DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2023-1411; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-00710-E;
Amendment 39-22499; AD 2023-13-14]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Safran Helicopter Engines, S.A. (Type
Certificate Previously Held by Turbomeca, S.A.) Engines

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2023-01-
12, which applied to all Safran Helicopter Engines, S.A. (Safran) Model
Arriel 1C, Arriel 1C1, and Arriel 1C2 engines. AD 2023-01-12 required
replacing affected fire detectors and prohibited installation of
affected fire detectors. Since the FAA issued AD 2023-01-12, the FAA
has determined that Model Arriel 1K1 engines are also affected by the
unsafe condition. This AD is prompted by reports of false engine fire
warnings. This AD requires replacing the affected fire detectors,
prohibits installation of affected fire detectors, and adds Model
Arriel 1K1 engines to the applicability, as specified in an European
Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is incorporated by
reference (IBR). The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe
condition on these products.

DATES: This AD is effective July 25, 2023.
The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by
reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of July 25,
2023.
The FAA must receive comments on this AD by August 24, 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-2023-1411; 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), any comments received, and other information. The
street address for Docket Operations is listed above.
Material Incorporated by Reference:
For service information incorporated by reference in this
final rule, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne,
Germany; phone: +49 221 8999 000; email: ADs@easa.europa.eu; website:
easa.europa.eu. You may find this material on the EASA website at
ad.easa.europa.eu.
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. It is
also available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2023-1411.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Clark, Aviation Safety Engineer,
FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: (781)
238-7088; email: kevin.m.clark@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 ``Docket No. FAA-2023-1411;
Project Identifier MCAI-2023-00710-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
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 Kevin
Clark, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410,
Westbury, NY 11590. Any commentary that the FAA receives which is not
specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for
this rulemaking.

Background

The FAA issued AD 2023-01-12, Amendment 39-22306 (88 FR 3629,
January 20, 2023) (AD 2023-01-12), for all Safran Helicopter Engines,
S.A. (Type Certificate previously held by Turbomeca, S.A.) Model Arriel
1C, Arriel 1C1, and Arriel 1C2 engines. AD 2023-01-12 was prompted by
an MCAI originated by EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member
States of the European Union. EASA issued EASA AD 2022-0256, dated
December 19, 2022 (EASA AD 2022-0256) to correct an unsafe condition
identified as reports of false engine fire warnings.
AD 2023-01-12 required replacing the affected fire detectors and
prohibited installation of affected fire detectors, as specified in
EASA AD 2022-0256. The FAA issued AD 2023-01-12 to prevent false engine
fire warnings.

Actions Since AD 2023-01-12 Was Issued

Since the FAA issued AD 2023-01-12, EASA superseded EASA AD 2022-
0256 and issued EASA AD 2023-0110, dated May 26, 2023 (EASA AD 2023-
0110) (referred to after this as the MCAI). The MCAI states that Safran
determined that Model Arriel 1K and Arriel 1K1 engines may also have
the affected fire detectors installed and are subject to the same
unsafe condition. The MCAI retains the requirements of EASA AD 2022-
0256 and expands the applicability to include the Model Arriel 1K and
Arriel 1K1 engines.
You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under
Docket No. FAA-2023-1411.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

The FAA reviewed EASA AD 2023-0110, which specifies procedures for
replacing affected fire detectors. EASA AD 2023-0110 also specifies not
to install an affected fire detector on any engine. 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.
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 this State of Design
Authority, it has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in
the MCAI described above. The FAA is issuing this AD after determining
that the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or
develop on other products of the same type design.

AD Requirements

This AD retains none of the requirements of AD 2023-01-12, This AD
adds Model Arriel 1K1 engines to the applicability and requires
accomplishing the actions specified in the MCAI already described,
except for any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory
text of this AD, and except as discussed under ``Differences Between
this AD and the MCAI''.

Differences Between This AD and the MCAI

Model Arriel 1K engines are contained in the applicability of EASA
AD 2023-0110 but do not have an FAA type certificate. Therefore, this
AD does not include those engines in the applicability.

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
because fire detectors that do not conform to the type design could
lead to false engine fire warnings. Safran was informed of three
occurrences of illumination of the engine fire alarm without confirmed
fire (untimely illumination) on airframes equipped with affected fire
detectors. False engine fire warnings are an unsafe condition requiring
urgent corrective action because, if a helicopter is equipped with two
engines with an affected fire detector installed, an engine fire
warning could occur on both engines during the same flight. This unsafe
condition, if not addressed, could lead to commanded in-flight engine
shut-down, possibly resulting in damage to the helicopter and reduced
control of the helicopter. Replacement of the fire detectors for Model
Arriel 1K1 engines requires compliance within 30 flight hours or 60
days from the effective date of this AD. Replacement of the fire
detectors for Model Arriel 1C, Arriel 1C1, and Arriel 1C2 engines
requires compliance before further flight. Accordingly, notice and
opportunity for prior public comment are impracticable
and contrary to the public interest 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 forgo notice and
comment.

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 FAA has determined
that it has good cause to adopt this rule without prior notice and
comment, RFA analysis is not required.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD affects 30 engines installed on
helicopters of U.S. registry.
The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this AD:

Estimated Costs

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:

a. Removing Airworthiness Directive 2023-01-12, Amendment 39-22306 (88
FR 3629, January 20, 2023); and

b. Adding the following new airworthiness directive: