[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 212 (Friday, October 31, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 64899-64901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26000]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2008-1142; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-060-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Hawker Beechcraft Corporation Model MU-
300-10 Airplanes and Model 400 and 400A Series Airplanes; and Raytheon 
(Mitsubishi) Model MU-300 Airplanes

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

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to supersede an existing airworthiness 
directive (AD) that applies to certain BEECH Model 400, 400A, and MU-
300-10 airplanes. The existing AD currently requires installation of an 
improved adjustment mechanism on the flightcrew seats and replacement 
of the existing aluminum seat reinforcement assemblies with steel 
assemblies. This proposed AD would add airplanes to the applicability 
of the existing AD. This proposed AD results from reports of incomplete 
latching of the existing adjustment mechanism and cracked reinforcement 
assemblies, which could result in sudden shifting of a flightcrew seat. 
We are proposing this AD to prevent sudden shifting of a flightcrew 
seat, which could impair the flightcrew's ability to control the 
airplane.

DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by December 15, 
2008.

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 W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    For service information identified in this AD, contact Hawker 
Beechcraft Corporation, 9709 East Central, Wichita, Kansas 67206.

Examining the AD Docket

    You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov; or in person at the Docket Management Facility 
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 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: William Griffith, Aerospace Engineer, 
Airframe Branch, ACE-118W, FAA, Wichita Aircraft Certification Office, 
1801 Airport Road, Room 100, Mid-Continent Airport, Wichita, Kansas 
67209; telephone (316) 946-4116; fax (316) 946-4107.

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-2008-1142; 
Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-060-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 because of 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

    On January 23, 1996, we issued AD 96-03-07, amendment 39-9504 (61 
FR 5275, February 12, 1996), for certain BEECH Model 400, 400A, and MU-
300-10 airplanes. That AD requires installation of an improved 
adjustment mechanism on the flightcrew seats and replacement of the 
existing aluminum seat reinforcement assemblies with steel assemblies. 
That AD resulted from reports of incomplete latching of the existing 
latching adjustment mechanism and cracked reinforcement assemblies. We 
issued that AD to prevent such shifting of a flightcrew seat, which 
could impair the flightcrew's ability to control the airplane.

Actions Since Existing AD Was Issued

    Since we issued AD 96-03-07, we have determined that the same 
unsafe condition addressed in AD 96-03-07 could exist on Raytheon 
(Mitsubishi) Model MU-300 airplanes. Therefore, these additional 
airplanes must be added to the applicability of AD 96-03-07.

Relevant Service Information

    We have reviewed Raytheon Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 25-2536, 
Revision 2, dated March 2002. The actions described in Revision 2 of 
the service bulletin are essentially the same as those specified in 
Beechcraft Service Bulletin 2536, Revision 1, dated April 1995 (we 
referred to Revision 1 as the appropriate source of service information 
for doing the actions required by AD 96-03-07). Revision 2 adds 
airplanes and certain kit numbers. Accomplishing the actions specified 
in the service information is intended to adequately address the unsafe 
condition.

FAA's Determination and Requirements of the Proposed AD

    We have evaluated all pertinent information and identified an 
unsafe condition that is likely to develop on other airplanes of the 
same type design. For this reason, we are proposing this AD, which 
would supersede AD 96-03-07 and would retain the requirements of

[[Page 64900]]

the existing AD. This proposed AD would also require the existing 
actions for additional airplanes.

Change to Existing AD

    This proposed AD would retain all of the requirements of AD 96-03-
07. Since AD 96-03-07 was issued, the AD format has been revised, and 
certain paragraphs have been rearranged. As a result, the corresponding 
paragraph identifiers have changed in this proposed AD, as listed in 
the following table:

                      Revised Paragraph Identifiers
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Corresponding requirement in
       Requirement in  AD 96-03-07               this proposed AD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paragraph (a)...........................  Paragraph (f).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We revised manufacturer/model designations in the applicability of 
this proposed AD to correspond to designations published in the most 
recent type certificate data sheets for the affected models. The 
manufacturer/model designations differ in the referenced service 
bulletin.

Clarification of Service Bulletin Note

    Raytheon Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 25-2536, Revision 2, dated 
March 2002, includes a note in the Accomplishment Instructions to 
inform operators to contact Raytheon ``should any difficulty be 
encountered'' in accomplishing the service bulletin. We have included 
Note 1 in this proposed AD to clarify that any deviation from the 
instructions provided in the service bulletin must be approved as an 
alternative method of compliance under the provisions of paragraph (h) 
of this proposed AD.

Costs of Compliance

    The actions specified by this proposed AD were previously required 
by AD 96-03-07, which was applicable to approximately 121 airplanes. 
The actions required by that AD take about 24 work hours per airplane 
at $80 per work-hour. Required parts cost up to $7,433 per airplane. 
Based on these figures, we estimate the cost of the current 
requirements of that AD on U.S. operators to be up to $1,131,713, or 
$9,353 per airplane. In consideration of the compliance time and 
effective date of AD 96-03-07, we assume that operators of the 121 
airplanes subject to that AD have already initiated the required 
actions. The proposed AD would add no new costs associated with those 
airplanes.
    This proposed AD would be applicable to approximately 76 additional 
airplanes. The existing actions required by this proposed AD would take 
about 24 work hour per airplane. The manufacturer has updated the cost 
of required parts; the required parts now cost up to $24,474 per 
airplane. Based on the figures discussed above, we estimate the current 
costs of the existing actions required by this proposed AD on U.S. 
operators of the additional airplanes to be up to $2,005,944. This 
figure is based on assumptions that no operator of these additional 
airplanes has yet done any of the proposed requirements of this AD, and 
that no operator would do those actions in the future if this AD were 
not adopted.

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 have 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 that the 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. 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, 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.


Sec.  39.13  [Amended]

    2. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) amends Sec.  39.13 by 
removing amendment 39-9504 (61 FR 5275, February 12, 1996) and adding 
the following new airworthiness directive (AD):

    Raytheon Aircraft Company (Formerly Beech) and Hawker Beechcraft 
Corporation (Formerly Raytheon Aircraft Company, formerly Beech 
Aircraft Corporation): Docket No. FAA-2008-1142; Directorate 
Identifier 2008-NM-060-AD.

Comments Due Date

    (a) The FAA must receive comments on this AD action by December 
15, 2008.

Affected ADs

    (b) This AD supersedes AD 96-03-07.

Applicability

    (c) This AD applies to the airplanes specified in Table 1 of 
this AD, certificated in any category.

                         Table 1--Applicability
------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Manufacturer                   Model            Serial Nos.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hawker Beechcraft...............  Model 400           RJ-1 through RJ-65
                                   airplanes.          inclusive.
Hawker Beechcraft...............  Model 400A          RK-1 through RK-93
                                   airplanes.          inclusive.
Hawker Beechcraft...............  Model MU-300-10     A1001SA through
                                   airplanes.          A1011SA
                                                       inclusive.

[[Page 64901]]

 
Raytheon (Mitsubishi)...........  Model MU-300        A003SA through
                                   airplanes.          A091SA inclusive.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unsafe Condition

    (d) This AD results from reports of incomplete latching of the 
existing adjustment mechanism and cracked reinforcement assemblies, 
which could result in sudden shifting of a flightcrew seat. We are 
issuing this AD to prevent sudden shifting of a flightcrew seat, 
which could impair the flightcrew's ability to control 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.

Restatement of the Requirements of AD 96-03-07

    (f) For Hawker Beechcraft Model MU-300-10 airplanes and Model 
400 and 400A series airplanes: Within 200 hours time-in-service 
after March 13, 1996 (the effective date of AD 96-03-07), install an 
improved adjustment mechanism on the flightcrew seat, and replace 
the existing aluminum seat reinforcement assemblies with steel 
assemblies, in accordance with Beechcraft Service Bulletin SB 2536, 
Revision 1, dated April 1995; or Raytheon Mandatory Service Bulletin 
SB 25-2536, Revision 2, dated March 2002.

Existing Requirements for Additional Airplanes

    (g) For Raytheon (Mitsubishi) Model MU-300 airplanes: Within 200 
flight hours or 12 months after the effective date of this AD, 
whichever occurs first, install an improved adjustment mechanism on 
the flightcrew seats, and replace the existing aluminum seat 
reinforcement assemblies with steel assemblies, in accordance with 
Raytheon Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 25-2536, Revision 2, dated 
March 2002.

    Note 1: A note in the Accomplishment Instructions of Raytheon 
Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 25-2536, Revision 2, dated March 2002, 
instructs operators to contact Raytheon if any difficulty is 
encountered while accomplishing the actions specified in that 
service bulletin. However, any deviation from the instructions 
provided in Raytheon Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 25-2536, Revision 
2, dated March 2002, must be approved as an alternative method of 
compliance (AMOC) under paragraph (h) of this AD.

Alternative Methods of Compliance

    (h)(1) The Manager, Wichita Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), 
FAA, ATTN: William Griffith, Aerospace Engineer, Airframe Branch, 
ACE-118W, FAA, Wichita ACO, 1801 Airport Road, Room 100, Mid-
Continent Airport, Wichita, Kansas 67209; telephone (316) 946-4116; 
fax (316) 946-4107; has the authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, 
if requested using the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19.
    (2) To request a different method of compliance or a different 
compliance time for this AD, follow the procedures in 14 CFR 39.19. 
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.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on October 21, 2008.
Ali Bahrami,
Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. E8-26000 Filed 10-30-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P