46898 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 180 / Monday, September 17, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 

11590; telephone 516–228–7323; fax 516– 

794–5531; email 9-avs-nyaco-cos@faa.gov. 

(3) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Bombardier, Inc., 400 CoˆteVertu Road West, Dorval, Que ́bec H4S 1Y9, 

Canada; telephone 514–855–5000; fax 514– 

855–7401; email thd.crj@

aero.bombardier.com; internet http://

www.bombardier.com. You may view this 

service information at the FAA, Transport 

Standards Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des 

Moines, WA. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, call 

206–231–3195. 

Issued in Des Moines, Washington, on 

August 30, 2018. 

Jeffrey E. Duven, 

Director, System Oversight Division, Aircraft 

Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19841 Filed 9–14–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2018–0739; Product 

Identifier 2015–NE–07–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Pratt & 

Whitney Canada Corp. Turboshaft 

Engines 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to supersede 

airworthiness directive (AD) 2015–20– 

04, which applies to certain Pratt & 

Whitney Canada Corp. (P&WC) PT6B– 

37A turboshaft engines. AD 2015–20–04 

requires initial and repetitive 

inspections until replacement of the No. 

10 bearing, and eventual replacement of 

the No. 9 bearing, both located in the 

engine reduction gearbox (RGB) 

assembly. Since we issued AD 2015–20– 

04, P&WC has determined that the 

repetitive inspection of the bearings has 

an associated risk of gearbox damage or 

contamination and that the bearing 

installation required by AD 2015–20–04 

does not adequately address the issue of 

bearing axial movement. This proposed 

AD would require removal from service 

and replacement of the No. 9 and No. 

10 position bearings. We are proposing 

this AD to address the unsafe condition 

on these products. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by November 1, 2018. 

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 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. 

For service information identified in 

this NPRM, contact Pratt & Whitney 

Canada Corp., 1000 Marie-Victorin, 

Longueuil, Quebec, Canada, J4G 1A1; 

phone: 800–268–8000; fax: 450–647– 

2888; website: http://www.pwc.ca. You 

may view this service information at the 

FAA, Engine & Propeller Standards 

Branch, 1200 District Avenue, 

Burlington, MA 01803. For information 

on the availability of this material at the 

FAA, call 781–238–7759. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the internet at http://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2018– 

0739; or in person at the Docket 

Operations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. The AD docket contains this 

NPRM, the mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information, regulatory 

evaluation, any comments received, and 

other information. The street address for 

Docket Operations (phone: 800–647– 

5527) is listed above. Comments will be 

available in the AD docket shortly after 

receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Barbara Caufield, Aerospace Engineer, 

ECO Branch, FAA, 1200 District 

Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803; phone: 

781–238–7146; fax: 781–238–7199; 

email: barbara.caufield@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–2018–0739; Product Identifier 

2015–NE–07–AD’’ at the beginning of 

your comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of this NPRM. We will consider 

all comments received by the closing 

date and may amend this NPRM 

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 AD 2015–20–04, 

Amendment 39–18282 (80 FR 61717, 

October 14, 2015), (‘‘AD 2015–20–04’’), 

for certain P&WC PT6B–37A turboshaft 

engines. AD 2015–20–04 requires initial 

and repetitive inspections until 

replacement of the No. 10 bearing, and 

eventual replacement of the No. 9 

bearing, both located in the engine RGB 

assembly. AD 2015–20–04 resulted from 

reports of incorrect engine torque for 

PT6B–37A engines. We issued AD 

2015–20–04 to prevent axial movement 

at the No. 10 bearing position in the 

engine RGB assembly, which could 

result in engine overtorque, failure of 

the engine, in-flight shutdown, and loss 

of the helicopter. 

Actions Since AD 2015–20–04 Was 

Issued 

Since we issued AD 2015–20–04, 

P&WC has determined that the 

repetitive inspection of the bearings in 

P&WC Service Bulletin (SB) PT6B–72– 

39095, Revision No. 3, dated December 

29, 2014, has an associated risk of 

gearbox damage or contamination. 

P&WC also determined that the bearing 

installation in P&WC SB No. PT6B–72– 

39092, Revision No. 4, dated December 

29, 2014, as required by AD 2015–20– 

04, does not adequately address the 

issue of bearing axial movement. 

Related Service Information Under 1 

CFR Part 51 

We reviewed P&WC SB No. PT6B–72– 

39108, dated September 30, 2016. The 

SB describes procedures for replacing 

affected bearings. 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 the ADDRESSES section. 

Other Related Service Information 

We reviewed P&WC SB No. PT6B–72– 

39092, Revision No. 4, dated December 

29, 2014. The service information 

describes procedures for removing 

affected bearings. 

FAA’s Determination 

We are proposing this AD because we 

evaluated all the relevant information 

and determined the unsafe condition 

described previously is likely to exist or 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 180 / Monday, September 17, 2018 / Proposed Rules 46899 

develop in other products of the same 

type design. 

Proposed AD Requirements 

This proposed AD would retain none 

of the requirements of AD 2015–20–04. 

This proposed AD would introduce a 

new bearing configuration that 

addresses the axial movement at the No. 

9 and No. 10 bearing positions and 

remove the repetitive inspection 

requirements of AD 2015–20–04. This 

proposed AD would also remove the 

previously mandated bearing 

configuration in P&WC SB No. PT6B– 

72–39092, Revision No. 4, dated 

December 29, 2014. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this proposed AD 

affects 119 engines installed on 

helicopters of U.S. registry. 

We estimate the following costs to 

comply with this proposed AD: 

ESTIMATED COSTS

Action Labor cost Parts cost Cost per 

product 

Cost on U.S. 

operators 

Remove and replace No. 9 and No. 10 bearings.65 work-hours × $85 per hour = $5,525 ........ $37,874 $43,399 $5,164,481 

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. 

This AD is issued in accordance with 

authority delegated by the Executive 

Director, Aircraft Certification Service, 

as authorized by FAA Order 8000.51C. 

In accordance with that order, issuance 

of ADs is normally a function of the 

Compliance and Airworthiness 

Division, but during this transition 

period, the Executive Director has 

delegated the authority to issue ADs 

applicable to engines, propellers, and 

associated appliances to the Manager, 

Engine and Propeller Standards Branch, 

Policy and Innovation Division. 

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), 

(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, 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 

removing airworthiness directive (AD) 

2015–20–04, Amendment 39–18282 (80 

FR 61717, October 14, 2015), (‘‘AD 

2015–20–04’’), and adding the following 

new AD: 

Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.: Docket No. 

FAA–2018–0739; Product Identifier 

2015–NE–07–AD. 

(a) Comments Due Date 

The FAA must receive comments on this 

AD action by November 1, 2018. 

(b) Affected ADs 

This AD replaces AD 2015–20–04, 

Amendment 39–18282 (80 FR 61717, October 

14, 2015). 

(c) Applicability 

This AD applies to Pratt & Whitney Canada 

Corp. (P&WC) PT6B–37A turboshaft engines 

with serial number (S/N) PCE–PU0275 or 

earlier or with engine S/N PCE–PU0278. 

(d) Subject 

Joint Aircraft System Component (JASC) 

Code 7210, Turbine Engine Reduction Gear. 

(e) Unsafe Condition 

This AD was prompted by reports of 

incorrect engine torque for PT6B–37A 

turboshaft engines. We are issuing this AD to 

prevent axial movement at the No. 10 bearing 

position in the engine reduction gearbox 

(RGB) assembly. The unsafe condition, if not 

addressed, could result in engine overtorque, 

failure of the engine, in-flight shutdown, and 

loss of the helicopter. 

(f) Compliance 

Comply with this AD within the 

compliance times specified, unless already 

done. 

(g) Required Actions 

(1) For affected engines that did not have 

the bearings replaced in accordance with 

P&WC Service Bulletin (SB) No. PT6B–72– 

39092, Revision No. 4, dated December 29, 

2014, or earlier revision: 

(i) Remove from service and replace the 

No. 9 and No. 10 position bearings at the next 

engine shop visit after the effective date of 

this AD, but no later than December 31, 2020, 

whichever occurs first, in accordance with 

the Accomplishment Instructions, paragraphs 

3.A. and B., of P&WC SB PT6B–72–39108, 

dated September 30, 2016. 

(ii) Reserved. 

(2) For affected engines that had the 

bearings replaced in accordance with P&WC 

SB No. PT6B–72–39092, Revision No. 4, 

dated December 29, 2014, or earlier revision: 

(i) Remove from service and replace the 

No. 9 and No. 10 position bearings before 

December 31, 2020, in accordance with the 

Accomplishment Instructions, paragraphs 

3.A. and B., of P&WC SB PT6B–72–39108, 

dated September 30, 2016. 


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46900 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 180 / Monday, September 17, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

(ii) Reserved. 

(h) Definition 

For the purpose of this AD, an ‘‘engine 

shop visit’’ is the induction of an engine into 

the shop for maintenance involving the 

separation of pairs of major mating engine 

flanges, or any removal of the RGB assembly. 

(i) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, ECO 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 certification office, 

send it to the attention of the person 

identified in paragraph (j)(1) of this AD. You 

may email your request to: ANE-AD-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) Related Information 

(1) For more information about this AD, 

contact Barbara Caufield, Aerospace 

Engineer, ECO Branch, FAA, 1200 District 

Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803; phone: 781– 

238–7146; fax: 781–238–7199; email: 

barbara.caufield@faa.gov. 

(2) Refer to Transport Canada AD CF– 

2015–01R1, dated November 18, 2016, for 

more information. You may examine the 

Transport Canada AD in the AD docket on 

the internet at http://www.regulations.gov by 

searching for and locating it in Docket No. 

FAA–2018–0739. 

(3) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Pratt & Whitney Canada 

Corp., 1000 Marie-Victorin, Longueuil, 

Quebec, Canada J4G 1A1; phone: 800–268– 

8000; fax: 450–647–2888; website: http://

www.pwc.ca. You may view this service 

information at the FAA, Engine & Propeller 

Standards Branch, 1200 District Avenue, 

Burlington, MA 01803. For information on 

the availability of this material at the FAA, 

call 781–238–7759. 

Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on 

September 7, 2018. 

Robert J. Ganley, 

Manager, Engine & Propeller Standards 

Branch, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19862 Filed 9–14–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2018–0771; Product 

Identifier 2018–CE–029–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; GA 8 Airvan 

(Pty) Ltd Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for GA 8 

Airvan (Pty) Ltd Models GA8 and GA8– 

TC320 airplanes. This proposed AD 

results from mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information (MCAI) 

originated 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 certain wing strut fittings 

manufactured with incorrect grain 

orientation, which has an unknown 

effect on fatigue related concerns. We 

are issuing this proposed AD to require 

actions to address the unsafe condition 

on these products. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by November 1, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments 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 of 

Transportation, 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 proposed AD, contact GA 8 Airvan 

(Pty) Ltd, c/o GippsAero Pty Ltd, Attn: 

Technical Services, P.O. Box 881, 

Morwell Victoria 3840, Australia; 

telephone: +61 03 5172 1200; fax: +61 

03 5172 1201; email: aircraft.techpubs@

mahindraaerospace.com. You may 

review this referenced service 

information at the FAA, Policy and 

Innovation Division, 901 Locust, Kansas 

City, Missouri 64106. For information 

on the availability of this material at the 

FAA, call (816) 329–4148. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the internet at http://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2018– 

0771; 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 proposed 

AD, the regulatory evaluation, any 

comments received, and other 

information. The street address for 

Docket Operations (telephone (800) 

647–5527) is in the ADDRESSES section. 

Comments will be available in the AD 

docket shortly after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, 

FAA, Small Airplane Standards Branch, 

901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, 

Missouri 64106; telephone: (816) 329– 

4059; fax: (816) 329–4090; email: 

doug.rudolph@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–2018–0771; Product Identifier 

2018–CE–029–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://

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 

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority 

(CASA), which is the aviation authority 

for Australia, has issued AD No. AD/ 

GA8/9, Amendment 1, dated May 29, 

2018 (referred to after this as ‘‘the 

MCAI’’), to correct an unsafe condition 

for the specified products. The MCAI 

states: 

Amendment 1 of this [CASA] AD is issued 

to amend the replacement times as Service 

Bulletin GA8–2017–174 Issue 2 changed the 

mandatory replacement times for part 

number GA8–570026–035 strut from 6000 

hours time in service or 3 calendar years to 

9000 hours time in service or 5 calendar 

years, whichever occurs first. 

A manufacturing quality escape has 

resulted in wing strut fittings in the effective 

serial number range to be manufactured with 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS