[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 34 (Thursday, February 20, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7729-7730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4100]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 95-NM-222-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Boeing Model 727 Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: This action withdraws a notice of proposed rulemaking that 
proposed a new airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to all Boeing 
Model 727 series airplanes. That action would have required inspections 
to detect loose attach fitting bolts of the door actuator of the main 
landing gear (MLG), inspections to determine whether serrations are 
fully mated, and various follow-on corrective actions. It also would 
have provided operators the option of terminating all of the 
requirements of the AD either by replacing the aluminum rib fitting 
with a new steel rib fitting, or by modifying the rib fitting assembly 
and performing various follow-on actions. The requirements of that 
proposed AD were intended to prevent an airplane from landing with one 
MLG partially extended. Since the issuance of the NPRM, the Federal 
Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued separate rulemaking to require 
these same actions. Accordingly, the proposed rule is withdrawn.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Walter Sippel, Aerospace Engineer, 
Airframe Branch, ANM-120S, FAA, Seattle Aircraft Certification Office, 
1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington; telephone (206) 227-2774; 
fax (206) 227-1181.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposal to amend part 39 of the Federal 
Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) to add a new airworthiness 
directive (AD), applicable to all Boeing Model 727 series airplanes, 
was published in the Federal Register as a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM) on April 1, 1996 (61 FR 14269). The NPRM would have 
revised AD 93-01-14, amendment 39-8468 (58 FR 5574, January 22, 1993). 
It would have continued to require the actions that were originally 
mandated by AD 93-01-14, including: inspections to detect loose attach 
fitting bolts of the door actuator of the main landing gear (MLG), 
inspections to determine whether serrations are fully mated, and 
various follow-on corrective actions. The NPRM would have added the 
option of terminating all of the requirements of the AD either by 
replacing the aluminum rib fitting with a new steel rib fitting, or by 
modifying the rib fitting assembly and performing various follow-on 
actions.
    That action was originally prompted by reports of loose attach 
fitting bolts of the door actuator of the MLG. The requirements of the 
proposed AD were intended to prevent an airplane from landing with one 
MLG partially extended.

Actions that Occurred Since the NPRM Was Issued

    Since the issuance of that NPRM, the FAA has issued AD 97-02-09, 
amendment 39-9894 (62 FR 3988, January 28, 1997), which supersedes both 
AD 93-01-14 as well as AD 90-02-19 [amendment 39-6433 (55 FR 601, 
January 8, 1990)]. It requires:
    1. Repetitive eddy current or dye penetrant inspections to detect 
cracking of an expanded area of the actuator rib fitting,
    2. Inspections to detect loose attach fitting bolts of the door 
actuator,
    3. Inspections to determine whether fitting serrations are fully 
mated,
    4. and various follow-on corrective actions.
    It also provides an optional terminating action for the 
inspections, which consists of replacing the aluminum rib fitting with 
a new steel rib fitting.
    That AD was prompted by a report of a fractured rib fitting that 
had been reworked previously in accordance with one of the existing 
AD's. The actions specified by AD 97-02-09 are intended to prevent 
damage to the airplane caused by a failure of the landing gear to 
extend due to a fractured rib fitting.

FAA's Conclusions

    Because AD 97-02-09 now incorporates, as part of its required 
actions, the same actions that were proposed in Docket 95-NM-222-AD, 
the FAA finds that the previously proposed

[[Page 7730]]

action is no longer necessary. Accordingly, the NPRM is hereby 
withdrawn.
    Withdrawal of this NPRM constitutes only such action, and does not 
preclude the agency from issuing another notice in the future, nor does 
it commit the agency to any course of action in the future.

Regulatory Impact

    Since this action only withdraws a notice of proposed rulemaking, 
it is neither a proposed nor a final rule and therefore, is not covered 
under Executive Order 12866, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, or DOT 
Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979).

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Safety.

The Withdrawal

    Accordingly, the notice of proposed rulemaking, Docket 95-NM-222-
AD, published in the Federal Register on April 1, 1996 (61 FR 14269), 
is withdrawn.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on February 12, 1997.
Darrell M. Pederson,
Acting Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-4100 Filed 2-19-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-U