Airworthiness Directives; Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG (Type Certificate Previously Held by Rolls-Royce plc) Turbofan Engines

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 10, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13727-13731]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04808]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2020-0179; Project Identifier MCAI-2019-00125-E; 
Amendment 39-21102; AD 2020-05-01]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG 
(Type Certificate Previously Held by Rolls-Royce plc) Turbofan Engines

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all 
Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd. & Co KG (RRD) Trent 1000-AE3, Trent 1000-
CE3, Trent 1000-D3, Trent 1000-G3, Trent 1000-H3, Trent 1000-J3, Trent 
1000-K3, Trent 1000-L3, Trent 1000-M3, Trent 1000-N3, Trent 1000-P3, 
Trent 1000-Q3, and Trent 1000-R3 model turbofan engines. This AD 
requires initial and repetitive borescope inspections (BSI) of the 
high-pressure turbine (HPT) blades. This AD also requires replacement 
of HPT blades with parts eligible for installation when the HPT blades 
fail inspection or reach the new life limit. This AD was prompted by 
the manufacturer identifying that the HPT blades may fail prematurely. 
The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these 
products.

DATES: This AD is effective March 25, 2020.
    The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by 
reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of March 25, 
2020.
    The FAA must receive comments on this AD by April 24, 2020.

[[Page 13728]]


ADDRESSES: You may send comments, using the procedures found in 14 CFR 
11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Fax: 202-493-2251.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket 
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    For service information identified in this final rule, contact 
Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG, Eschenweg 11, 15827 Blankenfelde-
Mahlow, Germany; phone: +49 (0) 33 708 6 0; email: https://www.rolls-royce.com/contact-us.aspx. You may view this service information at the 
FAA, Engine and Propeller Standards Branch, 1200 District Avenue, 
Burlington, MA 01803. For information on the availability of this 
material at the FAA, call 781-238-7759. It is also available on the 
internet at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating 
Docket No. FAA-2020-0179.

Examining the AD Docket

    You may examine the AD docket on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-
0179; or in person at Docket Operations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD docket contains 
this final rule, the mandatory continuing airworthiness information 
(MCAI), the regulatory evaluation, any comments received, and other 
information. The street address for Docket Operations is listed above. 
Comments will be available in the AD docket shortly after receipt.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Elwin, Aerospace Engineer, ECO 
Branch, FAA, 1200 District Avenue, Burlington, MA, 01803; phone: 781-
238-7750; fax: 781-238-7236; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion

    The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the 
Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Community, has 
issued EASA AD 2019-0099R2, dated September 6, 2019 (referred to after 
this as ``the MCAI''), to address an unsafe condition for the specified 
products. The MCAI states:

    In-service experience with Trent 1000 TEN engines has shown that 
the affected parts may deteriorate, despite being subject to the 
inspections and life limits as specified in the current Rolls-Royce 
Time Limits Manual, T-Trent-10RRT, Chapters 05-10 and 05-20.
    This condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead to HPT 
blade failure, possibly resulting in engine in-flight shut-down 
(IFSD) and consequent reduced control of the aeroplane.
    To address this potential unsafe condition, Rolls-Royce 
developed instructions to de-pair engines with a certain number of 
combined flight cycles (FC). In addition, an FC limit was determined 
when one affected engine is installed. Finally, an on-wing borescope 
inspection method has been introduced, and Rolls-Royce issued the 
NMSB accordingly.
    For the reasons described above, EASA issued AD 2019-0099 (later 
revised) to require repetitive inspections of the affected parts to 
detect axial cracking and, depending on findings, removal from 
service of the engine for in-shop replacement of the affected parts. 
That [EASA] AD also introduced de-pairing instructions and 
limitations.
    Since EASA AD 2019-0099R1 was issued, it was determined that, 
since new blades must be installed (in-shop) as replacement, the 
definition of `serviceable part' needs to be corrected. 
Consequently, this [EASA] AD is revised accordingly, deleting 
reference to used parts that passed an inspection.
    This revised [EASA] AD is still considered to be an interim 
action and further [EASA] AD action is expected.

    You may obtain further information by examining the MCAI in the AD 
docket on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for 
and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-0179.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    The FAA reviewed RR Alert Non-Modification Service Bulletin (NMSB) 
Trent 1000 72-AK316, Revision 3, dated July 16, 2019. The NMSB 
describes procedures for performing a BSI of the HPT blades. 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 the ADDRESSES section.

Other Related Service Information

    The FAA reviewed RR Service Bulletin (SB) Trent 1000 72-J550, 
Initial Issue, dated November 21, 2017. The SB introduces HPT blades 
with optimized cooling.

FAA's Determination

    This product has been approved by EASA and is approved for 
operation in the United States. Pursuant to our bilateral agreement 
with the European Community, EASA has notified us of the unsafe 
condition described in the MCAI and service information referenced 
above. The FAA is issuing this AD because it evaluated all the relevant 
information provided by EASA and determined the unsafe condition 
described previously is likely to exist or develop in other products of 
the same type design.

AD Requirements

    This AD requires initial and repetitive BSI of the HPT blades. This 
AD also requires replacement of the HPT blades with parts eligible for 
installation when the HPT blades fail inspection or reach the new life 
limit.

FAA's Justification and Determination of the Effective Date

    The FAA has found the risk to the flying public justifies waiving 
notice and comment prior to adoption of this rule because no domestic 
operators use this product. It is unlikely that the FAA will receive 
any adverse comments or useful information about this AD from U.S. 
operators. Therefore, the FAA finds good cause that notice and 
opportunity for prior public comment are unnecessary. In addition, for 
this same reason, the FAA finds that good cause exists for making this 
amendment effective in less than 30 days.

Comments Invited

    This AD is a final rule that involves requirements affecting flight 
safety and was not preceded by notice and an opportunity for public 
comment. However, the FAA invites you to send any written data, views, 
or arguments about this final rule. Send your comments to an address 
listed under the ADDRESSES section. Include the docket number FAA-2020-
0179 and Product Identifier MCAI-2019-00125-E at the beginning of your 
comments. The FAA specifically invites comments on the overall 
regulatory, economic, environmental, and energy aspects of this final 
rule. The FAA will consider all comments received by the closing date 
and may amend this final rule 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 
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you 
provide. The FAA will also post a report summarizing each substantive 
verbal contact received about this final rule.

[[Page 13729]]

Confidential Business Information

    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 AD 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 AD, 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 AD. Submissions containing CBI should be 
sent to Stephen Elwin, Aerospace 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.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) do not 
apply when an agency finds good cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 to adopt 
a rule without prior notice and comment. Because the FAA has determined 
that it has good cause to adopt this rule without notice and comment, 
RFA analysis is not required.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this AD affects no engines installed on 
airplanes of U.S. registry.
    The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this AD:

                                                 Estimated Costs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Cost per      Cost on  U.S.
               Action                         Labor cost            Parts cost        product        operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSI the HPT blades.................  4 work-hours x $85 per hour              $0            $340              $0
                                      = $340.
Replace the HPT blade set..........  1,250 work-hours x $85 per        1,871,100       1,977,350               0
                                      hour = $106,250.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.
    This AD is issued in accordance with authority delegated by the 
Executive Director, Aircraft Certification Service, as authorized by 
FAA Order 8000.51C. In accordance with that order, issuance of ADs is 
normally a function of the Compliance and Airworthiness Division, but 
during this transition period, the Executive Director has delegated the 
authority to issue ADs applicable to engines, propellers, and 
associated appliances to the Manager, Engine and Propeller Standards 
Branch, Policy and Innovation Division.

Regulatory Findings

    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 this AD:
    (1) Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive 
Order 12866, and
    (2) Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Incorporation by 
reference, Safety.

Adoption of the Amendment

    Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the 
Administrator, the FAA 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 adding the following new airworthiness 
directive (AD):

2020-05-01 Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG (Type Certificate 
Previously Held by Rolls-Royce plc): Amendment 39-21102; Docket No. 
FAA-2020-0179; Project Identifier MCAI-2019-00125-E.

(a) Effective Date

    This AD is effective March 25, 2020.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to all Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd. & Co KG 
(RRD) (Type Certificate Previously Held by Rolls-Royce plc) Trent 
1000-AE3, Trent 1000-CE3, Trent 1000-D3, Trent 1000-G3, Trent 1000-
H3, Trent 1000-J3, Trent 1000-K3, Trent 1000-L3, Trent 1000-M3, 
Trent 1000-N3, Trent 1000-P3, Trent 1000-Q3, and Trent 1000-R3 model 
turbofan engines.

(d) Subject

    Joint Aircraft System Component (JASC) Code 7250, Turbine 
Section.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by the manufacturer identifying that the 
high-pressure turbine (HPT) blades may fail prematurely. The FAA is 
issuing this AD to prevent failure of the HPT blades. The unsafe 
condition, if not addressed, could result in failure of one or more 
engines, loss of thrust control, and loss of the airplane.

(f) Compliance

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

(g) Required Actions

    (1) Before exceeding the compliance time specified in Table 1 to 
paragraph (g)(1) of this AD, and thereafter at intervals not to 
exceed 50 HPT blade flight cycles (FCs) since the last inspection, 
perform an on-wing borescope inspection (BSI) of the HPT blades, 
part number (P/N) KH10575 (pre-mod/SB 72-J550), or P/N KH64485 
(post-mod/SB 72-J550), for cracks.

[[Page 13730]]

    (i) Use Accomplishment Instructions, paragraph 3.C., of RR Alert 
NMSB Trent 1000 72-AK316, Revision 3, dated July 16, 2019, to 
perform the BSI.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR10MR20.017
    
    (2) Within 10 engine FCs after in-flight shutdown (IFSD) of an 
engine, perform an on-wing BSI of the HPT blades, P/N KH10575 (pre-
mod/SB 72-J550), or P/N KH64485 (post-mod/SB 72-J550), for cracks on 
the not-affected (no IFSD) engine installed on that airplane.
    (i) Use Accomplishment Instructions, paragraph 3.C., of RR Alert 
NMSB Trent 1000 72-AK316, Revision 3, dated July 16, 2019.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) Remove the full set of HPT blades if any individual HPT 
blade is found cracked during the on-wing BSI required by paragraph 
(g)(1) or (2) and replace with a full HPT blade set eligible for 
installation within the compliance time specified in Table 2 to 
paragraph (g)(3) of this AD.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR10MR20.018

    (4) Remove the full set of HPT blades, P/N KH10575 (pre-mod/SB 
72-J550), or P/N KH64485 (post-mod/SB 72-J550), after the effective 
date of this AD, as follows.
    (i) Before accumulating 1,000 HPT blade FCs on any engine, or
    (ii) Before both engines installed on the airplane accumulate a 
combined total of 1,400 HPT blade FCs.

(h) Definitions

    For the purpose of this AD, ``HPT blade FCs'' are the FCs 
accumulated by the engine since first flight, or since the last 
installation of a full set of new HPT blades, whichever occurs 
later.

(i) Credit for Previous Actions

    You may take credit for any initial or repetitive BSI of the HPT 
blades required by paragraph (g) of this AD if you performed the 
initial or repetitive BSI before the effective date of this AD using 
RR Alert NMSB Trent 1000 72-AK316, Revision 2, dated April 30, 2019, 
or earlier versions.

(j) 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 local Flight Standards District 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 (k)(1) of this AD. You may email your 
request 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.

(k) Related Information

    (1) For more information about this AD, contact Stephen Elwin, 
Aerospace Engineer, ECO Branch, FAA, 1200 District Avenue, 
Burlington, MA 01803; phone: 781-238-7750; fax: 781-238-7236; email: 
[email protected].
    (2) Refer to European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 
2019-0099R2, dated September 6, 2019, for more information. You may 
examine the EASA AD in the AD docket on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating it in Docket No. 
FAA-2020-0179.

(l) 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 the AD specifies otherwise.
    (i) Rolls-Royce plc (RR) Alert Non-Modification Service Bulletin 
Trent 1000 72-AK316, Revision 3, dated July 16, 2019.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) For RR service information identified in this AD, contact 
Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG, Eschenweg 11, 15827 
Blankenfelde-Mahlow, Germany; phone: +49 (0) 33 708 6 0; email: 
https://www.rolls-royce.com/contact-us.aspx.
    (4) You may view this service information at FAA, Engine and 
Propeller Standards

[[Page 13731]]

Branch, 1200 District Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803. For information 
on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 781-238-7759.
    (5) You may view this service information at the National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the 
availability of this material at NARA, email: [email protected], 
or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.

    Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on February 24, 2020.
Karen M. Grant,
Acting Manager, Engine and Propeller Standards Branch, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-04808 Filed 3-9-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P

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