DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2020-0979; Project Identifier MCAI-2020-01313-E;
Amendment 39-21317; AD 2020-23-01]
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: Final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all
GE Aviation Czech s.r.o. (GEAC) M601D-11, M601E-11, M601E-11A, M601E-
11AS, M601E-11S, M601F, H75-200, H80-100, H80-200, and H85-200 model
turboprop engines. This AD was prompted by reports of engine power
fluctuations occurring during ground tests. This AD requires the
removal and replacement of the fuel control unit (FCU). The FAA is
issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

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

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 https://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: Deliver to Mail address above between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
For service information identified in this final rule, contact GE
Aviation Czech s.r.o., Beranovych 65, 199 02 Praha 9--
Letnany, Czech Republic; phone: +420 222 538 111; fax +420 222
538 222. 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 (781) 238-7759. It is
also available at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and
locating Docket No. FAA-2020-0979.

Examining the AD Docket

You may examine the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov by
searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-0979; 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, any
comments received, and other information. The street address for the
Docket Operations is listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Caufield, Aviation Safety
Engineer, ECO Branch, FAA, 1200 District Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803;
phone: (781) 238-7146; fax: (781) 238-7199; email:
barbara.caufield@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the
Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Community, has
issued EASA AD 2020-0201R1, dated September 25, 2020 (referred to after
this as ``the MCAI''), to address an unsafe condition for the specified
products. The MCAI states:

Several occurrences of engine power fluctuations have been
reported during ground tests on engines equipped with an affected
part. The investigation results determined that one or more rubber
cuff sealings of the cage reinforcement inside the main metering
valve of the FCU was wrongly installed, which reduced the cuff
ability to properly seal the FCU working pressure.
This condition, if not corrected, may lead to engine surge,
fluctuations, or loss of engine power, possibly resulting in loss of
control of control of the aeroplane.
To address this potential unsafe condition, GEAC issued the ASB,
providing replacement instructions, and EASA issued Emergency AD
2020-0201-E to require, for engines having an affected part
installed, replacement with a serviceable part. That [EASA] AD also
prohibited (re)installation of an affected part.
Since that [EASA] AD was issued, it was discovered that an FCU
s/n was incorrectly specified in the ASB and, consequently, wrongly
quoted in the EASA AD. GEAC revised the ASB to correct that error
and this [EASA] AD is revised to amend Appendix 1 (Group 3, s/n
903004 instead of 903008) accordingly.

You may obtain further information by examining the MCAI in the AD
docket at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating
Docket No. FAA-2020-0979.

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. The FAA is issuing this AD because the
agency evaluated all the relevant information provided by EASA and has
determined that the unsafe condition described previously is likely to
exist or develop in other products of the same type design.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

The FAA reviewed GE Aviation Czech Alert Service Bulletin (ASB)
ASB-H75-73-00-00-0038 [01], ASB-H80-73-00-00-0074 [01], ASB-H85-73-00-
00-0032 [01], ASB-M601D-73-00-00-0066 [01], ASB-M601E-73-00-00-0097
[01], ASB-M601F-73-00-00-0050 [01], and ASB-M601T-73-00-00-0040 [01]
(single document; formatted as service bulletin identifier [revision
number]), dated September 24, 2020. The ASB describes procedures for
removing and replacing the FCU and identifies the affected FCUs. 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.

AD Requirements

This AD requires the removal and replacement of the FCU.

Differences Between This AD and the MCAI

EASA AD 2020-0201R1, dated September 25, 2020, applies to GEAC
M601D, M601D-1, M601D-11, M601D-11NZ, M601E, M601E-11, M601E-11A,
M601E-11AS, M601E-11S, M601E-21, M601F, M601F-22, M601F-32, M601FS,
M601T, H75-200, H80-100, H80-200, and H85-200 model turboprop engines.
This AD does not include GEAC M601D, M601D-1, M601D-11NZ, M601E, M601E-
21, M601F-22, M601F-32, M601FS, and M601T model turboprop engines as
they are not type certificated in the U.S.

Justification for Immediate Adoption and Determination of the Effective
Date

Section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5
U.S.C. 551 et seq.) authorizes agencies to dispense with notice and
comment procedures for rules when the agency, for ``good cause,'' finds
that those procedures are ``impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to
the public interest.'' Under this section, an agency,
upon finding good cause, may issue a final rule without providing
notice and seeking comment prior to issuance. Further, Section 553(d)
of the APA authorizes agencies to make rules effective in less than
thirty days, upon a finding of good cause.
An unsafe condition exists that requires the immediate adoption of
this AD without providing an opportunity for public comments prior to
adoption. The FAA has found that the risk to the flying public
justifies foregoing notice and comment prior to adoption of this rule.
During ground tests performed by the manufacturer on engines equipped
with affected FCUs, several occurrences of engine power fluctuations
were reported. After investigation, the manufacturer determined that
one or more rubber cuff sealings of the cage reinforcement inside the
main metering valve of the FCU was incorrectly installed, which reduced
the cuff sealing's ability to properly seal the FCU working pressure.
This unsafe condition, caused by a manufacturing quality issue, may
result in loss of engine thrust control and reduced control of the
airplane.
FCUs installed on Group 1 engines have the highest risk of
malfunction. To maintain an acceptable level of safety, these FCUs must
be replaced within 10 flight hours (FHs) after the effective date of
this AD. FCUs installed on Group 2 and Group 3 engines have a lower
risk of malfunction than those installed on Group 1 engines. Therefore,
for Group 2 engines, FCUs must be replaced within 50 FHs or 60 days
after the effective day of this AD, whichever occurs first. For Group 3
engines, FCUs must be replaced within 100 FHs or 180 days after the
effective date of this AD, whichever occurs first.
The FAA considers the removal of the affected FCUs to be an urgent
safety issue. Accordingly, notice and opportunity for prior public
comment are impracticable, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B).
In addition, the FAA finds that good cause exists pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 553(d) for making this amendment effective in less than 30 days,
for the same reasons the FAA found good cause to forego notice and
comment.

Comments Invited

The FAA invites you to send any written data, views, or arguments
about this final rule. Send your comments to an address listed under
ADDRESSES. Include the docket number FAA-2020-0979 and Project
Identifier MCAI-2020-01313-E at the beginning of your comments. The
most helpful comments reference a specific portion of the final rule,
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 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 agency will also post a report summarizing each
substantive verbal contact received about this final rule.

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 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.

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 12 engines installed on
airplanes of U.S. registry.
The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this AD:

Estimated Costs

The FAA has included all known costs in its cost estimate.
According to the manufacturer, however, all of the costs of this 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

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, 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.

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 airworthiness
directive: