41144 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 134 / Wednesday, July 13, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

installation which is not shown to be 

extremely remote, may accumulate in 

hazardous quantities within the 

airplane. 

(4) Installations of Lithium batteries 

must meet the requirements of 14 CFR 

25.863(a) through (d). 

(5) No corrosive fluids or gases that 

may escape from any Lithium battery 

may damage surrounding structure or 

any adjacent systems, equipment, or 

electrical wiring of the airplane in such 

a way as to cause a major or more severe 

failure condition, as determined in 

accordance with 14 CFR 25.1309(b). 

(6) Each Lithium-battery installation 

must have provisions to prevent any 

hazardous effect on structure or 

essential systems caused by the 

maximum amount of heat the battery 

can generate during a short circuit of the 

battery or of its individual cells. 

(7) Lithium-battery installations must 

have a system to control automatically 

the charging rate of the battery to 

prevent battery overheating or 

overcharging, and 

(i) A battery-temperature-sensing and 

over-temperature-warning system with a 

means to automatically disconnect the 

battery from its charging source in the 

event of an over-temperature condition 

or, 

(ii) A battery-failure sensing-andwarning system with a means to 

automatically disconnect the battery 

from its charging source in the event of 

battery failure. 

(8) Any Lithium-battery installation, 

the function of which is required for 

safe operation of the airplane, must 

incorporate a monitoring-and-warning 

feature that will provide an indication 

to the appropriate flight crewmembers 

whenever the state-of-charge of the 

batteries has fallen below levels 

considered acceptable for dispatch of 

the airplane. 

(9) The instructions for continued 

airworthiness required by § 25.1529 

(and § 26.11) must contain maintenance 

steps to assure that the Lithium batteries 

are sufficiently charged at appropriate 

intervals specified by the battery 

manufacturer. The instructions for 

continued airworthiness must also 

contain procedures to ensure the 

integrity of Lithium batteries in spares 

storage to prevent the replacement of 

batteries, the function of which are 

required for safe operation of the 

airplane, with batteries that have 

experienced degraded charge-retention 

ability or other damage due to 

prolonged storage at a low state-ofcharge. Precautions should be included 

in the continued-airworthiness 

maintenance instructions to prevent 

mishandling of Lithium batteries, which 

could result in short-circuit or other 

unintentional damage that could result 

in personal injury or property damage. 

Note 1: The term ‘‘sufficiently charged’’ 

means that the battery will retain enough of 

a charge, expressed in ampere-hours, to 

ensure that the battery cells will not be 

damaged. A battery cell may be damaged by 

lowering the charge below a point where 

there is a reduction in the ability to charge 

and retain a full charge. This reduction 

would be greater than the reduction that may 

result from normal operational degradation. 

Note 2: These special conditions are not 

intended to replace § 25.1353(c) in the 

certification basis of the Cessna Model 680 

airplane. These special conditions apply only 

to Lithium-ion batteries and rechargeable 

Lithium-battery-system installations. The 

requirements of § 25.1353(c) remain in effect 

for batteries and battery installations on the 

Cessna Model 680 airplane that do not use 

Lithium-ion batteries. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on July 1, 

2011. 

Jeffrey E. Duven, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–17535 Filed 7–12–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2011–0731; Directorate 

Identifier 2010–NE–39–AD 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Pratt & 

Whitney Corp. (PW) JT9D–7R4H1 

Turbofan Engines 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for all PW 

JT9D–7R4H1 turbofan engines. This 

proposed AD would require removing 

certain high-pressure compressor (HPC) 

shafts before their certified life limits, 

and establishes a new, lower life-limit 

for these parts. This proposed AD was 

prompted by reports of cracks in five 

HPC shafts. We are proposing this AD 

to correct the unsafe condition on these 

products. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by August 29, 2011. 

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. 

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: Ian 

Dargin, Aerospace Engineer, Engine 

Certification Office, FAA, 12 New 

England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 

01803; phone: 781–238–7178; fax: 781– 

238–7199; e-mail: ian.dargin@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to send any written 

relevant data, views, or arguments about 

this proposal. Send your comments to 

an address listed under the ADDRESSES

section. Include ‘‘Docket No. FAA– 

2011–0731; Directorate Identifier 2010– 

NE–39–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 received reports of five JT9D– 

7R4H1 engines containing an HPC shaft 

with cracks in the thread grooves of the 

rear shaft. These engines have the 

highest-thrust rating of the JT9D models, 

and were operating in hot 

environments. Higher operating metal 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 134 / Wednesday, July 13, 2011 / Proposed Rules 41145 

temperatures impose a greater low-cycle 

fatigue life debit for each operating 

cycle, requiring removing the affected 

shafts before reaching their certified life 

limits. All of the cracked shafts were 

from the same fleet and engine model. 

This condition, if not corrected, could 

result in failure of the HPC shaft that 

could lead to an uncommanded in-flight 

shutdown or a possible uncontained 

engine failure and damage to the 

airplane. 

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 

develop in other products of the same 

type design. 

Proposed AD Requirements 

This proposed AD would require: 

• For HPC shafts that have more than 

4,500 cycles-since-new (CSN) on the 

effective date of this AD, removing the 

HPC shaft from service within 500 

cycles-in-service (CIS) after the effective 

date of this proposed AD or at the next 

shop visit after the effective date of this 

proposed AD, whichever occurs first. 

• For HPC shafts that have 4,500 or 

fewer CSN on the effective date of this 

AD, removing the HPC shaft from 

service before exceeding 5,000 CSN. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this proposed AD 

would not affect any engines installed 

on airplanes of U.S. registry. 

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), 

(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: 

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): 

Pratt & Whitney Corp: Docket No. FAA– 

2011–0731; Directorate Identifier 2010– 

NE–39–AD. 

(a) Comments Due Date 

We must receive comments by August 29, 

2011. 

(b) Affected ADs 

None. 

(c) Applicability 

Pratt & Whitney Corp (PW) JT9D–7R4H1 

turbofan engines with a high-pressure 

compressor (HPC) shaft, part numbers (P/Ns) 

808070 or 808071, installed. 

(d) Unsafe Condition 

This AD was prompted by reports of cracks 

in five HPC shafts. We are issuing this AD 

to correct the unsafe condition on these 

products. 

(e) Compliance 

Comply with this AD within the 

compliance times specified, unless already 

done. 

(f) Engines With an HPC Shaft, P/N 808071, 

That Has More Than 4,500 Cycles-SinceNew (CSN) 

For engines with an HPC shaft, P/N 

808071, that has more than 4,500 CSN on the 

effective date of this AD, remove the HPC 

shaft from service within 500 cycles-inservice (CIS) after the effective date of the AD 

or at piece-part exposure, whichever occurs 

first. 

(g) Engines With an HPC Shaft, P/N 808071, 

That Has 4,500 or Fewer CSN 

For engines with an HPC shaft, P/N 

808071, that has 4,500 or fewer CSN on the 

effective date of this AD, remove the HPC 

shaft from service before exceeding 5,000 

CSN. 

(h) Engines With an HPC Shaft, P/N 808070, 

Removal From Service 

For engines with an HPC shaft, P/N 

808070, remove the HPC shaft, P/N 808070, 

from service not later than 1,200 CSN. 

(i) Installation Prohibition 

After the effective date of this AD, do not 

install or reinstall into any engine: 

(1) Any HPC shaft, P/N 808071, that is at 

piece-part exposure and exceeds the new 

lower life limit of 5,000 CSN, or 

(2) Any HPC shaft, P/N 808070, that is at 

piece-part exposure and exceeds the new 

lower life limit of 1,200 CSN. 

(j) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

The Manager, Engine Certification Office, 

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. 

(k) Related Information 

For more information about this AD, 

contact Ian Dargin, Aerospace Engineer, 

Engine Certification Office, FAA, 12 New 

England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 

01803; phone: 781–238–7178; fax: 781–238– 

7199; e-mail: ian.dargin@faa.gov. 

Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on 

July 7, 2011. 

Peter A. White, 

Acting Manager, Engine & Propeller 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–17622 Filed 7–12–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 71 

[Docket No. FAA–2011–0560; Airspace 

Docket No. 11–ANM–15] 

Proposed Amendment of Class E 

Airspace; Glendive, MT 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 


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