[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 209 (Thursday, October 29, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57955-57957]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28968]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 97-CE-07-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; AlliedSignal Avionics, Inc. Models GNS-
XLS and GNS-XL Flight Management Systems

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This document proposes to revise Airworthiness Directive (AD) 
97-05-03, which currently requires inserting a limitation into the 
Operations Limitation Section of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) or 
Flight Manual Supplement for all owners/operators of aircraft equipped 
with Allied Signal Avionics Inc. (AlliedSignal) Models GNS-
XLS or GNS-XL global positioning systems (GPS) 
flight management system. The limitation specifies prohibiting the use 
of these AlliedSignal GPS units on previously published non-precision 
approaches. Since issuance of AD 97-05-03, AlliedSignal has issued 
service information that specifies procedures for accomplishing 
hardware and software modifications to the affected flight management 
systems. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has determined that 
accomplishment of the actions of the service bulletins should be 
considered as an alternative method of compliance to the actions of AD 
97-05-03. The proposed AD would retain the actions of AD 97-05-03, and 
would incorporate the service bulletins into the proposed AD, as an 
alternative method of compliance to the existing AD. The actions 
specified by the proposed AD are intended to continue to prevent 
deviation from an intended flight path during a non-precision approach 
to an airport caused by inaccurate information from the GPS flight 
management system.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 22, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in triplicate to the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA), Central Region, Office of the Regional Counsel, 
Attention: Rules Docket No. 97-CE-07-AD, Room 1558, 601 E. 12th Street, 
Kansas City, Missouri 64106. Comments may be inspected at this location 
between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, holidays excepted.

[[Page 57956]]

    Service information that applies to the proposed AD may be obtained 
from AlliedSignal Aerospace, Commercial Avionics Systems, 400 N. Rogers 
Road, Olathe, Kansas 66062. This information also may be examined at 
the Rules Docket at the address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jose Flores, Aerospace Engineer, 
FAA, Wichita Aircraft Certification Office, 1801 Airport Road, Room 
100, Mid-Continent Airport, Wichita, Kansas 67209; telephone: (316) 
946-4133; facsimile: (316) 946-4407.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    Interested persons are invited to participate in the making of the 
proposed rule by submitting such written data, views, or arguments as 
they may desire. Communications should identify the Rules Docket number 
and be submitted in triplicate to the address specified above. All 
communications received on or before the closing date for comments, 
specified above, will be considered before taking action on the 
proposed rule. The proposals contained in this notice may be changed in 
light of the comments received.
    Comments are specifically invited on the overall regulatory, 
economic, environmental, and energy aspects of the proposed rule. All 
comments submitted will be available, both before and after the closing 
date for comments, in the Rules Docket for examination by interested 
persons. A report that summarizes each FAA-public contact concerned 
with the substance of this proposal will be filed in the Rules Docket.
    Commenters wishing the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their comments 
submitted in response to this notice must submit a self-addressed, 
stamped postcard on which the following statement is made: ``Comments 
to Docket No. 97-CE-07-AD.'' The postcard will be date stamped and 
returned to the commenter.

Availability of NPRMs

    Any person may obtain a copy of this NPRM by submitting a request 
to the FAA, Central Region, Office of the Regional Counsel, Attention: 
Rules Docket No. 97-CE-07-AD, Room 1558, 601 E. 12th Street, Kansas 
City, Missouri 64106.

Discussion

    AD 97-05-03, Amendment 39-9947 (62 FR 8617, February 26, 1997), 
currently requires inserting the following limitation into the 
Operations Limitations Section of the AFM or Flight Manual Supplement 
for all owners/operators of aircraft equipped with an AlliedSignal 
Models GNS-XL or GNS-XL GPS flight management 
system:
``Operating Limitations
    The GNS-XL (or GNS-XLS) is not approved for 
non-precision approaches.
NOTE
    The GNS-XL (or GNS-XLS) may generate 
misleading information during non-precision GPS or Overlay approaches 
due to software limitations.''
    The actions specified in AD 97-05-03 are intended to prevent 
deviation from an intended flight path during a non-precision approach 
to an airport caused by inaccurate information from a GPS flight 
management system.
    AD 97-05-03 resulted from reports of aircraft flight course 
deviations because of erroneous information provided by the GPS flight 
management system.

Actions Since Issuance of Previous Rule and the FAA's Determination

    Since AD 97-05-03 became effective, Allied Signal has issued 
GlobalWulfsberg Software Bulletin No: GNS-XL-SW1, dated 
February 1997, and BENDIX/KING Software Bulletin No: GNS-
XLS-SW2, dated February 1997. These service bulletins 
specify procedures for accomplishing hardware and software 
modifications to the affected flight management systems.
    After examining the circumstances and reviewing all available 
information related to the incidents described above, including the 
referenced service information, the FAA has determined that:

--the accomplishment of the software and hardware modifications 
specified in the above-referenced service bulletins should be 
considered as an alternative method of compliance to the actions of AD 
97-05-03; and
--AD action should be taken in order to (1) incorporate the service 
information into the existing AD; and (2) continue to prevent deviation 
from an intended flight path during a non-precision approach to an 
airport caused by inaccurate information from the GPS flight management 
system.

Explanation of the Provisions of the Proposed AD

    Since an unsafe condition has been identified that is likely to 
exist or develop in aircraft equipped with an AlliedSignal Models GNS-
XLS or GNS-XL GPS flight management system, the 
FAA is proposing AD action to revise AD 97-05-03. The proposed AD would 
retain the AFM requirements of AD 97-05-03, and would incorporate the 
hardware and software modifications (specified in the above-referenced 
service bulletins) into the AD, as an alternative method of compliance 
to the AFM requirements.

Compliance Time of The Proposed AD

    The condition specified by the proposed AD is not caused by actual 
hours time-in-service (TIS) of the aircraft where the affected flight 
management systems are installed. The need for the AFM requirement or 
hardware and software modifications has no correlation to the number of 
times the equipment is utilized or the age of the equipment. For this 
reason, the compliance time of the proposed AD (as was AD 97-05-03) is 
presented in calendar time instead of hours TIS.

Cost Impact

    The FAA estimates that 110 of the affected flight management 
systems are installed on aircraft of U.S. registry. The proposed AD 
would require the same actions as AD 97-05-03, except it allows for 
accomplishing hardware and software modifications to the affected 
flight management systems, as an alternative method of compliance.
    It would take approximately 1 workhour per aircraft with the 
affected flight management system installed to accomplish the proposed 
hardware and software modifications. No parts are required to 
incorporate the proposed modifications. Based on these figures, the 
total cost impact of the proposed AD on the U.S. operators of the 
affected aircraft who choose to incorporate the software and hardware 
modifications (instead of the AFM limitation) is estimated to be 
$6,600, or $60 per airplane.
    For U.S. operators who choose to incorporate the AFM limitations, 
an owner/operator of the affected airplanes holding at least a private 
pilot certificate as authorized by section 43.7 of the Federal Aviation 
Regulations (14 CFR 43.7) can accomplish this action provided an entry 
is made in the aircraft records showing compliance with this AD in 
accordance with section 43.9 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 
CFR 43.9). Therefore, the only cost impact of incorporating the 
proposed AFM limitation is the approximately 10 minutes it would take 
each owner/operator of the affected aircraft to accomplish the action.

Regulatory Impact

    The regulations proposed herein would not have substantial direct 
effects on the States, on the relationship between the national 
government and

[[Page 57957]]

the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among 
the various levels of government. Therefore, in accordance with 
Executive Order 12612, it is determined that this proposal would not 
have sufficient federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a 
Federalism Assessment.
    For the reasons discussed above, I certify that this action (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); and (3) if promulgated, 
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. A copy of the draft regulatory evaluation 
prepared for this action has been placed in the Rules Docket. A copy of 
it may be obtained by contacting the Rules Docket at the location 
provided under the caption ADDRESSES.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Safety.

The Proposed Amendment

    Accordingly, pursuant to the authority delegated to me by the 
Administrator, the Federal Aviation Administration proposes to amend 
part 39 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) as 
follows:

PART 39--AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

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

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.


Sec. 39.13  [Amended]

    2. Section 39.13, is amended by removing Airworthiness Directive 
(AD) 97-05-03, Amendment 39-9947 (62 FR 8617, February 26, 1997), and 
adding a new AD to read as follows:

Alliedsignal Avionics Inc.: Docket No. 97-CE-07-AD; Revises AD 97-
05-03, Amendment 39-9947.

    Applicability: Models GNS-XLS and GNS-XL 
global positioning systems, part numbers (P/N) 17960-0102-XXXX and 
P/N 18355-0101-XXXX, respectively, installed on, but not limited to 
the following aircraft, certificated in any category:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Manufacturer                            Models
------------------------------------------------------------------------
British Aerospace, Ltd (BAe)........  146-100A and
                                      146-200A.
Cessna Aircraft Corporation.........  525, 550, and 560.
Dausault Aviation...................  Mystere-Falcon
                                      20 and 50.
Avions Marcel Dassault..............  Falcon 10.
Gulfstream Aerospace................  G-1159 (G-II) and
                                      G-1159A (G-III).
Raytheon Corporate Jets.............  Hawker 800.
Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd.....  1124.
Sabreliner Corporation..............  NA-65.
Learjet Inc.........................  35.
Jetstream Aircraft Ltd..............  4101.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Note 1: This AD applies to each aircraft that has one of the GPS 
flight management systems installed that is identified in the 
preceding applicability provision, regardless of whether the 
aircraft has been modified, altered, or repaired in the area subject 
to the requirements of this AD. For aircraft that have been 
modified, altered, or repaired so that the performance of the 
requirements of this AD is affected, the owner/operator must request 
approval for an alternative method of compliance in accordance with 
paragraph (e) of this AD. The request should include an assessment 
of the effect of the modification, alteration, or repair on the 
unsafe condition addressed by this AD; and, if the unsafe condition 
has not been eliminated, the request should include specific 
proposed actions to address it.

    Compliance: Required within 5 days after March 18, 1997 (the 
effective date of AD 97-05-03), unless already accomplished 
(compliance with AD 97-05-03).
    To prevent deviation from an intended flight path during a non-
precision approach to an airport caused by inaccurate information 
from the GPS flight management system, accomplish the following:
    (a) Insert the following limitation into the Operations 
Limitations Section of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) or Flight 
Manual Supplement:

``Operating Limitations

    The GNS-XL (or GNS-XLS) is not approved 
for non-precision approaches.

NOTE

    The GNS-XL (or GNS-XLS) may generate 
misleading information during non-precision GPS or Overlay 
approaches due to software limitations.''
    (b) Inserting a copy of this AD into the Limitations section as 
described in paragraph (a) of this AD is considered compliance with 
the requirements of paragraph (a) of this AD.
    (c) Incorporating the AFM revisions, as required by paragraph 
(a) or (b) of this AD, may be performed by the owner/operator 
holding at least a private pilot certificate as authorized by 
section 43.7 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 43.7), and 
must be entered into the aircraft records showing compliance with 
this AD in accordance with section 43.9 of the Federal Aviation 
Regulations (14 CFR 43.9).
    (d) As an alternative method of compliance to the actions 
required by paragraph (a) or (b) of this AD, accomplish hardware and 
software modifications in accordance with both GlobalWulfsberg 
Software Bulletin No: GNS-XL-SW1, dated February 1997, 
and BENDIX/KING Software Bulletin No: GNS-XLS-SW2, dated 
February 1997, as applicable.
    (e) An alternative method of compliance or adjustment of the 
compliance time that provides an equivalent level of safety may be 
approved by the Manager, Wichita Aircraft Certification Office, 1801 
Airport Road, Room 100, Mid-Continent Airport, Wichita, Kansas 
67209. The request shall be forwarded through an appropriate FAA 
Maintenance Inspector, who may add comments and then send it to the 
Manager, Wichita Aircraft Certification Office.

    Note 2: Information concerning the existence of approved 
alternative methods of compliance with this AD, if any, may be 
obtained from Wichita Aircraft Certification Office.

    (f) Service information that applies to this AD may be obtained 
from AlliedSignal Aerospace, Commercial Avionics Systems, 400 N. 
Rogers Road, Olathe, Kansas 66062. This information may be inspected 
at the FAA, Central Region, Office of the Regional Counsel, Room 
1558, 601 E. 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri.
    (g) This amendment revises AD 97-05-03, Amendment 39-9947.

    Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 22, 1998.
Michael Gallagher,
Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 98-28968 Filed 10-28-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-U