[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 16 (Thursday, January 25, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3350-3352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-899]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2006-25889; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-168-AD; 
Amendment 39-14902; AD 2007-02-15]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. 
(EMBRAER) Model ERJ 170 Airplanes

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for 
certain EMBRAER Model ERJ 170 airplanes. This AD requires replacement 
of certain electrical bonding clamps and attaching hardware with new or 
serviceable parts, as applicable, and other specified action. This AD 
results from failure of an electrical bonding clamp, used to attach the 
electrical bonding straps to the fuel system lines. We are issuing this 
AD to prevent loss of bonding protection in the interior of the fuel 
tanks or adjacent areas that, in combination with lightning strike, 
could result in a fuel tank explosion and consequent loss of the 
airplane.

DATES: This AD becomes effective March 1, 2007.
    The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by 
reference of a certain publication listed in the AD as of March 1, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov or in person at the Docket Management Facility, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 
Room PL-401, Washington, DC.
    Contact Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. (EMBRAER), P.O. Box 
343--CEP 12.225, Sao Jose dos Campos--SP, Brazil, for service 
information identified in this AD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Thompson, Aerospace Engineer, 
International Branch, ANM-116, FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 
1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington

[[Page 3351]]

98057-3356; telephone (425) 227-1175; fax (425) 227-1149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Examining the Docket

    You may examine the airworthiness directive (AD) docket on the 
Internet at http://dms.dot.gov or in person at the Docket Management 
Facility office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. The Docket Management Facility office 
(telephone (800) 647-5227) is located on the plaza level of the Nassif 
Building at the street address stated in the ADDRESSES section.

Discussion

    The FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 
CFR part 39 to include an AD that would apply to certain EMBRAER Model 
ERJ 170 airplanes. That NPRM was published in the Federal Register on 
September 26, 2006 (71 FR 56062). That NPRM proposed to require 
replacement of certain electrical bonding clamps and attaching hardware 
with new or serviceable parts, as applicable, and other specified 
action.

Comments

    We provided the public the opportunity to participate in the 
development of this AD. We have considered the comments received.

Request To Extend Compliance Time

    EMBRAER requests that we extend the compliance from 5,000 flight 
hours to 6,600 flight hours. EMBRAER states that 6,000 flight hours 
corresponds with a heavy maintenance visit, and that an additional 600 
flight hours is needed for the logistics associated with such 
maintenance intervention. As justification, EMBRAER states that (1) 
There is a large number of bonding clamps to replace, (2) low levels of 
lightning currents were measured on the tank tubes during airplane 
certification testing, and (3) very conservative results were obtained 
during laboratory lightning tests of the tank tubes.
    We agree. Extending the compliance time to 6,600 flight hours will 
not adversely affect safety and will allow the replacement to be 
performed during regularly scheduled maintenance at a base where 
special equipment and trained maintenance personnel will be available 
if necessary. Further, we have coordinated with the Ag[ecirc]ncia 
Nacional de Avia[ccedil][atilde]o Civil (ANAC), which is the 
airworthiness authority for Brazil, and ANAC agrees with extending the 
compliance time as proposed by the commenter. Therefore, we have 
revised paragraph (f) of this AD to specify a compliance time of 6,600 
flight hours.

Request To Publish Service Information

    The Modification and Replacement Parts Association (MARPA) states 
that, typically, ADs are based on service information originating with 
the type certificate holder or its suppliers. MARPA adds that 
manufacturer service documents are privately authored instruments 
generally having copyright protection against duplication and 
distribution. MARPA notes that when a service document is incorporated 
by reference into a public document, such as an AD, it loses its 
private, protected status and becomes a public document. MARPA adds 
that if a service document is used as a mandatory element of 
compliance, it should not simply be referenced, but should be 
incorporated into the regulatory document; by definition, public laws 
must be public, which means they cannot rely upon private writings. 
MARPA adds that incorporated by reference service documents should be 
made available to the public by publication in the Docket Management 
System (DMS), keyed to the action that incorporates them. MARPA notes 
that the stated purpose of the incorporation by reference method is 
brevity, to keep from expanding the Federal Register needlessly by 
publishing documents already in the hands of the affected individuals; 
traditionally, ``affected individuals'' means aircraft owners and 
operators, who are generally provided service information by the 
manufacturer. MARPA adds that a new class of affected individuals has 
emerged, since the majority of aircraft maintenance is now performed by 
specialty shops instead of aircraft owners and operators. MARPA notes 
that this new class includes maintenance and repair organizations, 
component servicing and repair shops, parts purveyors and distributors, 
and organizations manufacturing or servicing alternatively certified 
parts under section 21.303 (``Replacement and modification parts'') of 
the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 21.303). Therefore, MARPA asks 
that the service documents deemed essential to the accomplishment of 
the NPRM be incorporated by reference into the regulatory instrument 
and published in DMS.
    We understand MARPA's comment concerning incorporation by 
reference. The Office of the Federal Register (OFR) requires that 
documents that are necessary to accomplish the requirements of the AD 
be incorporated by reference during the final rule phase of rulemaking. 
This final rule incorporates by reference the document necessary for 
the accomplishment of the requirements mandated by this AD. Further, we 
point out that while documents that are incorporated by reference do 
become public information, they do not lose their copyright protection. 
For that reason, we advise the public to contact the manufacturer to 
obtain copies of the referenced service information.
    In regard to the commenter's request to post service bulletins on 
DMS, we are currently in the process of reviewing issues surrounding 
the posting of service bulletins on DMS as part of an AD docket. Once 
we have thoroughly examined all aspects of this issue and have made a 
final determination, we will consider whether our current practice 
needs to be revised. No change to the final rule is necessary in 
response to this comment.

Conclusion

    We have carefully reviewed the available data, including the 
comments received, and determined that air safety and the public 
interest require adopting the AD with the change described previously. 
We have determined that this change will neither increase the economic 
burden on any operator nor increase the scope of the AD.

Costs of Compliance

    This AD affects about 68 airplanes of U.S. registry. The required 
actions take about 1 work hour per airplane, at an average labor rate 
of $80 per work hour. Required parts cost about $41 per airplane. Based 
on these figures, the estimated cost of the AD for U.S. operators is 
$8,228, or $121 per airplane.

Authority for This Rulemaking

    Title 49 of the United States Code specifies the FAA's authority to 
issue rules on aviation safety. 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.
    We are issuing this rulemaking 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

[[Page 3352]]

products identified in this rulemaking action.

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 AD:
    (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.
    We prepared a regulatory evaluation of the estimated costs to 
comply with this AD and placed it in the AD docket. See the ADDRESSES 
section for a location to examine the regulatory evaluation.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Incorporation by 
reference, Safety.

Adoption of the Amendment

0
Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the Administrator, 
the FAA amends 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. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) amends Sec.  39.13 by 
adding the following new airworthiness directive (AD):

2007-02-15 Empresa Brasileira De Aeronautica S.A. (EMBRAER): 
Amendment 39-14902. Docket No. FAA-2006-25889; Directorate 
Identifier 2006-NM-168-AD.

Effective Date

    (a) This AD becomes effective March 1, 2007.

Affected ADs

    (b) None.

Applicability

    (c) This AD applies to EMBRAER Model ERJ 170-100 LR, -100 STD, -
100 SE, and -100 SU airplanes, certificated in any category; serial 
numbers 17000007, 17000033, 17000034, 17000036 through 17000046 
inclusive, and 17000050 through 17000067 inclusive.

Unsafe Condition

    (d) This AD results from failure of an electrical bonding clamp, 
used to attach the electrical bonding straps to the fuel system 
lines. We are issuing this AD to prevent loss of bonding protection 
in the interior of the fuel tanks or adjacent areas that, in 
combination with lightning strike, could result in a fuel tank 
explosion and consequent loss of the airplane.

Compliance

    (e) You are responsible for having the actions required by this 
AD performed within the compliance times specified, unless the 
actions have already been done.

Replacement

    (f) Within 6,600 flight hours after the effective date of this 
AD: Replace all electrical bonding clamps having part number AN735D4 
or AN735D6 with new clamps and replace the attaching hardware with 
new or serviceable attaching hardware, and do the other specified 
action, by accomplishing all of the actions specified in the 
Accomplishment Instructions of EMBRAER Service Bulletin 170-28-0009, 
Revision 01, dated February 23, 2006. The other specified action 
must be done before further flight.

Credit for Previous Service Bulletin

    (g) Actions done before the effective date of this AD in 
accordance with EMBRAER Service Bulletin 170-28-0009, dated December 
30, 2005, are acceptable for compliance with the requirements of 
paragraph (f) of this AD.

Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    (h)(1) The Manager, International Branch, ANM-116, Transport 
Airplane Directorate, FAA, has the authority to approve AMOCs for 
this AD, if requested in accordance with the procedures found in 14 
CFR 39.19.
    (2) Before using any AMOC approved in accordance with Sec.  
39.19 on any airplane to which the AMOC applies, notify the 
appropriate principal inspector in the FAA Flight Standards 
Certificate Holding District Office.

Related Information

    (i) Brazilian airworthiness directive 2006-06-03, effective July 
7, 2006, also addresses the subject of this AD.

Material Incorporated by Reference

    (j) You must use EMBRAER Service Bulletin 170-28-0009, Revision 
01, dated February 23, 2006, to perform the actions that are 
required by this AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise. The Director 
of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of 
this document in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. 
Contact Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. (EMBRAER), P.O. Box 
343--CEP 12.225, Sao Jose dos Campos--SP, Brazil, for a copy of this 
service information. You may review copies at the Docket Management 
Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, 
SW., Room PL-401, Nassif Building, Washington, DC; on the Internet 
at http://dms.dot.gov; or at the National Archives and Records 
Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this 
material at the NARA, call (202) 741-6030, or go to http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on January 11, 2007.
Kevin M. Mullin,
Acting Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
 [FR Doc. E7-899 Filed 1-24-07; 8:45 am]
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