~DEING John A. Hamilton 

Lead Administrator 

Regulatory Administration 

Commercial Airplanes 

The Boeing Company 

P.O. Box 3707 MC 03-56 

Seattle, WA 98124-2207 

NOV 0 2 2012 

RA-12-04226 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Docket Operations, M-30 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

Room W12-140, West Bldg. Ground Floor 

Washington, DC 20590-0001 

Subject: 

Model: 

RA Project No.: 

Request for Amendment to FAA Exemption No. 

10267A Provision No. 1 Pertaining to Engine Fuel 

Strainer Inspections on 747-8/-8F Aircraft 

747-8, 747-8F 

PS12-0815 

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Reference(s): a) FAA Exemption No. 10267 (Regulatory Docket No. 

FAA-2010-1268), issued on May 19, 2011 

b) FAA Exemption No. 10267A (Regulatory Docket 

No. FAA-2010-1268), issued on August 05, 2011 

The Boeing Company respectfully requests an amendment to provision #1 of 

Exemption 10267 A The FAA decision included the following provision in granting the 

Exemption: 

"For Modei747-81-8F airplanes granted a certificate of airworthiness before June 30, 

2014, the Airworthiness Limitations section of the Instructions for Continued 

Airworthiness must include a limitation that requires operators to verify that 

contaminants have not accumulated on the fuel strainer located upstream of the engine 

driven fuel pump. The limitation must also require an inspection of the fuel cooled oil 

cooler if the fuel strainer has bypassed fuel. The airworthiness limitation must require 

these actions following any maintenance action that resulted in personnel entry into the 

center wing fuel tank: a. After the first flight following tank entry, access and analyze the 

messages frc m the engine indication and crew alerting system and central maintenance 

computer to detect any bypass or impending bypass of any of the. engine fuel strainers. 

b. Perform a physical inspection of the engine fuel strainer from one engine within 20 

flight hours. c. Perform a second physical inspection of the engine fuel strainer from a 

second engine within 40 flight hours." 
~OEING. 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

RA-12-04226 

Page 2 

The current provision only allows 20 flight hours between fuel tank maintenance and 

engine fuel strainer inspection events. The amendment Boeing requests to this 

provision would allow for 20 flight hours or 4 flight cycles (whichever comes later) 

between fuel tank maintenance events and the first physical engine fuel strainer 

inspection, and 40 flight hours or 8 flight cycles (whichever comes later) to accrue 

between fuel tank maintenance events and the second physical engine fuel strainer 

inspection. 

This amended provision would be met by three separate inspections: 

• Inspection of the Engine Indication and Crew Alerting System (EICAS) and 

Central Maintenance Computer (CMC) messages to detect any bypass or 

impending bypass at the fuel strainers after the first flight. 

• Physical inspection of the engine fuel strainer for the first engine after 20 flight 

hours or 4 flight cycles, whichever comes later. 

• Physical inspection of the engine fuel strainer for the second engine after 40 

hours or 8 flight cycles, whichever comes later. 

The two engines selected will be those determined by analysis to be fed primarily from 

the center fuel tank; no inspection would be required for the other two engines after 

center tank maintenance activity. Additionally, Boeing is committing to similar 

inspections following inboard main fuel tank entry by maintenance personnel. 

The rationale for requesting this amendment to add a flight cycles condition to 10267 A 

Provision No. 1 is to ensure the engines are operated on center tank fuel for sufficient 

time for any maintenance related contaminants to be captured by the engine fuel 

strainers, while allowing adherence to the best practices of avoiding maintenance on 

multipl~ common engine fuel systems at the same maintenance opportunity. The 

addition of flight cycles in combination with the existing flight hour requirement is an 

effective common mode threat mitigation strategy and provides an allowance for one 

round trip flight in combination with an unplanned in-flight diversion between 

maintenance events. 

This proposed amendment has been discussed and reviewed by Sue Lucier of the 

FAA-Seattle Aircraft Certification Office in July 2012 and Henk Pruis, Powerplant & Fuel 

Systems Expert of the European Aviation Safety Agency in August 2012 at the request 

of Lufthansa German Airlines. The FAA and EASA evaluators had no technical 

objections to the proposed amendment. 
rfJ--IIDEING 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

RA-12-04226 

Page 3 

This letter petitions: 

(X) An exemption amendment for operations inside and outside the United States. 

This letter is sent for: 

(X) Review and approval. 

This petition reflects coordination between 747-8/8F air carriers and Boeing in the 

accumulation of more than 10,000 flight cycles of service. Therefore, Boeing 

respectfully requests waiving the open comment period so the public can benefit from 

the effects of this amendment as soon as possible. Boeing respectfully requests a 

response from the FAA by January 31,2013. 

Please contact this office or the following individuals if you have further 

questions: 

(X) Project Administrator (PA): Virinder Duggal at (425) 717-3446 

The information being forwarded to the FAA by or with this correspondence is for the 

exclusive purpose of support of applications for or amendments to Type Certificates, is 

considered proprietary to The Boeing Company and/or its suppliers, and is provided on 

a confidential basis. 

Sincerely, 

~ ~ (_VIRIJVI>tEIL puG,.G/JL) 

~Douglas M. Lane 

ODA Deputy Lead Administrator 

(425) 237-1383, MC 03-56 

FAX: (425) 294-9340 

cc: 

Name 

R. Reed (747-8/8F) 

G. Oltman (747-8/8F) 

Sharepoint Comments 

Yes (FAA) 6Y-01 

Yes (FAA) 6Y-01