[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 67 (Friday, April 7, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20784-20787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07178]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2023-0664; Project Identifier MCAI-2022-01527-E]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; GE Aviation Czech s.r.o. (Type 
Certificate Previously Held by WALTER Engines a.s., Walter a.s., and 
MOTORLET a.s.) Turboprop Engines

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) 
for all GE Aviation Czech s.r.o. (GEAC) M601E-11AS, M601E[hyphen]11S, 
H75-100, H80-100, and H85-100 model turboprop engines. This proposed AD 
was prompted by reports of multiple failures of the needle bearing 
installed in propeller governors having part numbers (P/Ns) P-W11-1 or 
P-W11-2, caused by self-generated debris from the needle bearing, which 
led to oil contamination. This proposed AD would require replacement of 
the affected propeller governors with a redesigned propeller governor, 
and would prohibit installation of the affected propeller governors, as 
specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which 
is proposed for incorporation by reference (IBR). The FAA is proposing 
this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: The FAA must receive comments on this proposed AD by May 22, 
2023.

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 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.
    AD Docket: You may examine the AD docket at regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FAA-2023-0664; or in person at Docket Operations between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except

[[Page 20785]]

Federal holidays. The AD docket contains this NPRM, the mandatory 
continuing airworthiness information (MCAI), any comments received, and 
other information. The street address for Docket Operations is listed 
above.
    Material Incorporated by Reference:
     For service information that is proposed for IBR in this 
NPRM, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; 
phone: +49 221 8999 000; email: [email protected]; website: 
easa.europa.eu. You may find this service information on the EASA 
website at ad.easa.europa.eu. It is also available at regulations.gov 
under Docket No. FAA-2023-0664.
     You may view this service information at the FAA, 
Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 1200 
District Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803. For information on the 
availability of this service information at the FAA, call (817) 222-
5110.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Caufield, Aviation Safety 
Engineer, ECO Branch, FAA, 1200 District Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803; 
phone: (781) 238-7146; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites you to send any written relevant data, views, or 
arguments about this proposal. Send your comments to an address listed 
under ADDRESSES. Include ``Docket No. FAA-2023-0664; Project Identifier 
MCAI-2022-01527-E'' at the beginning of your comments. The most helpful 
comments reference a specific portion of the proposal, explain the 
reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data. The FAA 
will consider all comments received by the closing date and may amend 
this proposal because of those comments.
    Except for Confidential Business Information (CBI) as described in 
the following paragraph, and other information as described in 14 CFR 
11.35, the FAA will post all comments received, without change, to 
regulations.gov, including any personal information you provide. The 
agency will also post a report summarizing each substantive verbal 
contact received about this NPRM.

Confidential Business Information

    CBI is commercial or financial information that is both customarily 
and actually treated as private by its owner. Under the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public 
disclosure. If your comments responsive to this NPRM contain commercial 
or financial information that is customarily treated as private, that 
you actually treat as private, and that is relevant or responsive to 
this NPRM, it is important that you clearly designate the submitted 
comments as CBI. Please mark each page of your submission containing 
CBI as ``PROPIN.'' The FAA will treat such marked submissions as 
confidential under the FOIA, and they will not be placed in the public 
docket of this NPRM. Submissions containing CBI should be sent to 
Barbara Caufield, Aviation Safety Engineer, ECO Branch, FAA, 1200 
District Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803. Any commentary that the FAA 
receives which is not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in 
the public docket for this rulemaking.

Background

    EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the 
European Union, has issued EASA AD 2022-0234, dated December 1, 2022 
(EASA AD 2022-0234) (also referred to as the MCAI), to address an 
unsafe condition for all GEAC M601E-11AS, M601E-11S, M601FS, H75-100, 
H80-100 and H85-100 model turboprop engines. Model M601FS turboprop 
engines do not have an FAA type certificate, therefore this proposed AD 
does not include those engines in the applicability. The MCAI states 
that there have been reports of multiple needle bearing failures that 
affect propeller governors having P/Ns P-W11-1 and P-W11-2. Further 
investigation revealed that those failures were caused by self-
generated debris from the needle bearing, which led to oil 
contamination. In response to the unsafe condition, the manufacturer 
developed a redesigned propeller governor to replace propeller 
governors having P/Ns P-W11-1 and P-W11-2.
    You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FAA-2023-0664.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    The FAA reviewed EASA AD 2022-0234, which specifies procedures for 
the replacement of propeller governors having P/Ns P-W11-1 and P-W11-2 
with a redesigned propeller governor.
    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 ADDRESSES.

FAA's Determination

    These products have been approved by the aviation authority of 
another country and are approved for operation in the United States. 
Pursuant to the FAA's bilateral agreement with the State of Design 
Authority, it has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in 
the MCAI described above. The FAA is issuing this NPRM after 
determining that the unsafe condition described previously is likely to 
exist or develop in other products of these same type designs.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

    This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified 
in EASA AD 2022-0234, described previously, except for any differences 
identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this proposed AD.

Explanation of Required Compliance Information

    In the FAA's ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency of the AD 
process, the FAA developed a process to use some civil aviation 
authority (CAA) ADs as the primary source of information for compliance 
with requirements for corresponding FAA ADs. The FAA has since 
coordinated with other manufacturers and CAAs to use this process. As a 
result, the FAA proposes to incorporate by reference EASA AD 2022-0234 
in the FAA final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require 
compliance with EASA AD 2022-0234 in its entirety through that 
incorporation, except for any differences identified as exceptions in 
the regulatory text of this proposed AD. Using common terms that are 
the same as the heading of a particular section in the EASA AD does not 
mean that operators need comply only with that section. For example, 
where the AD requirement refers to ``all required actions and 
compliance times,'' compliance with this AD requirement is not limited 
to the section titled ``Required Action(s) and Compliance Time(s)'' in 
EASA AD 2022-0234. Service information required by the EASA AD for 
compliance will be available at regulations.gov by searching for and 
locating Docket No. FAA-2023-0664 after the FAA final rule is 
published.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would 
affect seven engines installed on airplanes of U.S. registry.
    The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this proposed 
AD:

[[Page 20786]]



                                                 Estimated Costs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Cost per       Cost on U.S.
               Action                        Labor cost           Parts cost        product         operators
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Remove and replace propeller          3 work-hours x $85 per           $7,000           $7,255          $50,785
 governor.                             hour = $255.
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    The FAA has included all known costs in its cost estimate. 
According to the manufacturer, however, some or all of the costs of 
this proposed AD may be covered under warranty, thereby reducing the 
cost impact on affected operators.

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.
    The FAA is 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

    The FAA 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) Would not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, and
    (3) Would 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

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 adding the following new airworthiness 
directive:

GE Aviation Czech s.r.o. (Type Certificate Previously Held by WALTER 
Engines a.s., Walter a.s., and MOTORLET a.s.): Docket No. FAA-2023-
0664; Project Identifier MCAI-2022-01527-E.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) by May 22, 2023.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to GE Aviation Czech s.r.o. M601E-11AS, M601E-
11S, H75-100, H80-100, and H85-100 model turboprop engines, as 
identified in European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2022-
0234, dated December 1, 2022 (EASA AD 2022-0234).

(d) Subject

    Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) Code 6122, Propeller 
governor; 7200, Engine (turbine/turboprop).

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by multiple failures of the needle bearing 
installed in certain propeller governors, caused by self-generated 
debris from the needle bearing, which led to oil contamination. The 
FAA is issuing this AD to prevent needle bearing failures in certain 
propeller governors. The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could 
result in loss of propeller control oil pressure, failure of the 
engine, reduced control of the airplane, and damage to the airplane.

(f) Compliance

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

(g) Requirements

    Except as specified in paragraph (h) of this AD: Perform all 
required actions and compliance times specified in, and in 
accordance with, EASA AD 2022-0234.

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2022-0234

    (1) Where EASA AD 2022-0234 specifies compliance from its 
effective date, this AD requires using the effective date of this 
AD.
    (2) This AD does not adopt the Remarks paragraph of EASA AD 
2022-0234.

(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 responsible Flight Standards 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) of this AD and email to: [email protected].
    (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) Additional Information

    For more information about this AD, contact Barbara Caufield, 
Aviation Safety Engineer, ECO Branch, FAA, 1200 District Avenue, 
Burlington, MA 01803; phone: (781) 238-7146; email: 
[email protected].

(k) Material Incorporated by Reference

    (1) The Director of the Federal Register approved the 
incorporation by reference (IBR) of the service information listed 
in this paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
    (2) You must use this service information as applicable to do 
the actions required by this AD, unless this AD specifies otherwise.
    (i) European Union Aviation Safety Agency AD 2022-0234, dated 
December 1, 2022.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) For EASA AD 2022-0234, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 
50668 Cologne, Germany; phone: +49 221 8999 000; email: 
[email protected]; website: easa.europa.eu. You may find this EASA 
AD on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu.
    (4) You may view this service information at the FAA, 
Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 1200 
District Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803. For information on the 
availability of this material at the FAA, call (817) 222-5110.
    (5) You may view this service information that is incorporated 
by reference at the National Archives and Records Administration 
(NARA). For information on the availability of this material at 
NARA, email: [email protected], or go to: www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.


[[Page 20787]]


    Issued on April 1, 2023.
Christina Underwood,
Acting Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-07178 Filed 4-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P