[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 45 (Thursday, March 8, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10350-10352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-4139]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2007-27023; Directorate Identifier 98-ANE-47-AD; 
Amendment 39-14978; AD 2007-05-17]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Pratt & Whitney JT9D Series Turbofan 
Engines

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive 
(AD) for Pratt & Whitney (PW) JT9D series turbofan engines. That AD 
currently requires revisions to the Airworthiness Limitations Section 
(ALS) of the manufacturer's Instructions for Continued Airworthiness 
(ICA) to include required enhanced inspection of selected critical 
life-limited parts at each piece-part opportunity. This AD modifies the 
JT9D series engines ALS sections of the manufacturer's manuals and an 
air carrier's approved continuous airworthiness maintenance program to 
incorporate additional inspection requirements. This AD results from 
the need to require enhanced inspection of selected critical life-
limited parts of JT9D series turbofan engines. We are issuing this AD 
to prevent critical life-limited rotating engine part failure, which 
could result in an uncontained engine failure and damage to the 
airplane.

DATES: This AD becomes effective April 12, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov or in Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Riley, Aerospace Engineer, Engine 
Certification Office, FAA, Engine and Propeller Directorate, 12 New 
England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803-5299; telephone (781) 238-
7758, fax (781) 238-7199.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA proposed to amend 14 CFR part 39 
with a proposed AD. The proposed AD applies to PW JT9D series turbofan 
engines. We published the proposed AD in the Federal Register on 
November 2, 2005 (70 FR 66300). That action proposed to modify the JT9D 
series engines ALS sections of the manufacturer's manuals and an air 
carrier's approved continuous airworthiness maintenance program to 
incorporate additional inspection requirements. PW has added mandatory 
eddy current inspections (ECIs) for the web cooling holes in high 
pressure turbine (HPT) stage 1 disks installed in engine models JT9D-
7R4D, -7R4D1, -7R4E, and -7R4E1, and for web tie-rod holes in HPT stage 
2 disks installed in JT9D-3A, -7, -7A, -7H, -7AH, -7F, -7J, -20, and -
20J engines. The mandatory inspections are needed to identify those 
critical rotating parts with conditions, which if allowed to continue 
in service, could result in uncontained failures.

Examining the AD Docket

    You may examine the docket that contains the AD, any comments 
received, and any final disposition in person at the Docket Management 
Facility Docket Office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays. The Docket Office (telephone (800) 
647-5227) is located on the plaza level of the Department of 
Transportation Nassif Building at the street address stated in 
ADDRESSES. Comments will be available in the AD docket shortly after 
the DMS receives them.

Comments

    We provided the public the opportunity to participate in the 
development of this AD. We have considered the comments received.

Request To Delete ECIs for JT9D-59A, -70A, -7Q, and -7Q3 Engines

    One commenter, Japan Airlines, requests that we delete the ECIs for 
JT9D-59A, -70A, -7Q, and -7Q3 engines from the table in the proposed AD 
compliance section. The commenter points out that the proposed AD 
preamble paragraph entitled ``FAA's Determination and Requirements of 
the Proposed AD'' does not include ECIs for JT9D-59A, -70A, -7Q, and -
7Q3 engines.
    We do not agree. We inadvertently omitted listing the requirement 
of ECI of the HPT stage 1 disk web cooling holes on JT9D-59A, -70A, -
7Q, and -7Q3 engines, under the proposed AD preamble paragraph entitled 
``FAA's Determination and Requirements of the Proposed AD''. The 
proposed AD compliance section and the compliance section in this AD, 
correctly list those engine models. We did not change the AD.

Request To Wait To Issue the AD

    Japan Airlines requests that we wait to issue the AD until Pratt & 
Whitney provides the ECI procedure to the operators. The commenter 
states that the JT9D-7 Engine Manual Section 72-51-02, Inspection 05, 
has not been published yet.
    We do not agree. Although the ECI procedure was not published in 
the JT9D-7 Engine Manual as of December 26, 2005 when the comment was 
sent, it was incorporated into the JT9D-7 Engine Manual on February 15, 
2006. We do not need to wait to issue the AD.

Request To Revise Engine Manual

    Japan Airlines requests that we recommend to Pratt & Whitney to 
revise the JT9D engine manual to remove the specific manufacturer's 
name of the ECI equipment required to perform ECIs, and to only list 
the technical specifications required to perform the ECIs. The 
commenter states that operators may not own the ECI equipment specified 
in the Pratt & Whitney JT9D engine manual, but may have similar 
equipment capable of performing the inspections.

[[Page 10351]]

    We partially agree. This AD requires operators to revise the 
Airworthiness Limitations Section of the engine manual to include a 
mandatory opportunistic inspection. We do not intend for the AD to 
specify only one vendor's inspection equipment to accomplish the 
inspection. Nor do we intend that this AD change the way operators seek 
approval for alternative methods of inspections. We did not change the 
AD.

JT9D-3A Model Added to the Compliance Table

    Upon review of the proposed AD, we discovered that the JT9D-3A 
model was inadvertently left out of the compliance table. We added the 
JT9D-3A model to the compliance table in the AD.

Update to the Costs of Compliance

    Since we published the proposed AD on November 2, 2005, the number 
of engines affected and the hourly labor rate have changed. We updated 
this information in this AD preamble.

Correction to Compliance Table

    Upon review of the proposed AD, we discovered that the compliance 
table needs correcting in the section for the -3A/7/7A/7AH/7F/7H/7J/20/
20J engine models. ``All HPT Stage 2 Disk Web Cooling Holes 71-51-02 
Inspection-05'' is corrected to read ``All HPT Stage 2 Disk Web Tie-rod 
Holes 72-51-02 Inspection-05''.

Conclusion

    We have carefully reviewed the available data, including the 
comments received, and determined that air safety and the public 
interest require adopting the AD with the changes described previously. 
We have determined that these changes will neither increase the 
economic burden on any operator nor increase the scope of the AD.

Costs of Compliance

    We estimate that 504 JT9D series turbofan engines are installed on 
U.S.-registered airplanes and will be affected by this AD. We also 
estimate that 87 engines will require this inspection per year and 
about one work-hour per engine is needed to perform the actions, and 
that the average labor rate is $80 per work-hour. Since this is an 
added inspection requirement that will be part of the normal 
maintenance cycle, no additional parts costs are involved. Based on 
these figures, we estimate the total annual cost of the AD to U.S. 
operators to be $6,960.

Docket Number Change

    We are transferring the docket for this AD to the Docket Management 
System as part of our on-going docket management consolidation efforts. 
The new Docket No. is FAA-2007-27023. The old Docket No. became the 
Directorate Identifier, which is 98-ANE-47-AD. This AD might get logged 
into the DMS docket, ahead of the previously collected documents from 
the old docket file, as we are in the process of sending those items to 
the DMS.

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 have determined that 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;
    (2) Is not a ``significant rule'' under DOT Regulatory Policies and 
Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979); and
    (3) 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.
    We prepared a summary of the costs to comply with this AD and 
placed it in the AD Docket. You may get a copy of this summary at the 
address listed under ADDRESSES.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Safety.

Adoption of the Amendment

0
Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the Administrator, 
the Federal Aviation Administration amends 14 CFR part 39 as follows:

PART 39--AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

0
1. The authority citation for part 39 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.


Sec.  39.13  [Amended]

0
2. The FAA amends Sec.  39.13 by removing Amendment 39-12719 (67 FR 
19663, April 23, 2002), and by adding a new airworthiness directive, 
Amendment 39-14978, to read as follows:

2007-05-17 Pratt & Whitney: Amendment 39-14978. Docket No. FAA-2007-
27023; Directorate Identifier 98-ANE-47-AD.

Effective Date

    (a) This airworthiness directive (AD) becomes effective April 
12, 2007.

Affected ADs

    (b) This AD supersedes AD 2002-08-11, Amendment 39-12719.

Applicability

    (c) This AD applies to Pratt & Whitney (PW) JT9D-3A, -7, -7A, -
7H, -7AH, -7F, -7J, -20J, -59A, -70A, -7Q, -7Q3, -7R4D, -7R4D1, -
7R4E, -7R4E1, -7R4E4, -7R4G2, and -7R4H1 series turbofan engines. 
These engines are installed on, but not limited to, Boeing 747 and 
767 series, McDonnell Douglas DC-10 series, and Airbus Industrie 
A300 and A310 series airplanes.

Unsafe Condition

    (d) This AD results from the need to require enhanced inspection 
of selected critical life-limited parts of JT9D series turbofan 
engines. We are issuing this AD to prevent critical life-limited 
rotating engine part failure, which could result in an uncontained 
engine failure and damage to the airplane.

Compliance

    (e) You are responsible for having the actions required by this 
AD performed within the compliance times specified unless the 
actions have already been done.
    (f) Within the next 180 days after the effective date of this 
AD, revise the manufacturer's Instructions for Continued 
Airworthiness Limitations Section (ALS), and for air carrier 
operations revise the approved continuous airworthiness maintenance 
program by adding the following:

Mandatory Inspections

    (1) Perform inspections of the following parts at each piece-
part opportunity in

[[Page 10352]]

accordance with the instructions provided in the applicable manual 
provisions:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Engine manual                              Inspect per
         Engine model            part  number (P/     Part nomenclature        manual         Inspection/check
                                        N)                                     section
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3A/7/7A/7AH/7F/7H/7J/20/20J...  *646028 (or the    All Fan Hubs..........        72-31-04  Inspection-02.
                                 equivalent
                                 customized
                                 versions, 770407
                                 and 770408).
                                                   All HPC Stage 5-15            72-35-00  Inspection-03.
                                                    Disks and Rear
                                                    Compressor Drive
                                                    Turbine Shafts.
                                                   All HPT Stage 1-2             72-51-00  Inspection-03.
                                                    Disks and Hubs.
                                                   All HPT Stage 2 Disk          72-51-02  Inspection-05.
                                                    Web Tie-rod Holes.
                                                   All LPT Stage 3-6             72-52-00  Inspection-03.
                                                    Disks and Hubs.
59A/70A.......................  754459...........  All Fan Hubs..........        72-31-00  Check-00.
                                                   All HPC Stage 5-15            72-35-00  Check-00.
                                                    Disks and Rear
                                                    Compressor Drive
                                                    Turbine Shafts.
                                                   All HPT Stage 1-2             72-51-00  Check-03.
                                                    Disks and Hubs.
                                                   All HPT Stage 1 Disk          72-51-02  Check-03.
                                                    Web Cooling Holes.
                                                   All LPT Stage 3-6             72-52-00  Check-03.
                                                    Disks and Hubs.
7Q/7Q3........................  777210...........  All Fan Hubs..........        72-31-00  Inspection-03.
                                                   All HPC Stage 5-15            72-35-00  Inspection-03.
                                                    Disks and Rear
                                                    Compressor Drive
                                                    Turbine Shafts.
                                                   All HPT Stage 1-2             72-51-00  Inspection-03.
                                                    Disks and Hubs.
                                                   All HPT Stage 1 Disk          72-51-06  Inspection-03.
                                                    Web Cooling Holes.
                                                   All LPT Stage 3-6             72-52-00  Inspection-03.
                                                    Disks and Hubs.
7R4 ALL.......................  785058, 785059,    All Fan Hubs..........        72-31-00  Inspection/Check-03.
                                 and 789328.
                                                   All HPC Stage 5-15            72-35-00  Inspection/Check 03.
                                                    Disks and Rear
                                                    Compressor Drive
                                                    Turbine Shafts.
                                                   All HPT Stage 1-2             72-51-00  Inspection/Check 03.
                                                    Disks and Hubs.
                                                   All LPT Stage 3-6             72-52-00  Inspection/Check 03.
                                                    Disks and Hubs.
7R4D/D1/E/E1..................  785058 and 785059  All HPT Stage 1 Disk          72-51-06  Inspection/Check-02.
                                                    Web Cooling Holes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* P/N 770407 and 770408 are customized versions of P/N 646028 engine manual.

    (2) For the purposes of these mandatory inspections, piece-part 
opportunity means:
    (i) The part is considered completely disassembled when done in 
accordance with the disassembly instructions in the manufacturer's 
engine manual; and
    (ii) The part has accumulated more than 100 cycles-in-service 
since the last piece-part opportunity inspection, provided that the 
part was not damaged or related to the cause for its removal from 
the engine.''

Alternative Methods of Compliance

    (g) You must perform these mandatory inspections using the ALS 
of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness and the applicable 
Engine Manual unless you receive approval to use an alternative 
method of compliance under paragraph (h) of this AD. Section 43.16 
of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 43.16) may not be used 
to approve alternative methods of compliance or adjustments to the 
times in which these inspections must be performed.
    (h) The Manager, Engine Certification Office, has the authority 
to approve alternative methods of compliance for this AD if 
requested using the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19.

Maintaining Records of the Mandatory Inspections

    (i) You have met the requirements of this AD when you change the 
manufacturer's Instructions for Continued Airworthiness ALS 
specified in paragraph (f) of this AD. For air carriers operating 
under part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 
121), you have met the requirements of this AD when you modify your 
continuous airworthiness maintenance plan to reflect those changes. 
You do not need to record each piece-part inspection as compliance 
to this AD but you must maintain records of those inspections 
according to the regulations governing your operation. For air 
carriers operating under part 121, you may use either the system 
established to comply with section 121.369 or an alternative 
accepted by your principal maintenance inspector if that 
alternative:
    (1) Includes a method for preserving and retrieving the records 
of the inspections resulting from this AD; and
    (2) Meets the requirements of section 121.369(c); and
    (3) Maintains the records either indefinitely or until the work 
is repeated.
    (j) These record keeping requirements apply only to the records 
used to document the mandatory inspections required as a result of 
revising the ALS of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness as 
specified in paragraph (f) of this AD. These record keeping 
requirements do not alter or amend the record keeping requirements 
for any other AD or regulatory requirement.

Related Information

    (k) Contact Mark Riley, Aerospace Engineer, Engine Certification 
Office, FAA, Engine and Propeller Directorate, 12 New England 
Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803; telephone (781) 238-7758, fax 
(781) 238-7199; e-mail: [email protected] for more information 
about this AD.

    Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on March 1, 2007.
Peter A. White,
Acting Manager, Engine and Propeller Directorate, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
 [FR Doc. E7-4139 Filed 3-7-07; 8:45 am]
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