DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. F AA-2012-0817; Directorate Identifier 99-NE-24-AD] 

RIN 2120-AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; General Electric Company Turbofan Engines 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. 

[4910-13-P] 

ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); reopening of comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: We are revising an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD) for 

certain General Electric Company (GE) CF6-80C2 series turbofan engines. That NPRM 

proposed to supersede an AD that required replacement of fuel tubes connected to the 

fuel flowmeter. That NPRM was prompted by several reports of fuel leaks, and two 

reports of engine fire, due to mis-assembled supporting brackets on the fuel tube 

connecting the flowmeter to the Integrated Drive Generator (IDG) fuel-oil cooler. That 

NPRM required installation of a new simplified one-piece supporting bracket to eliminate 

mis-assembly. This supplemental action adds an engine model, alters the list of affected 

part numbers (PINs), changes the replacement schedule, and revises our estimated cost of 

compliance. We are reopening the comment period to allow the public the opportunity to 

comment on these proposed changes. We are proposing this AD to prevent high-pressure 

fuel leaks caused by improper seating of fuel tube flanges, which could result in an 

engine fire and damage to the airplane. 

DATES: We must receive comments on this supplemental NPRM by [INSERT DATE 

60 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. 

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 http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202-493-2251. 

• Mail: U.S. Department ofTransportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 

20590. 

• Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, 

West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

For service information identified in this AD, contact General Electric Company, 

GE-Aviation, Room 285, 1 Neumann Way, Cincinnati, OH 45215, phone: (513) 552-

3272; e-mail: geae.aoc@ge.com. 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 proposed AD, the 

regulatory evaluation, any comments received, and other information. The street address 

for the Docket Office (phone: 800-647-5527) is in the ADDRESSES section. Comments 

will be available in the AD docket shortly after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kasra Sharifi, Aerospace Engineer, 

Engine Certification Office, FAA, Engine & Propeller Directorate, 12 New England 

Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803 ; phone: 781-238-7773 ; fax : 781-238-7199; 

e-mail: kasra.sharifi@faa.gov. 

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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-2012-0817; Directorate Identifier 99-NE-24-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 because of 

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 we receive about this 

proposed AD. 

Discussion 

We issued an NPRM to amend 14 CFR part 39 to include an AD that would apply 

to certain GE CF6-80C2 series turbofan engines. That NPRM published in the Federal 

Register on August 13, 2012 (77 FR 48110). That NPRM proposed to supersede AD 

2000-04-14, Amendment 39-11597 (65 FR 10698, February 29, 2000) which had 

required replacement of certain fuel tubes. That NPRM proposed to require installation of 

a new simplified one-piece bracket to eliminate mis-assembly. 

Actions since Previous NPRM was Issued 

Since we issued the previous NPRM (77 FR 48110, August 13, 2012), we 

received and evaluated comments from the public. The nature of the comments caused us 

to issue this supplemental NRPM to reopen the comment period and allow the public the 

opportunity to comment on the changes we have made. 

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Comments 

The following presents the comments received on the previous NPRM (77 FR 

48110, August 13, 2012) and the FAA's response to each comment. 

Request to Remove Certain Part Number from Final Rule 

Seven air carriers requested that we exclude bolt PIN MS9557-12 from the final 

rule because this is a common part used in other components of the engine besides the 

main engine control to flowmeter fuel tube. 

We agree. We changed the proposed AD by removing reference to PIN MS9557-

12 from the compliance and prohibition paragraphs. 

Request to Remove Idle Leak Check Requirement 

The Boeing Company (Boeing) and FEDEX Express requested that we remove 

the idle leak check requirement, which they contend is not necessary to address the 

unsafe condition and which is included in normal maintenance, and so does not need to 

be mandated. 

We disagree. We are issuing this AD to prevent fuel leak and fire due to misassembled connections, and idle leak check is necessary to ensure no fuel leaks occur 

after tube or bracket replacement. We did not change the proposed AD. 

Request to Alter Mandate for Replacement of Hardware 

Boeing, General Electric Company, and American Airlines requested that we 

change the AD to mandate replacement of only the disconnected hardware during onwing maintenance, and then the remaining balance of affected hardware during the next 

shop visit. 

We agree. We changed the proposed AD to require that for on-wing maintenance, 

only those tubes and brackets that had been disconnected would be replaced at that time. 

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Request to Expand the Applicability 

GE and Boeing requested that we add the GE CF6-80C2B5F engine model to the 

list of applicable engines. Even though the production model of this engine used a onepiece design (2021 M83GO 1 ), some engines may have subsequently received bracket PIN 

1321M88POOIA, allowed by GE Alert Service Bulletin (SB) 73-A0401 for the purpose 

of hardware interchangeability. 

We agree. We changed the proposed AD by adding the GE CF6-80C2BF5 engine 

to the list of applicable engines specified in paragraph (c). 

Request to Incorporate by Reference (IBR) applicable GE SBs 

Four air carriers requested that applicable GE SBs be incorporated by reference in 

the AD to provide more specific and detailed instructions to aid operators in part 

replacement. 

We patiially agree. We agree that GE SBs provide additional guidance. We 

disagree with incorporating the SBs by reference because multiple acceptable methods 

exist for performing the actions required by the AD. We did not change the proposed AD. 

Request to Clarify Why the AD Mandates Fuel Tube Changes 

Onur Air requested clarification as to why the proposed AD would mandate fuel 

tube changes when the GE SB only applies to engines with a certain bracket. 

We disagree. The proposed AD supersedes AD 2000-04-14, Amendment 39-

11597 (65 FR 10698, February 29, 2000). That AD requires replacement of certain fuel 

tube PINs. The proposed AD retains that requirement and also mandates replacement of 

certain supporting brackets and spray shields. We did not change the proposed AD. 

Request to Provide Method to Identify Affected Configuration without Disassembly 

American Airlines requested that the proposed AD provide a method to identify 

the affected fuel tube configuration without disassembling the tubes, because PIN 

1321M42G04 is located under a loop clamp, making it difficult to read the PIN. 

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We disagree. Detailed maintenance instructions can be found in the Instructions 

for Continued Airworthiness for the engine. We did not change the proposed AD. 

Request to Issue a New AD Instead of Superseding a Prior AD 

The National Transportation Safety Board requested that we issue a new AD, 

instead of proposing to supersede AD 2000-04-14, Amendment 39-11597 (65 FR 10698, 

February 29, 2000), for actions regarding the removal of the bracket. Operators might 

presume that if they have already complied with AD-2000-04-14 that they might also 

comply with the additional requirements (replacement of brackets and spray shield) ofthe 

proposed supersedure AD. 

We disagree. The proposed supersedure AD addresses the same unsafe condition 

as the original AD, but expands its scope. The proposed supersedure AD will receive its 

own amendment number and AD number, and the original AD will be deleted. We did 

not change the proposed AD. 

Request for Changes to the Costs of Compliance 

American Airlines requested that we revise the cost estimate to more accurately 

capture the cost of the spray shield and also to include the cost of the idle leak check. 

We agree. In the "Cost of Compliance" section of the proposed AD, we have 

changed the cost estimate for each spray shield from $180 to $3 70, and we have included 

an estimated cost of $1 000 per engine for the idle leak check. 

Request to Clarify Spray Shield Part Numbers 

Delta Airlines requested that we change the conjunction "and" between the two 

PINs listed in paragraph (f)( 4) to "or" since each engine only has one spray shield to be 

replaced, and that we add spray shield PIN 1606M57G03 to the list, resulting in three 

specified PINs. The added part number is an alternative spray shield to PIN 

1775M61 GO 1, and so is also affected by the AD. 

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We partially agree. We agree that PIN 1606M57G03 should be added to the list of 

PINs to be removed. We disagree that the conjunction "and" should be changed to "or" 

because all three spray shield PINs are subject to replacement. We changed the AD to 

require the replacement of PIN 1606M57G03. 

Request to Add Historical Information to Preamble 

GE requested that we add more historical information to the "Action Since 

Existing AD was Issued" paragraph in the AD preamble. 

We disagree. The cited preamble paragraph will not appear in the final rule, and 

so additional historical information will not add value to that proposed rule. We did not 

change the proposed AD. 

Request to Provide the PINs of Eligible Replacement Parts 

UPS requested that we provide PINs of eligible replacement parts. 

We disagree. The purpose ofthe AD is to identify and mandate removal of parts 

causing the unsafe condition. Operators are required to only use parts that are eligible for 

installation. We did not change the proposed AD. 

Request to Nullify Need for Compliance if SBs Already Accomplished 

Four air carriers requested that the AD state that no further action is required if 

the applicable GE SBs have already been accomplished. 

We disagree. The "Compliance" and "Replacement" paragraphs sufficiently state 

that compliance actions do not have to be repeated if accomplished before the effective 

date of the AD. We did not change the proposed AD. 

Request to Withdraw the Proposed AD 

American Airlines requested that we withdraw the requirement to incorporate the 

spray shield on-wing any time the fuel tubes are disconnected because disconnecting 

them is an unnecessary hardship on air carriers. 

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We disagree. On-wing maintenance to the spray shield and affected tubes without 

removing and replacing them may lead to the unsafe condition. We did not change the 

proposed AD. 

FAA's Determination 

We are proposing this supplemental NPRM because we evaluated all the relevant 

information and determined the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or 

develop in other products of the same type design. Certain changes described above 

expand the scope of the original NPRM. As a result, we have determined that it is 

necessary to reopen the comment period to provide additional opportunity for the public 

to comment on this supplemental NPRM. 

Proposed Requirements of the Supplemental NPRM 

This supplemental NPRM would require installation of a new simplified onepiece bracket to eliminate mis-assembly of supporting brackets on the fuel tube 

connecting the flowmeter to the IDG fuel-oil cooler. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this proposed AD would affect 926 GE CF6-80C2 engines 

installed on airplanes of U.S. registry. We also estimate that one hour would be required 

per engine to accomplish the actions required by this AD. The average labor rate is $85 

per hour. We also estimate that the required parts will cost about $370 per engine. We 

estimate that the cost of the idle leak check is $1000 per engine. Based on these figures, 

we estimate the total cost of the proposed AD to U.S. operators is $3,275,231. 

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. 

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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), 

(3) Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, 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, 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: 

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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): 

2012-XX-XX General Electric Company: Docket No. FAA-2012-0817; Directorate 

Identifier 99-NE-24-AD. 

(a) Comments Due Date 

We must receive comments by [INSERT DATE 60 DAYS AFTER DATE OF 

PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. 

(b) Affected ADs 

This AD supersedes AD 2000-04-14, Amendment 39-11597 (65 FR 10698, 

February 29, 2000). 

(c) Applicability 

This AD applies to all General Electric Company (GE) CF6-80C2 

A 1 I A21 A3/ AS/ A8/ A5F /B 1 /B2/B4/B5 F /B6/B 1 F /B2F /B4 F /B6F /B 7F /D 1 F turbofan 

engines with fuel tubes, part number (PIN) 1321M42G01 , 1334M88G01 , 1374M30G01, 

1383M12G01 , 1606M57G03, 1606M57G01 , or 1775M61G01 , or supporting bracket, 

PIN 1321M88P001A, installed. 

(d) Unsafe Condition 

This AD was prompted by several reports of fuel leaks, and two reports of engine 

fire, due to mis-assembled supporting brackets on the fuel tube connecting the flowmeter 

to the Integrated Drive Generator (IDG) fuel-oil cooler. We are proposing this AD to 

prevent high-pressure fuel leaks caused by improper seating of fuel tube flanges, which 

could result in an engine fire and damage to the airplane. 

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(e) Compliance 

Comply with this AD within the compliance times specified, unless already done. 

(f) Replacement 

After the effective date of this AD, if the fuel tubes are disconnected for any 

reason, or at the next engine shop visit, whichever occurs first, replace the fuel tubes and 

brackets with improved tubes and brackets eligible for installation. For on-wing 

maintenance, replace only tubes and brackets that have been disconnected. Do the 

following: 

(1) Replace the fuel flowmeter to IDG fuel-oil cooler fuel tube, PIN 

1321 M42GO 1, with a part eligible for installation. 

(2) For engines with Power Management Controls, replace the Main Engine 

Control to fuel flowmeter fuel tube, PIN 1334M88GO 1, with a part eligible for 

installation. 

(3) For engines with Full Authority Digital Electronic Controls, replace the 

Hydromechanical Unit to fuel flowmeter fuel tubes, PINs 1383M12G01 and 

1374M30G01 , with a part eligible for installation. 

(4) Replace supporting bracket, PIN 1321M88P001A, and spray shields, PINs 

1606M57GO 1, 1606M57G03, and 1775M61 GO 1 with one-piece supporting bracket, PIN 

2021M83G01. 

(5) Perform an idle leak check after accomplishing paragraphs (f)(l), (f)(2), (f)(3), 

or (f)(4), or any combination thereof. 

(g) Prohibition 

After the effective date ofthis AD, do not install any of the following parts into 

any GE CF6-80C2 series turbofan engines: PINs 1321M42G01 , 1321M88P001A, 

1334M88G01 , 1374M30G01 , 1383M12G01 , 1606M57G01 , 1606M57G03, and 

1775M61 GOl. 

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(h) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs) 

The Manager, Engine Certification Office, FAA, may approve AMOCs for this 

AD. Use the procedures found in 14 CFR 3 9.19 to make your request. 

(i) Related Information 

(1) For more information about this AD, contact Kasra Sharifi, Aerospace 

Engineer, Engine Certification Office, FAA, Engine & Propeller Directorate, 12 New 

England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803; phone: 781-238-7773 ; fax: 781-

238-7199; e-mail: kasra.sharifi@faa.gov. 

(2) For guidance on the replacements, refer to GE Alert Service Bulletins CF6-

80C2 SB 73-A0224, CF6-80C2 SB 73-A0231, CF6-80C2 SB 73-A0401 , and CF6-80C2 

SB 73-0242. 

(3) For service information identified in this AD, contact General Electric 

Company, GE-Aviation, Room 285, 1 Neumann Way, Cincinnati, OH 45215, phone: 

(513) 552-3272; e-mail: geae.aoc@ge.com. You may view this service information at the 

FAA, Engine & Propeller Directorate, 12 New England Executive Park, Burlington, MA. 

For information on the availability ofthis material at the FAA, call 781-238-7125 . 

Massachusetts on December 20, 2012. 

Robert J. Ganley, 

Acting Manager, Engine & Propeller Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

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