Aircraft
Certification Service Washington, DC U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration
2023-04
March 15, 2023
This is information only. Recommendations
aren’t mandatory.
Introduction
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing this Special
Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) to alert owners, operators,
maintenance technicians, and inspectors of an airworthiness concern for
Hartzell Propeller Inc. (Hartzell) and McCauley Propeller Systems
(McCauley) propellers, specifically, those returned to service by
Trinity Specialized Services, LLC (Trinity) doing business as
Specialized Propeller Services, LLC.
At this time, the airworthiness concern is not an unsafe condition that
would warrant airworthiness directive (AD) action under Title 14 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 39.
Background
The FAA determined that Trinity did not maintain Hartzell and McCauley
propellers in accordance with the current manufacturer’s maintenance
manual or methods otherwise acceptable to the administrator and
improperly returned propellers to service between the dates of January
29, 2016 and March 25, 2021. The following improper maintenance or
overhaul practices were identified and may affect airworthiness of the
propeller:
- Trinity approved return to service propellers that were not
maintained in accordance with the current manufacturer’s maintenance
manual or methods otherwise acceptable to the administrator.
- Trinity used parts that were not purchased from or traceable to an approved source.
- Trinity allowed unqualified personnel to perform nondestructive
inspections, shot peening, and cold compression rolling of Hartzell
propeller blades.
To date, the FAA has not received any in-fleet safety reports or
failures related to Trinity return to service propellers, however,
these discrepancies may affect the continued reliable operation of the
propeller and related systems.
Recommendations
The FAA recommends owners, operators, and maintainers of Hartzell and
McCauley constant speed propellers which were returned to service by
Trinity Specialized Services, LLC between January 29, 2016 and March
25, 2021 have their propeller overhauled or inspected for airworthiness
by an authorized repair station holding a certificate issued by the FAA
under Title 14 CFR Part 145.
The FAA also recommends that any discrepancies which are found to be
related to this safety issue be reported to one of the FAA contacts
listed below and through the service difficulty reporting system. The
FAA will continue to monitor the situation to determine if further
action is warranted.
A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not
required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for
failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of
information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. The OMB
Control Number for this information collection is 2120-0731. Public
reporting for this collection of information is estimated to be
approximately one hour per response, including the time for reviewing
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, completing and reviewing the collection of
information. All responses to this collection of information are
voluntary; the nature and extent of confidentiality to be provided, if
any. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect
of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing t
his burden to: Information Collection Clearance Officer, Federal
Aviation Administration, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX
76177-1524.
For Further Information Contact
Tim Luckey, Program Manager, Chicago Aircraft Certification Office (AIR
-7C3), Compliance & Airworthiness Division at
Timothy.F.Luckey@faa.gov
Bobbie Kroetch, Continued Operational Safety Program Manager, Program
Management Section (AIR-722), Compliance & Airworthiness Division
at Bobbie.Kroetch@faa.gov
Kristi Bradley, General Aviation Safety Coordinator, Fleet Safety
Section (AIR -723), Compliance and Airworthiness Division at
Kristin.Bradley@faa.gov