AD 2007-05-17
final rule
Applicability
| Type | Manufacturer | Model | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| engine | Pratt & Whitney | JT9D Series | Airworthiness Directives; Pratt & Whitney JT9D Series Turbofan Engines |
Unsafe Condition
Critical life-limited rotating engine part failure, which could result in an uncontained engine failure and damage to the airplane.
AI-generated summary from the source AD text. Verify against the official source before acting.
Required Actions
Revise the Airworthiness Limitations Section (ALS) of the manufacturer's Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA) to include enhanced inspection of selected critical life-limited parts at each piece-part opportunity. 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.
AI-generated summary from the source AD text. Verify against the official source before acting.
Compliance Time
Within 12 months of the effective date of this AD.
AI-generated summary from the source AD text. Verify against the official source before acting.
Affected Aircraft
Pratt & Whitney JT9D series turbofan engines.
AI-generated summary from the source AD text. Verify against the official source before acting.
Federal Register Abstract
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.
Document Text
Show stored source text (verify against official source)
[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 [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: E7-4139]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 <a href="http://dms.dot.gov">http://dms.dot.gov</a> 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: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bbd6dac9d095c9d2d7dec2fbdddada95dcd4cd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fc919d8e97d28e95909985bc9a9d9dd29b938a">[email protected]</span></a> 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]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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Retrieved: Apr 4, 2026
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