AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for various
aircraft equipped with Rotax Aircraft Engines 912 A series engine. This
AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI)
issued by the aviation authority of another country to identify and
correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes
the unsafe condition as a deviation in the manufacturing process of
certain part number 888164 crankshafts that may cause cracks on the
surface of the crankshaft on the power take off side, which could lead
to failure of the crankshaft support bearing and possibly result in an
in-flight engine shutdown and forced landing. We are issuing this AD to
require actions to address the unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: This AD is effective January 26, 2012.
The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by
reference of a certain publication listed in the AD as of January 26,
2012.
We must receive comments on this AD by February 27, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments 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: 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 AD, contact BRP-
Powertrain GmbH & Co. KG, Welser Strasse 32, A-4623 Gunskirchen,
Austria; phone: +43 7246 601 0; fax: +43 7246 601 9130; Internet:
http://www.rotax-aircraft-engines.com. You may review copies of the
referenced service information at the FAA, Small Airplane Directorate,
901 Locust, Kansas City, Missouri 64106. For information on the
availability of this material at the FAA, call (816) 329-4148.

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 AD, the regulatory evaluation,
any comments received, and other information. The street address for
the Docket Office (telephone (800) 647-5527) is in the ADDRESSES
section. Comments will be available in the AD docket shortly after
receipt.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarjapur Nagarajan, Aerospace
Engineer, FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas
City, Missouri 64106; telephone: (816) 329-4145; fax: (816) 329-4090;
email: sarjapur.nagarajan@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Discussion

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical
Agent for the Member States of the European Community, has issued EASA
AD 2011-0224-E, dated November 24, 2011 (referred to after this as
``the MCAI''), to correct an unsafe condition for the specified
products. The MCAI states:

During a production process review, a deviation (double side
straightening) in the manufacturing process of certain Part Number
(P/N) 888164 crankshafts has been detected, which may have resulted
in cracks on the surface of the crankshaft. Only a few
crankshafts are suspected to have received this double side
straightening treatment, but it has been impossible to identify
these by individual serial number (s/n). To address this safety
concern, BRP-Powertrain issued Alert Service Bulletin ASB-912-059
and ASB-914-042 (single document) with instructions to identify and
inspect the entire batch of crankshafts that could be affected.
These crankshafts have been installed on a limited number of
engines, but some crankshaft sets have also been shipped as spare
parts.
This condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead to
crack propagation on the power take off side of the crankshaft
journal, possibly resulting in failure of the crankshaft support
bearing, in-flight engine shutdown and forced landing, damage to the
aeroplane and injury to occupants.
To correct this potential unsafe condition, EASA issued
Emergency AD 2011-022-E to require the identification and inspection
for cracks of all affected crankshafts, and depending on findings,
corrective action.
Since that AD was issued, it has been determined that there are
additional affected crankshafts, currently known to be installed in
the `UL' (i.e. non-certified) versions of the affected engines.
For the reason described above, this AD retains the requirements
of EASA AD 2011-0222-E, which is superseded, and expands the group
of s/n of affected crankshafts, listed in Table 1 of this AD. A
records check can be acceptable to determine the s/n of the
crankshaft installed on the engine. This AD also prohibits
installation of any affected crankshaft on an engine, or
installation of an aeroplane of an engine with an affected
crankshaft installed, unless the crankshaft has passed the
inspection as required by this AD.

You may obtain further information by examining the MCAI in the AD
docket.

Relevant Service Information

Rotax Aircraft Engines BRP has issued Alert Service Bulletin ASB-
912-059 and ASB-914-042 (single document), dated November 15, 2011. The
actions described in this service information are intended to correct
the unsafe condition identified in the MCAI.

FAA's Determination and Requirements of the AD

This product has been approved by the aviation authority of another
country, and is approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant
to our bilateral agreement with this State of Design Authority, they
have notified us of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI and
service information referenced above. We are issuing this AD because we
evaluated all information provided by the State of Design Authority and
determined the unsafe condition exists and is likely to exist or
develop on other products of the same type design.

FAA's Determination of the Effective Date

An unsafe condition exists that requires the immediate adoption of
this AD. The FAA has found that the risk to the flying public justifies
waiving notice and comment prior to adoption of this rule because of
the short compliance time of 4 hours time-in-service, and the risk to
single-engine airplanes affected. Therefore, we determined that notice
and opportunity for public comment before issuing this AD are
impracticable and that good cause exists for making this amendment
effective in fewer than 30 days.

Comments Invited

This AD is a final rule that involves requirements affecting flight
safety, and we did not precede it by notice and opportunity for public
comment. We invite you to send any written relevant data, views, or
arguments about this AD. Send your comments to an address listed under
the ADDRESSES section. Include ``Docket No. FAA-2012-0001; Directorate
Identifier 2011-CE-041-AD'' at the beginning of your comments. We
specifically invite comments on the overall regulatory, economic,
environmental, and energy aspects of this AD. We will consider all
comments received by the closing date and may amend this 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 AD.

Costs of Compliance

We estimate that this AD will affect 112 products of U.S. registry.
We also estimate that it will take about 31 work-hours per product to
comply with the basic requirements of this AD. The average labor rate
is $85 per work-hour. Required parts will cost about $5,400 per
product.
Based on these figures, we estimate the cost of the AD on U.S.
operators to be $899,920, or $8,035 per product.

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 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 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, 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

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]

2. The FAA amends Sec. 39.13 by adding the following new AD: