This AD is effective October 19, 

2023. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain publication listed in this AD 

as of October 19, 2023. 

The FAA must receive comments on 

this AD by November 20, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 

11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

regulations.gov. Follow the instructions 

for submitting comments. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: Deliver to Mail 

address above between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

AD Docket: You may examine the AD 

docket at regulations.gov under Docket 

No. FAA–2023–1988; or in person at 

Docket Operations between 9 a.m. and 

5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. The AD docket 

contains this final rule, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for Docket Operations is 

listed above. 

Material Incorporated by Reference: 

• For service information identified 

in this final rule, contact General 

Electric Company, 1 Neumann Way, 

Cincinnati, OH 45215; phone: (513) 

552–3272; email: aviation.fleetsupport@

ae.ge.com. 

• You may view this service 

information at the FAA, Airworthiness 

Products Section, Operational Safety 

Branch, 1200 District Avenue, 

Burlington, MA 01803. For information 

on the availability of this material at the 

FAA, call (817) 222–5110. It is also 

available at regulations.gov under 

Docket No. FAA–2023–1988. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sungmo Cho, Aviation Safety Engineer, 

FAA, 2200 South 216th Street, Des 

Moines, WA 98198; phone: (781) 238– 

7241; email: sungmo.d.cho@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

The FAA invites you to send any 

written data, views, or arguments about 

this final rule. Send your comments to 

an address listed under ADDRESSES. 

Include ‘‘Docket No. FAA–2023–1988; 

Project Identifier AD–2023–00991–E’’ at 

the beginning of your comments. The 

most helpful comments reference a 

specific portion of the final rule, explain 

the reason for any recommended 

change, and include supporting data. 

The FAA will consider all comments 

received by the closing date and may 

amend this final rule because of those 

comments. 

Except for Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) as described in the 

following paragraph, and other 

information as described in 14 CFR 

11.35, the FAA will post all comments 

received, without change, to 

regulations.gov, including any personal 

information you provide. The agency 

will also post a report summarizing each 

substantive verbal contact received 

about this final rule. 

Confidential Business Information 

CBI is commercial or financial 

information that is both customarily and 

actually treated as private by its owner. 

Under the Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt 

from public disclosure. If your 

comments responsive to this AD contain 

commercial or financial information 

that is customarily treated as private, 

that you actually treat as private, and 

that is relevant or responsive to this AD, 

it is important that you clearly designate 

the submitted comments as CBI. Please 

mark each page of your submission 

containing CBI as ‘‘PROPIN.’’ The FAA 

will treat such marked submissions as 

confidential under the FOIA, and they 

will not be placed in the public docket 

of this AD. Submissions containing CBI 

should be sent to Sungmo Cho, Aviation 

Safety Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th 

Street, Des Moines, WA 98198. Any 

commentary that the FAA receives 

which is not specifically designated as 

CBI will be placed in the public docket 

for this rulemaking. 

Background 

On January 2, 2023, a Boeing Model 

B767–300 airplane, powered by GE 

Model CF6–80C2B6F engines 

experienced an uncontained engine fire 

during flight, resulting in a commanded 

in-flight shut-down and air turn-back. A 

consequent investigation by Korea’s 

Aviation and Railway Accident 

Investigation Board revealed that the 

root cause of the event was the failure 

of the number 5R bearing due to 

misalignment of the 5R bearing outer 

ring in the 5R bearing housing. 

On August 4, 2023, during 

disassembly of a CF6–80C2 engine that 

failed its new engine (pre-delivery) 

acceptance test, the manufacturer 

discovered that the number 4R bearing 

was improperly installed. The 4R and 

5R bearings utilize the same MCD and 

therefore inspection of the MCD is 

necessary to detect degradation to 

bearings and subsequent bearing failure. 

Failure of a bearing, if not addressed, 

could result in engine fire and damage 

to the airplane. The FAA is issuing this 

AD to address the unsafe condition on 

these products. 


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68452 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

FAA’s Determination 

The FAA is issuing this AD because 

the agency has determined the unsafe 

condition described previously is likely 

to exist or develop in other products of 

the same type design. 

Related Service Information Under 1 

CFR Part 51 

The FAA reviewed GE CF6–80C2 

Service Bulletin 72–1631, R00, dated 

August 25, 2023. This service 

information specifies procedures for 

inspection of the MCD for metallic 

particles. This service information is 

reasonably available because the 

interested parties have access to it 

through their normal course of business 

or by the means identified in 

ADDRESSES. 

AD Requirements 

This AD requires inspection of the 

MCD for metallic particles that cover 

more than 10 percent of the probe tip 

and, if necessary, removal of the engine 

from service. 

Interim Action 

The FAA considers this AD to be an 

interim action. This unsafe condition is 

still under investigation by the 

manufacturer and, depending on the 

results of that investigation, the FAA 

may consider further rulemaking action. 

Justification for Immediate Adoption 

and Determination of the Effective Date 

Section 553(b)(3)(B) of the 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 

U.S.C. 551 et seq.) authorizes agencies 

to dispense with notice and comment 

procedures for rules when the agency, 

for ‘‘good cause,’’ finds that those 

procedures are ‘‘impracticable, 

unnecessary, or contrary to the public 

interest.’’ Under this section, an agency, 

upon finding good cause, may issue a 

final rule without providing notice and 

seeking comment prior to issuance. 

Further, section 553(d) of the APA 

authorizes agencies to make rules 

effective in less than thirty days, upon 

a finding of good cause. 

An unsafe condition exists that 

requires the immediate adoption of this 

AD without providing an opportunity 

for public comments prior to adoption. 

The FAA has found that the risk to the 

flying public justifies forgoing notice 

and comment prior to adoption of this 

rule. The presence of improperly 

installed number 4R or 5R bearings, 

discovered after the January 2, 2023 

engine fire and the August 4, 2023 GE 

CF6–80C2 engine disassembly, could 

lead to bearing failure and consequent 

engine fire and damage to the airplane, 

which indicates an immediate safety of 

flight problem. Accordingly, notice and 

opportunity for prior public comment 

are impracticable and contrary to the 

public interest pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(3)(B). 

In addition, the FAA finds that good 

cause exists pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d) 

for making this amendment effective in 

less than 30 days, for the same reasons 

the FAA found good cause to forgo 

notice and comment. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA) do not apply when 

an agency finds good cause pursuant to 

5 U.S.C. 553 to adopt a rule without 

prior notice and comment. Because FAA 

has determined that it has good cause to 

adopt this rule without prior notice and 

comment, RFA analysis is not required. 

Costs of Compliance 

The FAA estimates that this AD 

affects 37 engines installed on airplanes 

of U.S. registry. 

The FAA estimates the following 

costs to comply with this AD: 

ESTIMATED COSTS

Action Labor cost Parts cost Cost per 

product 

Cost on U.S. 

operators 

Inspect MCD for metallic particles .................. 1 work-hour × $85 per hour = $85 ................. $0 $85 $3,145 

The FAA estimates the following 

costs to do any necessary replacements 

that would be required based on the 

results of the inspection. The agency has 

no way of determining the number of 

engines that might need this 

replacement: 

ON-CONDITION COSTS

Action Labor cost Parts cost Cost per 

product 

Analysis for bearing material ................. 1 work-hour × $85 per hour = $85 ................................................... $0 ..................... $85 

Reporting ............................................... 1 work-hour × $85 per hour = $85 ................................................... $0 ..................... 85 

Replace engine ...................................... 50 work-hour × $85 per hour = $4,250 ............................................ Unknown ........... 4,250 

The FAA has received no definitive 

data on which to base the parts cost 

estimate for the on-condition engine 

replacement (removal from service) that 

is specified in this AD. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

A federal agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, nor shall a person be subject 

to a penalty for failure to comply with 

a collection of information subject to the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act unless that collection of 

information displays a currently valid 

OMB Control Number. The OMB 

Control Number for this information 

collection is 2120–0056. Public 

reporting for this collection of 

information is estimated to be 

approximately 1 hour per response, 

including the time for reviewing 

instructions, searching existing data 

sources, gathering and maintaining the 

data needed, and completing and 

reviewing the collection of information. 

All responses to this collection of 

information are mandatory. Send 

comments regarding this burden 

estimate or any other aspect of this 

collection of information, including 

suggestions for reducing this burden to: 

Information Collection Clearance 

Officer, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 10101 Hillwood 

Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177–1524. 

Authority for This Rulemaking 

Title 49 of the United States Code 

specifies the FAA’s authority to issue 

rules on aviation safety. Subtitle I, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 68453 

section 106, describes the authority of 

the FAA Administrator. Subtitle VII: 

Aviation Programs describes in more 

detail the scope of the Agency’s 

authority. 

The FAA is 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, 

and 

(2) Will not affect intrastate aviation 

in Alaska. 

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39 

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation 

safety, Incorporation by reference, 

Safety. 

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: 

2023–20–08 General Electric Company: 

Amendment 39–22567; Docket No. 

FAA–2023–1988; Project Identifier AD– 

2023–00991–E. 

(a) Effective Date 

This airworthiness directive (AD) is 

effective October 19, 2023. 

(b) Affected ADs 

None. 

(c) Applicability 

General Electric Company (GE) Model 

CF6–80C2B1F, CF6–80C2B2F, CF6– 

80C2B4F, CF6–80C2B5F, CF6–80C2B6F, 

CF6–80C2B7F, and CF6–80C2K1F engines, 

having engine serial numbers (S/Ns) 630–136 

through 630–156 inclusive, and engine S/Ns 

707–510 through 707–645 inclusive, which 

have accumulated less than 400 engine 

cycles since new (CSN) on the effective date 

of this AD. 

(d) Subject 

Joint Aircraft System Component (JASC) 

Code 7200, Engine (Turbine/Turboprop). 

(e) Unsafe Condition 

This AD was prompted by an uncontained 

engine fire and consequent manufacturer 

investigation which revealed that certain 

bearings were installed improperly. The FAA 

is issuing this AD to prevent premature 

bearing failure. The unsafe condition, if not 

addressed, could result in engine fire and 

damage to the airplane. 

(f) Compliance 

Comply with this AD within the 

compliance times specified, unless already 

done. 

(g) Required Actions 

(1) For affected engines, within 15 engine 

cycles after the effective date of this AD, 

inspect the magnetic chip detector (MCD) for 

metallic particles that cover more than 10 

percent of the probe tip, and if necessary, do 

a material composition analysis as 

applicable, in accordance with paragraph 3., 

Accomplishment Instructions, of GE CF6– 

80C2 Service Bulletin (SB) 72–1631, R00, 

dated August 25, 2023 (GE SB 72–1631). 

(2) Thereafter, at the applicable times 

specified in paragraphs (g)(2)(i) through (iii), 

inspect the MCD for metallic particles that 

cover more than 10 percent of the probe tip, 

and if necessary, do a material composition 

analysis as applicable, in accordance with 

paragraph 3., Accomplishment Instructions, 

of GE SB 72–1631. 

(i) For engines that have accumulated less 

than 100 engine CSN, within 25 engine 

cycles after the previous inspection. 

(ii) For engines that have accumulated 100 

or more and less than 200 engine CSN, 

within 50 engine cycles after the previous 

inspection. 

(iii) For engines that have accumulated 200 

or more and less than 399 engine CSN, 

within 100 engine cycles after the previous 

inspection. 

(3) If bearing material is detected during 

any inspection and analysis required by 

paragraphs (g)(1) and (2) of this AD, before 

further flight, remove the engine from 

service. 

(h) Reporting 

If a positive identification of bearing 

material was made during the inspection and 

analysis required by paragraphs (g)(1) and (2) 

of this AD, submit a report within 10 days 

after the positive identification or within 10 

days after the effective date of this AD, 

whichever occurs later. The report must 

include the MCD probe tip inspection results, 

material composition analysis, the engine 

serial number, and number of engine CSN. 

Submit the report to GE Aviation Fleet 

Support in accordance with paragraph 3., 

Accomplishment Instructions, of GE SB 72– 

1631. 

(i) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, AIR–520 Continued 

Operational Safety Branch, FAA, has the 

authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if 

requested using the procedures found in 14 

CFR 39.19. In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, 

send your request to your principal inspector 

or local Flight Standards District Office, as 

appropriate. If sending information directly 

to the manager of the AIR–520 Continued 

Operational Safety Branch, send it to the 

attention of the person identified in 

paragraph (i) of this AD and email it to: ANEAD-AMOC@faa.gov. 

(2) Before using any approved AMOC, 

notify your appropriate principal inspector, 

or lacking a principal inspector, the manager 

of the local flight standards district office/ 

certificate holding district office. 

(j) Additional Information 

For more information about this AD, 

contact Sungmo Cho, Aviation Safety 

Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th Street, Des 

Moines, WA 98198; phone: (781) 238–7241; 

email: sungmo.d.cho@faa.gov. 

(k) 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) General Electric Company (GE) CF6– 

80C2 Service Bulletin 72–1631, R00, dated 

August 25, 2023. 

(ii) [Reserved] 

(3) For GE service information identified in 

this AD, contact General Electric Company, 

1 Newman Way, Cincinnati, OH 45215, 

phone: (513) 552–3272; email: 

aviation.fleetsupport@ae.ge.com. 

(4) You may view this service information 

at the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, 

Operational Safety Branch, 1200 District 

Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803. For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call (817) 222–5110. 

(5) You may view this service information 

that is incorporated by reference at the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). For information on 

the availability of this material at NARA, 

email: fr.inspection@nara.gov, or go to: 

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

Issued on September 29, 2023. 

Victor Wicklund, 

Deputy Director, Compliance & Airworthiness 

Division, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22145 Filed 10–2–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 


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