Summary
The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which is applicable to General Electric Company (GE) GE90 series turbofan engines. That AD currently requires revisions to the Life Limits Section of the manufacturer's Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA) to include required enhanced inspection of selected critical life-limited parts at each piece-part exposure. This proposal would modify the airworthiness limitations section of the manufacturer's manual and an air carrier's approved continuous airworthiness maintenance program to incorporate additional inspection requirements. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) study of in- service events involving uncontained failures of critical rotating engine parts has indicated the need for mandatory inspections. The mandatory inspections are needed to identify those critical rotating parts with conditions, which if allowed to continue in service, could result in uncontained failures. This proposal isprompted by additional focused inspection procedures that have been developed by the manufacturer. The actions specified by this proposed AD are intended to prevent critical life-limited rotating engine part failure, which could result in an uncontained engine failure and damage to the airplane.