[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 17 (Thursday, January 27, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3871-3874]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1514]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 2000-NM-70-AD; Amendment 39-13954; AD 2005-02-09]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Model A319, A320, and A321 
Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD), 
applicable to all Airbus Model A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes, 
that requires operators to revise the Airworthiness Limitations section 
(ALS) of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness to incorporate 
new and more restrictive service life limits for certain items, and new 
and more restrictive inspections to detect fatigue cracking, accidental 
damage, or corrosion in certain structures. The actions specified by 
this AD are intended to ensure the continued structural integrity of 
these airplanes. This action is intended to address the identified 
unsafe condition.

DATES: Effective March 3, 2005.

ADDRESSES: The service information referenced in this AD may be 
obtained from Airbus, 1 Rond Point Maurice Bellonte, 31707 Blagnac 
Cedex, France. This information may be examined at the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA), Transport Airplane Directorate, Rules Docket, 
1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98055-4056.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Dulin, Aerospace Engineer, 
International Branch, ANM-116, FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 
1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98055-4056; telephone (425) 
227-2141; fax (425) 227-1149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposal to amend part 39 of the Federal 
Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) to include an airworthiness 
directive (AD) that is applicable to all Airbus Model A319, A320, and 
A321 series airplanes was published as a supplemental notice of 
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register on March 11, 2004 
(69 FR 11558). That action proposed to require operators to revise the 
ALS of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness to incorporate new 
and more restrictive service life limits for certain items, and new and 
more restrictive inspections to detect fatigue

[[Page 3872]]

cracking, accidental damage, or corrosion in certain structures.

Comments

    Interested persons have been afforded an opportunity to participate 
in the making of this amendment. Due consideration has been given to 
the comments received.

Request To Change Paragraph (a)

    One commenter asks that the FAA either approve Airbus Service 
Information Letter (SIL) 32-098, dated December 22, 2003, as a method 
for assigning accumulated life on parts not previously tracked, or 
provide another method for tracking these parts in paragraph (a) of the 
proposed AD. The commenter notes that incorporation of Revision 06 of 
ALS sub-Sections 9-1-2 and 9-1-3 of the Maintenance Planning Document 
(MPD) would require incorporation of Airbus SIL 32-098, as specified in 
Section 9-1, ``Life Limits/Monitored Parts,'' of the MPD. The commenter 
adds that certain information contained in the SIL was not approved by 
the Direction G[eacute]n[eacute]rale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC), which 
is the airworthiness authority for France, that would probably 
necessitate FAA approval of an alternative method of compliance (AMOC).
    We agree with the commenter for the reasons provided. We have added 
a new Note 1 to the final rule to specify that Airbus SIL 32-098 may be 
used as a source of service information for managing life-limited and 
demonstrated fatigue life parts that were not previously tracked. 
Additionally, under the provisions of paragraph (e) of the final rule, 
we may approve requests for other methods for assigning accumulated 
life on life-limited and demonstrated fatigue life parts that were not 
previously tracked if data are submitted to substantiate that such 
other methods would provide an acceptable level of safety.

Requests for Changes to Compliance Times

    One commenter asks that the compliance time specified in paragraph 
(a) of the proposed AD be changed, but the commenter does not suggest a 
new compliance time. The commenter states that paragraph (a) of the 
proposed AD requires the revision of the ALS on ``Life Limits/Monitored 
Parts,'' and ``Demonstrated Fatigue Life Parts,'' within 2 months after 
the effective date of the AD. The commenter notes that this would 
require the tracking, assignment of accumulated life, if unknown, and 
serialization/marking of parts if not serialized. The commenter adds 
that this date cannot be achieved, for the following reasons:
     The incorporation of Revision 06 of ALS sub-Sections 9-1-2 
and 9-1-3 of the MPD would require incorporation of Airbus SIL 32-098, 
as specified in Section 9-1, ``Life Limits/Monitored Parts,'' of the 
MPD when the complete life history of a part is unknown.
     There are a number of items that were not tracked in the 
original certification of the airplane, and detailed information about 
these items was not provided by the manufacturer after production.
     Airbus Operator Information Telex SE999.0072/03/CL 
indicates the subject SIL was available in September 2003, but the SIL 
was not available until December 2003, so operators were not able to 
start the investigation immediately.
     The SIL refers to five service bulletins needed for 
serialization/marking of certain in-service parts. Four of the five 
bulletins are not yet available; therefore, operators would not have 
the proper instructions to serialize/mark in-service parts.
    We agree with the commenter that all the documents necessary to 
manage parts not previously tracked were not available at the time of 
publication of the proposed AD; we also agree that more time is 
necessary to manage those parts (track and assign accumulated life). 
Therefore, for those reasons, we have changed the compliance time 
specified in paragraph (a) of the final rule from 2 months to 6 months. 
In addition, we have verified that the five service bulletins 
referenced in the SIL have since been issued, and that proper 
instructions to manage parts not previously tracked are now available.
    The same commenter asks that the compliance time specified in 
paragraph (b) of the proposed AD be changed from 2 months to 6 months. 
The commenter states that paragraph (b) would require the revision of 
the ALS on Airworthiness Limitation Items (ALI) within 2 months after 
the effective date of the AD. The commenter adds that this date cannot 
be achieved for the following reasons:
     Revision 06 of the MPD, sub-Section 9-2, introduced weight 
variants to determine effectivity that would require more time to 
ensure the proper tracking of ALI tasks relative to existing 
Significant Structural Items.
     Revision 06 of the MPD, sub-Section 9-2, lowered the 
inspection threshold of certain ALI tasks. There may be airplanes in 
service that already exceed the new reduced thresholds and some of 
these inspections cannot be easily accomplished when airplanes are 
outside maintenance checks. Neither the MPD nor the proposed AD 
provided any clear instructions for the phase-in of those inspections 
should airplanes have already exceeded the new, reduced inspection 
threshold.
    We have reviewed and agree with the commenter's supporting data, 
and we have changed the compliance time specified in paragraph (b) of 
the final rule from 2 months to 6 months. Extending the compliance time 
allows operators more time to determine weight variant effectivity, and 
time to phase in any inspections that have exceeded the new or revised 
inspection thresholds and intervals since the ALS revisions were 
issued. In addition, we agree that some provision for phase-in of 
future revisions of the ALS that may introduce more restrictive life 
limits or inspections is necessary. We have requested that Airbus add 
phase-in criteria to future revisions of the ALS to avoid potential 
problems with complying with new or revised inspection thresholds and 
intervals.

Credit for Accomplishing Repetitive Ultrasonic Inspections in Related 
AD

    Two commenters request that we approve incorporation of Issue 6 of 
the ALI as an acceptable AMOC for accomplishing the ultrasonic 
inspections required by AD 2004-03-06, amendment 39-13450 (69 FR 5909, 
February 9, 2004). The commenters note that ALI tasks 571170-01-1 and -
2 specify the same ultrasonic inspection of the wing/fuselage joint 
cruciform fittings that is required by AD 2004-03-06, but at a 
different threshold and interval. The commenters add that there is a 
conflict between the inspection threshold and intervals in this 
proposed AD and between the inspection threshold and interval for the 
same inspection required by AD 2004-03-06.
    We agree with the commenters that there is a conflict, as stated 
above. Although AD 2004-03-06 was not referenced in the proposed AD, it 
is a related AD which requires repetitive ultrasonic inspections for 
fatigue cracking in the wing/fuselage joint cruciform fittings. We have 
determined that the inspection threshold and repetitive interval in 
Issue 6 of the ALI should be used as the appropriate threshold and 
repetitive interval for the inspection in this final rule. Therefore, 
we have added a new paragraph (c) to this final rule, as follows: ``For 
Model A319 and A320 series airplanes: Accomplishing the approved 
revision of the ALS specified in paragraph (b) of this AD terminates 
the repetitive inspections required by paragraphs (b) and (c) of AD 
2004-03-06.'' We have re-

[[Page 3873]]

numbered subsequent paragraphs accordingly.

Clarification of Paragraph (b)

    One commenter asks for clarification that the revision of the ALS, 
as specified in paragraph (b) of the proposed AD, must be done in 
accordance with only Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321 ALI AI/SE-M4/95A.0252/
96, Issue 6, dated May 15, 2003 (approved by the DGAC on July 15, 
2003). The commenter states that Revision 06 of the MPD dated June 13, 
2003, did not revise sub-Section 9-2.
    We agree that Revision 06 of the MPD did not revise sub-Section 9-
2. This AD specifies incorporation of both MPD sub-Section 9-2, 
Revision 06, and Airbus ALI AI/SE-M4/95A.0252/96, Issue 6, dated May 
15, 2003; MPD sub-Section 9-2 references Airbus ALI AI/SE-M4/95A.0252/
96 as the official repository for the ALI; both documents need to be 
incorporated to avoid any confusion. In addition, we have determined 
that the references in both paragraphs (a) and (b) of this final rule 
need clarification. The reference to incorporating into the ALS sub-
Section 9-1-2 and sub-Section 9-1-3, as specified in paragraph (a) of 
the proposed AD, is the wrong reference and should instead specify 
incorporating Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321 MPD, sub-Section 9-1-2 and 
sub-Section 9-1-3. Additionally, an incorrect title was used in the 
proposed AD for sub-Section 9-1-2, ``Life Limits/Monitored Parts.'' 
That title should be ``Life Limited Parts.'' We have corrected that 
title in this final rule. The reference to incorporating into the ALS 
sub-Section 9-2, as specified in paragraph (b) of the proposed AD, is 
the wrong reference and should instead reference incorporating Airbus 
A318/A319/A320/A321 MPD, sub-Section 9-2.

Change to Final Rule

    We have changed paragraphs (a) and (b) of this final rule to 
specify that the actions must be done in accordance with a method 
approved by the Manager, International Branch, ANM-116, Transport 
Airplane Directorate, FAA; or the DGAC (or its delegated agent). In 
addition, incorporating Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321 Maintenance Planning 
Document (MPD), sub-Section 9-1-2, ``Life Limited Parts,'' and sub-
Section 9-1-3, ``Demonstrated Fatigue Life Parts,'' and Airbus A318/
A319/A320/A321 MPD, sub-Section 9-2, ``Airworthiness Limitation 
Items,'' are listed as approved methods of compliance for accomplishing 
the actions. We have also changed paragraph (d) of this final rule to 
remove the reference to paragraphs (a) and (b) due to this change.

Conclusion

    After careful review of the available data, including the comments 
noted above, we have determined that air safety and the public interest 
require the adoption of the rule with the changes previously described. 
We have determined that these changes will neither increase the 
economic burden on any operator nor increase the scope of the AD.

Cost Impact

    There are approximately 605 airplanes of U.S. registry affected by 
this AD. It takes approximately 1 work hour per airplane to accomplish 
the revision to the ALS, at an average labor rate of $65 per work hour. 
Based on these figures, the cost impact of the AD on U.S. operators is 
estimated to be $39,325, or $65 per airplane.
    The cost impact figure discussed above is based on assumptions that 
no operator has yet accomplished any of the requirements of this AD 
action, and that no operator would accomplish those actions in the 
future if this AD were not adopted. The cost impact figures discussed 
in AD rulemaking actions represent only the time necessary to perform 
the specific actions actually required by the AD. These figures 
typically do not include incidental costs, such as the time required to 
gain access and close up, planning time, or time necessitated by other 
administrative actions.

Authority for This Rulemaking

    The FAA's authority to issue rules regarding aviation safety is 
found in Title 49 of the United States Code. 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.
    This rulemaking is promulgated 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 AD.

Regulatory Findings

    We have determined that 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 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) 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 final evaluation has been prepared for this action 
and it is contained in the Rules Docket. A copy of it may be obtained 
from 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.

Adoption of the Amendment

0
Accordingly, pursuant to the authority delegated to me by the 
Administrator, the Federal Aviation Administration amends part 39 of 
the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) as follows:

PART 39--AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

0
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]

0
2. Section 39.13 is amended by adding the following new airworthiness 
directive:

2005-02-09 Airbus: Amendment 39-13954. Docket 2000-NM-70-AD.

    Applicabilty: All Model A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes; 
certificated in any category.
    Compliance: Required as indicated, unless accomplished 
previously.
    To ensure continued structural integrity of these airplanes, 
accomplish the following:

Revise Airworthiness Limitations Section (ALS)

    (a) For all airplanes: Within 6 months after the effective date 
of this AD, revise the ALS of the Instructions for Continued 
Airworthiness in accordance with a method approved by the Manager, 
International Branch, ANM-116, Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA; 
or the Direction Generale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC) (or its 
delegated

[[Page 3874]]

agent). One approved method of compliance is incorporating Airbus 
A318/A319/A320/A321 Maintenance Planning Document (MPD), sub-Section 
9-1-2, ``Life Limited Parts,'' and sub-Section 9-1-3, ``Demonstrated 
Fatigue Life Parts,'' both Revision 06, both dated June 13, 2003.

    Note 1: Airbus Service Information Letter 32-098, dated December 
22, 2003, may be used as a source of service information for 
managing life limited and demonstrated fatigue life parts that were 
not previously tracked.

    (b) For all airplanes except Model A319 series airplanes on 
which Airbus Modification 28238, 28162, and 28342 was incorporated 
during production: Within 6 months after the effective date of this 
AD, revise the ALS of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness 
in accordance with a method approved by the Manager, International 
Branch, ANM-116; or the DGAC (or its delegated agent). One approved 
method of compliance is incorporating both Airbus A318/A319/A320/
A321 MPD, sub-Section 9-2, ``Airworthiness Limitation Items'' (ALI), 
Revision 06, dated June 13, 2003; and Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321 
ALI, AI/SE-M4/95A.0252/96, Issue 6, dated May 15, 2003 (approved by 
the DGAC on July 15, 2003).
    (c) For Model A319 and A320 series airplanes: Accomplishing the 
approved revision of the ALS specified in paragraph (b) of this AD 
terminates the repetitive inspections required by paragraphs (b) and 
(c) of AD 2004-03-06, amendment 39-13450.
    (d) Except as provided by paragraph (e) of this AD: After the 
actions specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this AD have been 
accomplished, no alternative life limits, inspections, or inspection 
intervals may be used.

Alternative Methods of Compliance

    (e) In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, the Manager, International 
Branch, ANM-116, is authorized to approve alternative methods of 
compliance for this AD.

    Note 2: The subject of this AD is addressed in French 
airworthiness directive F-2004-018, dated February 4, 2004; and in 
French airworthiness directive F-2004-032, dated February 18, 2004.

Effective Date

    (f) This amendment becomes effective on March 3, 2005.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on January 18, 2005.
Ali Bahrami,
Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 05-1514 Filed 1-26-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P