[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 245 (Tuesday, December 22, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70698-70700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33790]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 245 / Tuesday, December 22, 1998 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 70698]]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 95-CE-91-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; AlliedSignal Inc. VN 411B Very High 
Frequency (VHF) Navigation Receivers

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); Reopening of 
the comment period.

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SUMMARY: This document proposes to revise an earlier proposed 
airworthiness directive (AD) that would have required replacing certain 
AlliedSignal Inc. VN 411B VHF navigation receivers installed on 
aircraft if the receivers do not have Modification 20 incorporated. The 
proposed AD was the result of a report of navigation receiver 
interference during landing operations. The actions specified by the 
proposed AD are intended to prevent VHF navigation receiver 
interference from frequency modulation (FM) radio station broadcasts, 
which could cause distortion of the navigation audio and deflection of 
the desired flight path of the airplane during landing operations with 
possible loss of control of the airplane. Since issuing the NPRM, the 
applicable service information has been revised to incorporate 
additional procedures for modifying the affected navigation receivers 
(Modification 21). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has 
determined that these procedures are necessary to correct the unsafe 
condition; that the revised service information should be incorporated 
into the proposed AD; and that the comment period for the proposal 
should be reopened and the public should have additional time to 
comment.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 15, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in triplicate to the FAA, Central Region, 
Office of the Regional Counsel, Attention: Rules Docket No. 95-CE-91-
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.
    Service information that applies to the proposed AD may be obtained 
from AlliedSignal, Inc. 23500 W. 105th Street, Olathe, Kansas 66051-
1950. This information also may be examined at the Rules Docket at the 
address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Roger Souter, Aerospace Engineer, 
FAA, Wichita Aircraft Certification Office, 1801 Airport Road, Room 
100, Wichita, Kansas 67209; telephone: (316) 946-4134, 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 supplemental 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 supplemental notice must submit a self-
addressed, stamped postcard on which the following statement is made: 
``Comments to Docket No. 95-CE-91-AD.'' The postcard will be date 
stamped and returned to the commenter.

Availability of Supplemental NPRM's

    Any person may obtain a copy of this supplemental NPRM by 
submitting a request to the FAA, Central Region, Office of the Regional 
Counsel, Attention: Rules Docket No. 95-CE-91-AD, Room 1558, 601 E. 
12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.

Discussion

    A proposal to amend part 39 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 
CFR part 39) to include an AD that would apply to certain AlliedSignal 
Inc. VN 411B very high frequency (VHF) navigation receivers installed 
in aircraft was published in the Federal Register as a notice of 
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on June 11, 1996 (61 FR 29499). The NPRM 
proposed to require replacing any VHF navigation receiver that does not 
have Modification 20 incorporated with one where an AlliedSignal 
Bendix/King-owned service center has incorporated Modification 20. 
Accomplishment of the proposed action as specified in the NPRM would be 
required in accordance with Bendix/King Service Bulletin VN 411B-20, 
dated January 1996.
    The NPRM was the result of a report of navigation receiver 
interference during landing operations. Modification 20 incorporates 
the standards, intermodulation, and desensitization that were deemed 
necessary to meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 
compliance.
    Interested persons have been afforded an opportunity to participate 
in the making of this amendment. No comments were received on the 
proposed rule or the FAA's determination of the cost to the public.

Events Since Issuance of the NPRM

    Since issuance of the NPRM, Allied Signal has informed the FAA that 
features of Modification 20 fail to consider spurious responses that 
may occur at strong FM broadcast signal levels. Based on this, Allied 
Signal has issued Service Bulletin No. SB VN 411B-21, dated November 
1996. This service bulletin includes procedures for incorporating 
modifications that account for all the necessary features of 
Modification 20 and the features necessary to prevent spurious 
responses that may occur at strong FM broadcast signal levels. This is 
known as Modification 21.

[[Page 70699]]

The FAA's Determination

    After examining all information related to the subject described in 
this document, the FAA has determined that:
    --Modification 21 should be required on aircraft equipped with the 
affected VHF navigation receivers required to conform to ICAO 
standards, and that Allied Signal Service Bulletin No. SB VN 411B-21, 
dated November 1996, should be incorporated into the AD; and
    --AD action should be taken to incorporate these changes to 
continue to prevent VHF navigation receiver interference from FM radio 
station broadcasts, which could cause distortion of the navigation 
audio and deflection of the desired flight path of the airplane during 
landing operations with possible loss of control of the airplane.

The Supplemental NPRM

    Since adding the requirement of incorporating Modification 21 on 
the affected VHF navigation receivers proposes actions that go beyond 
the scope of what was already proposed, the FAA is reopening the 
comment period to allow the public additional time to comment on this 
proposed action.

Cost Impact

    The FAA estimates that 19 VHF navigation receivers in the U.S. 
registry would be affected by the proposed AD, that it would take 
approximately 2 workhours per receiver to accomplish the proposed 
action, and that the average labor rate is approximately $60 an hour. 
The manufacturer is not charging the owner/operator for exchanging the 
navigation receiver unit and is offering 2 workhours of labor warranty 
credit to accomplish the proposed action. Based on these figures, the 
proposed AD imposes no cost impact on U.S. operators. The FAA has no 
way of determining if any of the affected airplanes have navigation 
receivers with Modification 21 incorporated.

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 VHF 
navigation receivers are installed. The need for replacing the VHF 
navigation receiver with one that incorporates hardware 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 is presented in calendar time instead of hours TIS.

Regulatory Impact

    The regulations proposed herein would not have substantial direct 
effects 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. 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 adding a new airworthiness directive 
(AD) to read as follows:

AlliedSignal Inc.: Docket No. 95-CE-91-AD.

    Applicability: The following very high frequency (VHF) 
navigation receivers that are installed on, but not limited to, 
Learjet Model 31A, Fokker Model F27-50, and British Aerospace Model 
ATP airplanes:
    --VN 411B, BPN 3614004-4101, all serial numbers, that are 
currently at Modification Status 18, 19, or 20;
    --VN 411B, BPN/KPN 3614004-4101/066-1101-00, all serial numbers, 
that are currently at Modification Status 18, 19, or 20;
    --VN 411B, P/N 066-1101-00, serial numbers up to and including 
4229, that are currently at Modification Status 18, 19, or 20; and
    --VN 411B, P/N 066-1101-/31/40/50, serial numbers up to and 
including 10799, that are currently at Modification Status 19 or 20.

    Note 1: This AD applies to each airplane identified in the 
preceding applicability provision that is equipped with one of the 
affected VHF navigation receivers, regardless of whether the 
airplane has been modified, altered, or repaired in the area subject 
to the requirements of this AD. For airplanes 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 (d) 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 as indicated in the body of this AD, unless 
already accomplished.
    To prevent VHF navigation receiver interference from frequency 
modulation (FM) radio station broadcast frequencies, which could 
cause distortion of the navigation audio and deflection of the 
desired flight path of the airplane during landing operations with 
possible loss of control of the airplane, accomplish the following:
    (a) Within the next 90 calendar days after the effective date of 
this AD or upon replacement or repair of any affected AlliedSignal 
VHF navigation receiver, whichever occurs first, remove the 
navigation receiver and install one where an AlliedSignal Bendix/
King service center has incorporated Modification 21, in accordance 
with AlliedSignal Bendix/King Service Bulletin VN 411B-21, dated 
November 1996.
    (b) As of the effective date of this AD, no person may install, 
on any airplane, one of the affected VHF navigation receivers that 
does not have Modification 21 incorporated in accordance with 
AlliedSignal Bendix/King Service Bulletin VN 411B-21, dated November 
1996.
    (c) Special flight permits may be issued in accordance with 
sections 21.197 and 21.199 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 
CFR 21.197 and 21.199) to operate the airplane to a location where 
the requirements of this AD can be accomplished.
    (d) 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 
(ACO), 1801 Airport Road, Room 100, 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 ACO.

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

    (e) All persons affected by this directive may obtain copies of 
the documents referred to herein upon request to AlliedSignal, Inc.,

[[Page 70700]]

23500 W. 105th Street, Olathe, Kansas 66051-1950; or may examine 
this document at the FAA, Central Region, Office of the Regional 
Counsel, Room 1558, 601 E. 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.

    Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on December 15, 1998.
Michael Gallagher,
Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 98-33790 Filed 12-21-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P