[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 200 (Wednesday, October 17, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58774-58777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20462]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2007-0044; Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-126-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Model 
BAe 146 and Avro 146-RJ Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the 
products listed above. This proposed AD results from mandatory 
continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation 
authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe 
condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe 
condition as:

    An accumulator cylinder had material defects and suffered an in-
flight burst failure causing damage to the aircraft structure. * * *

    The proposed AD would require actions that are intended to address 
the unsafe condition described in the MCAI.

DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by November 16, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
     Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket 
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket 
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-40, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.

[[Page 58775]]

Examining the AD Docket

    You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov; or in person at the Docket Operations office 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays. The AD docket contains this proposed AD, the regulatory 
evaluation, any comments received, and other information. The street 
address for the Docket Operations office (telephone (800) 647-5527) is 
in the ADDRESSES section. Comments will be available in the AD docket 
shortly after receipt.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Thompson, Aerospace Engineer, 
International Branch, ANM-116, FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 
1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; telephone (425) 
227-1175; fax (425) 227-1149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited

    We invite you to send any written relevant data, views, or 
arguments about this proposed AD. Send your comments to an address 
listed under the ADDRESSES section. Include ``Docket No. FAA-2007-0044; 
Directorate Identifier 2007-NM-126-AD'' at the beginning of your 
comments. We specifically invite comments on the overall regulatory, 
economic, environmental, and energy aspects of this proposed AD. We 
will consider all comments received by the closing date and may amend 
this proposed AD based on those comments.
    We will post all comments we receive, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you provide. We 
will also post a report summarizing each substantive verbal contact we 
receive about this proposed AD.

Discussion

    The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical 
Agent for the Member States of the European community, has issued EASA 
Airworthiness Directive 2007-0076, dated March 21, 2007 (referred to 
after this as ``the MCAI''), to correct an unsafe condition for the 
specified products. The MCAI states:

    An accumulator cylinder had material defects and suffered an in-
flight burst failure causing damage to the aircraft structure. This 
resulted in the issue of EASA Emergency AD 2006-0061-E [we issued AD 
2006-23-12 to address that EASA AD] that required the identification 
and check of cylinders from known suspect batches. Further 
investigations and checks by the accumulator manufacturer have 
concluded that all cylinders from a particular supplier may not have 
been correctly inspected at manufacture. To prevent the risk of 
further failures, this Airworthiness Directive (AD) requires all 
accumulators with cylinders from this supplier to be identified and 
inspected prior to re-installation.

    The corrective action includes replacing any accumulator found to 
have a defect. You may obtain further information by examining the MCAI 
in the AD docket.

Relevant Service Information

    BAE Systems (Operations) Limited has issued Inspection Service 
Bulletin ISB.29-047, dated October 3, 2006. The actions described in 
this service information are intended to correct the unsafe condition 
identified in the MCAI.

FAA's Determination and Requirements of This Proposed AD

    This product has been approved by the aviation authority of another 
country, and is approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant 
to our bilateral agreement with the State of Design Authority, we have 
been notified of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI and service 
information referenced above. We are proposing this AD because we 
evaluated all pertinent information and determined an unsafe condition 
exists and is likely to exist or develop on other products of the same 
type design.

Differences Between This AD and the MCAI or Service Information

    We have reviewed the MCAI and related service information and, in 
general, agree with their substance. But we might have found it 
necessary to use different words from those in the MCAI to ensure the 
AD is clear for U.S. operators and is enforceable. In making these 
changes, we do not intend to differ substantively from the information 
provided in the MCAI and related service information.
    We might also have proposed different actions in this AD from those 
in the MCAI in order to follow FAA policies. Any such differences are 
highlighted in a Note within the proposed AD.

Costs of Compliance

    Based on the service information, we estimate that this proposed AD 
would affect about 1 product of U.S. registry. We also estimate that it 
would take about 4 work-hours per product to comply with the basic 
requirements of this proposed AD. The average labor rate is $80 per 
work-hour. Based on these figures, we estimate the cost of the proposed 
AD on U.S. operators to be $320, or $320 per product.

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 products identified in this 
rulemaking action.

Regulatory Findings

    We determined that this proposed AD would not have federalism 
implications under Executive Order 13132. This proposed AD would 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 this proposed 
regulation:
    1. Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive Order 
12866;
    2. Is not a ``significant rule'' under the 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 proposed AD and placed it in the AD docket.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Safety.

The Proposed Amendment

    Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the 
Administrator, the FAA proposes to amend 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.

[[Page 58776]]

Sec.  39.13  [Amended]

    2. The FAA amends Sec.  39.13 by adding the following new AD:

BAE Systems (Operations) Limited (Formerly British Aerospace 
Regional Aircraft): Docket No. FAA-2007-0044; Directorate Identifier 
2007-NM-126-AD.

Comments Due Date

    (a) We must receive comments by November 16, 2007.

Affected ADs

    (b) None.

Applicability

    (c) This AD applies to BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Model 
BAe 146-100A, -200A, and -300A series airplanes; and Model Avro 146-
RJ70A, 146-RJ85A, and 146-RJ100A airplanes; certificated in any 
category, all models, all serial numbers.

Subject

    (d) Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 29: 
Hydraulic power.

Reason

    (e) The mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) 
states:

    An accumulator cylinder had material defects and suffered an in-
flight burst failure causing damage to the aircraft structure. This 
resulted in the issue of EASA Emergency AD 2006-0061-E [we issued AD 
2006-23-12 to address that EASA AD] that required the identification 
and check of cylinders from known suspect batches. Further 
investigations and checks by the accumulator manufacturer have 
concluded that all cylinders from a particular supplier may not have 
been correctly inspected at manufacture. To prevent the risk of 
further failures, this Airworthiness Directive (AD) requires all 
accumulators with cylinders from this supplier to be identified and 
inspected prior to re-installation.

    The corrective action includes replacing any accumulator found to 
have a defect.

Actions and Compliance

    (f) Unless already done, do the following actions.
    (1) Within 30 months after the effective date of this AD, 
identify the installed accumulator in accordance with paragraph 2.C. 
of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin 
ISB.29-047, dated October 3, 2006, which makes reference to APPH 
Service Bulletin AIR91666-29-03, dated July 2006.
    (2) When an accumulator is identified as being affected by this 
AD, before further flight after accomplishing the actions required 
in paragraph (f)(1) of this AD, remove the accumulator in accordance 
with paragraph 2.D. of BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection 
Service Bulletin ISB.29-047, dated October 3, 2006, and do a 
magnetic particle inspection of the cylinder for any defects in 
accordance with APPH Service Bulletin AIR91666-29-03, dated July 
2006.
    (3) If any defect is found during the inspection required in 
paragraph (f)(2) of this AD, before next flight, replace the 
accumulator with a serviceable unit in accordance with the 
Accomplishment Instructions of APPH Service Bulletin AIR91666-29-03, 
dated July 2006.
    (4) After the effective date of this AD, no person may install a 
spare accumulator identified by APPH Service Bulletin AIR91666-29-
03, dated July 2006, as a replacement part, unless it has been 
inspected in accordance with APPH Service Bulletin AIR91666-29-02, 
dated March 2006; or APPH Service Bulletin AIR91666-29-03, dated 
July 2006 (see second Note in paragraph 1.D.(1) of BAE Systems 
(Operations) Limited Inspection Service Bulletin ISB.29-047, dated 
October 3, 2006, for further explanation).

FAA AD Differences

    Note: This AD differs from the MCAI and/or service information 
as follows:
    (1) Where the MCAI specifies to identify the installed 
accumulator within 6 weeks after the effective date of the AD, we 
have determined that the identification may be done within 30 months 
after the effective date of this AD to coincide with the compliance 
time for the magnetic particle inspection. In making this 
determination, we considered the maximum interval of time allowable 
for all affected airplanes to continue to operate without 
compromising safety, fleet usage, and the availability of 
replacement parts.

Other FAA AD Provisions

    (g) The following provisions also apply to this AD:
    (1) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs): The Manager, ANM-
116, International Branch, Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA, has 
the authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested using the 
procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. Send information to ATTN: Todd 
Thompson, Aerospace Engineer, International Branch, ANM-116, FAA, 
Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, 
Washington 98057-3356; telephone (425) 227-1175; fax (425) 227-1149. 
Before using any approved AMOC on any airplane to which the AMOC 
applies, notify your appropriate principal inspector (PI) in the FAA 
Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), or lacking a PI, your local 
FSDO.
    (2) Airworthy Product: For any requirement in this AD to obtain 
corrective actions from a manufacturer or other source, use these 
actions if they are FAA-approved. Corrective actions are considered 
FAA-approved if they are approved by the State of Design Authority 
(or their delegated agent). You are required to assure the product 
is airworthy before it is returned to service.
    (3) Reporting Requirements: For any reporting requirement in 
this AD, under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information 
collection requirements and has assigned OMB Control Number 2120-
0056.

Related Information

    (h) Refer to MCAI European Aviation Safety Agency Airworthiness 
Directive 2007-0076, dated March 21, 2007, and the service 
information listed in Table 1 of this AD for related information.

                      Table 1.--Service Information
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                Service Bulletin                           Date
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APPH Service Bulletin AIR91666-29-02............  March 2006.
APPH Service Bulletin AIR91666-29-03............  July 2006.
BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Inspection       October 3, 2006.
 Service Bulletin ISB.29-047.
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[[Page 58777]]

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on October 9, 2007.
Ali Bahrami,
Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. E7-20462 Filed 10-16-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P