AD 2025-05-10

This AD is effective May 13, 2025.

The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in this AD as of May 13, 2025.

The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of a certain other publication listed in this AD as of May 15, 2012 (77 FR 21429, April 10, 2012).

AD Docket: You may examine the AD docket at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-1287; 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 address for Docket Operations is U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.

Material Incorporated by Reference:

• For Boeing material identified in this AD, contact Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Attention: Contractual & Data Services (C&DS), 2600 Westminster Blvd., MC 110-SK57, Seal Beach, CA 90740-5600; telephone 562-797-1717; website myboeingfleet.com.

• You may view this material at the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 206-231-3195. It is also available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-1287.

Luis Cortez-Muniz, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; phone: 206-231-3958; email: Luis.A.Cortez-Muniz@faa.gov.

The FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR part 39 to supersede AD 2012-07-06, Amendment 39-17012 (77 FR 21429, April 10, 2012) (AD 2012-07-06). AD 2012-07-06 applied to certain The Boeing Company Model 777-200, -200LR, -300, -300ER, and 777F series airplanes. The NPRM published in the Federal Register on May 14, 2024 (89 FR 41908). The NPRM was prompted by new revisions to the airworthiness limitations of the maintenance planning document and damage tolerance rating check form document. In the NPRM, the FAA proposed to retain the requirements of AD 2012-07-06 until the new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations are incorporated. The NPRM also proposed to require revising the existing maintenance or inspection program to incorporate new and more restrictive airworthiness limitations. The NPRM also proposed to require sending inspection results to Boeing.

The FAA issued a issued a supplemental NPRM (SNPRM) to amend 14 CFR part 39 by adding an AD that would apply to certain The Boeing Company Model 777-200, -200LR, -300, -300ER, and 777F series airplanes. The SNPRM published in the Federal Register on October 4, 2024 (89 FR 80827). The SNPRM was prompted by new revisions to the airworthiness limitations of the maintenance planning document and damage tolerance rating check form document. Boeing published Section 9, Airworthiness Limitations (AWLs) and Certification Maintenance Requirements (CMRs), D622W001-9, Revision April 2023, of the Boeing 777-200/200LR/300/300ER/777F Maintenance Planning Data (MPD) Document; and Boeing 777-200/200LR/300/300ER/777F Damage Tolerance Rating (DTR) Check Form Document, D622W001-DTR, Revision April 2023. Those documents contain new and more restrictive airworthiness limitations (inspections and life limits have been updated). The FAA is issuing this AD to address fatigue cracking of various principal structural elements. The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could adversely affect the structural integrity of the airplane.

The FAA received comments from FedEx Express and three individuals, who supported the SNPRM without change.

The FAA received an additional comment from Boeing. The following presents the comment received on the SNPRM and the FAA's response to the comment.

Boeing requested that the FAA remove the extra words “could result in” from the last sentence of paragraph (e) in the proposed AD (in the SNPRM): “The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in could adversely affect the structural integrity of the airplane.” The extra words “could result in” add confusion and can be omitted.

The FAA agrees and has revised paragraph (e) of this AD accordingly.

The FAA reviewed the relevant data, considered any comments received, and determined that air safety requires adopting this AD as proposed. Accordingly, the FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. Except for minor editorial changes, and any other changes described previously, this AD is adopted as proposed in the SNPRM. None of the changes will increase the economic burden on any operator.

The FAA reviewed Section 9, Airworthiness Limitations (AWLs) and Certification Maintenance Requirements (CMRs), D622W001-9, Revision April 2023, of the Boeing 777-200/200LR/300/300ER/777F Maintenance Planning Data (MPD) Document. Subsection B, Airworthiness Limitations-Structural Inspections and Subsection C, Airworthiness Limitations-Structural Safe-Life Limits, of this material contains airworthiness limitations for structural inspections and structural life limits, among other limitations.

The FAA also reviewed Boeing 777-200/200LR/300/300ER/777F Damage Tolerance Rating (DTR) Check Form Document, D622W001-DTR, Revision April 2023. This material provides the DTR check forms and the procedure for their use.

This AD also requires Section 9, “Airworthiness Limitations (AWLs) and Certification Maintenance Requirements (CMRs),” D622W001-9, Revision July 2011, of the Boeing 777 Maintenance Planning Data (MPD) Document, which the Director of the Federal Register approved for incorporation by reference as of May 15, 2012 (77 FR 21429, April 10, 2012).

This material is reasonably available because the interested parties have access to it through their normal course of business or by the means identified in the ADDRESSES section.

The FAA estimates that this AD affects 326 airplanes of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this AD:

The FAA estimates the total cost per operator for the retained actions from AD 2012-07-06 to be $7,650 (90 work-hours × $85 per work-hour).

The FAA has determined that revising the existing maintenance or inspection program takes an average of 90 work-hours per operator, although the FAA recognizes that this number may vary from operator to operator. Since operators incorporate maintenance or inspection program changes for their affected fleet(s), the FAA has determined that a per-operator estimate is more accurate than a per-airplane estimate.

The FAA estimates the total cost per operator for the new actions to be $7,650 (90 work-hours × $85 per work-hour).

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 2120-0056. Public reporting for this collection of information is estimated to take approximately 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. All responses to this collection of information are mandatory. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: Information Collection Clearance Officer, Federal Aviation Administration, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177-1524.

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.

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) Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, and

(3) 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:

a. Removing Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2012-07-06, Amendment 39-17012 (77 FR 21429, April 10, 2012); and

b. Adding the following new AD: