AD 2012-04-13

This AD is effective April 11, 2012.

The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of a certain publication listed in the AD as of April 11, 2012.

For service information identified in this AD, contact Rolls-Royce plc, Corporate Communications, P.O. Box 31, Derby, England, DE248BJ; phone: 011-44-1332-242424; fax: 011-44-1332-245418 or email from http://www.rolls-royce.com/contact/civil_team.jsp, or download the publication from https://www.aeromanager.com. You may review copies of the referenced service information at the FAA, Engine & Propeller Directorate, 12 New England Executive Park, Burlington, MA. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 781-238-7125.

Alan Strom, Aerospace Engineer, Engine Certification Office, FAA, Engine & Propeller Directorate, 12 New England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803; phone: 781-238-7143; fax: 781-238-7199; email: alan.strom@faa.gov.

We issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR part 39 to supersede AD 2011-09-07, Amendment 39-16669 (76 FR 24793, May 3, 2011). That AD applies to the specified products. The NPRM published in the Federal Register on October 20, 2011 (76 FR 65136). That NPRM proposed to continue to require initial and repetitive fluorescent penetrant inspections of the HP compressor stage 1 to 4 rotor discs at the first shop visit after accumulating 1,000 cycles-since-new on the stage 1 to 4 rotor discs or at the next shop visit after the effective date of that AD, which ever occurs later. That NPRM also proposed to continue to require repetitive inspections at every shop visit. That NPRM also proposed to change the definition of a shop visit to be less restrictive.

We gave the public the opportunity to participate in developing this AD. The following presents the comments received on the proposal and the FAA's response to each comment.

Two commenters, the Boeing Company and American Airlines, support the intent of the NPRM (76 FR 65136, October 20, 2011).

One commenter, American Airlines, requested that we change the proposed AD (76 FR 65136, October 20, 2011) from being an AD supersedure to being an AD revision of the existing AD 2011-09-07 (76 FR 24793, May 3, 2011), or, have Rolls-Royce plc revise Alert Service Bulletin (ASB) No. RB.211-72-AF964 to remove the reference to AD 2011-09-07, so that we can reference that latest ASB revision in the AD. The commenter stated that the ASB revision should be issued before the AD is issued, and referenced in the AD, to avoid the burden of needing global Alternative Methods of Compliances written.

We do not agree. The reference to the previous AD (76 FR 24793, May 3, 2011) in ASB No. RB.211-72-AF964 is not the section of the ASB incorporated by reference by this AD. We can not delay publishing an AD to wait for an administrative change to a service bulletin. Administrative updates to service bulletins are made for a variety of reasons. These revisions are easily handled by the alternative method of compliance process described in paragraph (i) of this AD. We did not change the AD.

We reviewed the relevant data, considered the comments received, and determined that air safety and the public interest require adopting the AD as proposed.

Based on the service information, we estimate that this AD will affect about 371 products of U.S. registry. We also estimate that it will take about 20 work-hours per product to comply with this AD. The average labor rate is $85 per work-hour. No parts will be required per product. Based on these figures, we estimate the cost of the AD on U.S. operators to be $630,700.

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.

We have 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 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.

Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the Administrator, the FAA amends 14 CFR part 39 as follows:

1. The authority citation for part 39 continues to read as follows:

2. The FAA amends § 39.13 by removing airworthiness directive (AD) 2011-09-07, Amendment 39-16669 (76 FR 24793, May 3, 2011), and adding the following new AD: