[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 52 (Friday, March 16, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15644-15646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6461]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2012-0192; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-225-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Airbus 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 
certain Airbus Model A330-200 and -200 freighter series airplanes; and 
Model A340-200, -300, -500, and -600 series airplanes. This proposed AD 
was prompted by fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer. This 
proposed AD would require modification of the control circuit for the 
fuel pumps for the center fuel tanks for certain airplanes, and center 
and rear fuel tanks for certain other airplanes. We are proposing this 
AD to prevent the potential of ignition sources inside fuel tanks, 
which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in fuel 
tank explosions and consequent loss of the airplane.

DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by April 30, 2012.

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, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    For service information identified in this proposed AD, contact 
Airbus SAS--Airworthiness Office--EAL, 1 Rond Point Maurice Bellonte, 
31707 Blagnac Cedex, France; telephone +33 5 61 93 36 96; fax +33 5 61 
93 45 80; email [email protected]; Internet http://www.airbus.com. You may review copies of the referenced service 
information at the FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind 
Avenue SW., Renton, Washington. For information on the availability of 
this material at the FAA, call 425-227-1221.

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: Vladimir Ulyanov, Aerospace Engineer, 
International Branch, ANM-116, Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA, 
1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; telephone 425-227-
1138; 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-2012-0192; 
Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-225-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 2011-0196, dated October 7, 2011 (referred to 
after this as ``the MCAI''), to correct an unsafe condition for the 
specified products. The MCAI states:

    * * * [T]he FAA issued a set of new rules related to Fuel Tank 
Safety including Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) 88. In 
line with SFAR88, the JAA [Joint Aviation Authorities] issued policy 
JAA INT/POL 25/12 and recommended to the National Aviation 
Authorities (NAA) the application of a similar regulation.
    To ensure compliance with the requirements set by SFAR88 and JAA 
INT/POL 25/12, this [EASA] AD requires that Ground Fault 
Interrupters (GFI) are installed into the electrical power supply 
circuits of fuel pumps for which the canisters become uncovered 
during normal operation, taking into account normal fuel reserve or 
the fuel level, triggering the low fuel level warning.
    The function of this additional system protection is to 
electrically isolate the pump if a ground fault condition occurs 
downstream of the GFI. The GFI gives additional earth leakage 
protection to the downstream circuit.

The unsafe condition is the potential of ignition sources inside fuel 
tanks, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result 
in fuel tank explosions and consequent loss of the airplane. The 
corrective action is modifying the control circuits of the fuel pump 
for the rear and center fuel tanks. You may obtain further information 
by examining the MCAI in the AD docket.
    The FAA has examined the underlying safety issues involved in fuel 
tank explosions on several large transport airplanes, including the 
adequacy of existing regulations, the service history of airplanes 
subject to those regulations, and existing maintenance practices for 
fuel tank systems. As a result of those findings, we issued a 
regulation titled ``Transport Airplane Fuel Tank System Design Review, 
Flammability Reduction and Maintenance and Inspection Requirements'' 
(66 FR 23086, May 7, 2001). In addition to new airworthiness standards 
for transport airplanes and new maintenance requirements, this rule 
included Special Federal Aviation Regulation No. 88 (``SFAR 88,'' 
Amendment 21-78, and subsequent Amendments 21-82 and 21-83).
    Among other actions, SFAR 88 (66 FR 23086, May 7, 2001) requires 
certain type design (i.e., type certificate (TC) and supplemental type 
certificate (STC)) holders to substantiate that their fuel tank systems 
can prevent ignition sources in the fuel tanks. This requirement 
applies to type design holders for large turbine-powered transport 
airplanes and for subsequent modifications to those airplanes. It 
requires them to perform design reviews

[[Page 15645]]

and to develop design changes and maintenance procedures if their 
designs do not meet the new fuel tank safety standards. As explained in 
the preamble to the rule, we intended to adopt airworthiness directives 
to mandate any changes found necessary to address unsafe conditions 
identified as a result of these reviews.
    In evaluating these design reviews, we have established four 
criteria intended to define the unsafe conditions associated with fuel 
tank systems that require corrective actions. The percentage of 
operating time during which fuel tanks are exposed to flammable 
conditions is one of these criteria. The other three criteria address 
the failure types under evaluation: single failures, single failures in 
combination with a latent condition(s), and in-service failure 
experience. For all four criteria, the evaluations included 
consideration of previous actions taken that may mitigate the need for 
further action.
    The Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) has issued a regulation that 
is similar to SFAR 88 (66 FR 23086, May 7, 2001). (The JAA is an 
associated body of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) 
representing the civil aviation regulatory authorities of a number of 
European States who have agreed to co-operate in developing and 
implementing common safety regulatory standards and procedures.) Under 
this regulation, the JAA stated that all members of the ECAC that hold 
type certificates for transport category airplanes are required to 
conduct a design review against explosion risks.
    We have determined that the actions identified in this proposed AD 
are necessary to reduce the potential of ignition sources inside fuel 
tanks, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result 
in fuel tank explosions and consequent loss of the airplane.

Relevant Service Information

    Airbus has issued the following mandatory service bulletins. The 
actions described in this service information are intended to correct 
the unsafe condition identified in the MCAI.
     Airbus Mandatory Service Bulletin A330-28-3113, dated July 
19, 2011 (for Model A330-200 and -200 freighter series airplanes).
     Airbus Mandatory Service Bulletin A340-28-4129, dated July 
19, 2011 (for Model A340-200 and -300 series airplanes).
     Airbus Mandatory Service Bulletin A340-28-5051, dated 
September 1, 2011 (for Model A340-500 and -600 series airplanes).

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.

Costs of Compliance

    Based on the service information, we estimate that this proposed AD 
would affect about 29 products of U.S. registry. We also estimate that 
it would take about 10 work-hours per product to comply with the basic 
requirements of this proposed AD. The average labor rate is $85 per 
work-hour. Required parts would cost about $3,480 per product. Where 
the service information lists required parts costs that are covered 
under warranty, we have assumed that there will be no charge for these 
parts. As we do not control warranty coverage for affected parties, 
some parties may incur costs higher than estimated here. Based on these 
figures, we estimate the cost of the proposed AD on U.S. operators to 
be $125,570, or $4,330 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);
    3. Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska; and
    4. 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, Incorporation by 
reference, 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 FAA amends Sec.  39.13 by adding the following new AD:

Airbus: Docket No. FAA-2012-0192; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-
225-AD.

(a) Comments Due Date

    We must receive comments by April 30, 2012.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to the airplanes specified in paragraphs (c)(1), 
(c)(2), and (c)(3) of this AD, certificated in any category.
    (1) Airbus Model A330-201, -202, -203, -223, and -243 airplanes; 
all serial numbers; except those on which Airbus modification 200242 
has been accomplished in production.
    (2) Airbus Model A330-223F and -243F airplanes; all serial 
numbers; except airplanes on which Airbus modification 58623 has 
been accomplished in production and on which Airbus modification 
200281 has not been accomplished in production; and airplanes on 
which modification 200242 has been accomplished in production.

[[Page 15646]]

    (3) Airbus Model A340-211, -212, -213, -311, -312, -313, -541, 
and -642 airplanes; all serial numbers; except airplanes on which 
Airbus modification 200242 has been accomplished in production.

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 28: Fuel.

(e) Reason

    This AD was prompted by fuel system reviews conducted by the 
manufacturer. We are issuing this AD to prevent the potential of 
ignition sources inside fuel tanks, which, in combination with 
flammable fuel vapors, could result in fuel tank explosions and 
consequent loss of the airplane.

(f) Compliance

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

(g) Actions

    Within 48 months after the effective date of this AD, do the 
actions specified in paragraph (g)(1) or (g)(2) of this AD, as 
applicable.
    (1) For Model A330-200 and -200F series airplanes, and Model 
A340-200 and -300 series airplanes: Modify the control circuit for 
the fuel pump for the center fuel tank, in accordance with the 
Accomplishment Instructions of Airbus Mandatory Service Bulletin 
A330-28-3113, dated July 19, 2011 (for Model A330-200 and -200 
freighter series airplanes); or A340-28-4129, dated July 19, 2011 
(for Model A340-200 and -300 series airplanes).
    (2) For Model A340-500 and -600 series airplanes: Modify the 
control circuit for the fuel pump for the rear and/or center fuel 
tanks, in accordance with the Accomplishment Instructions of Airbus 
Mandatory Service Bulletin A340-28-5051, dated September 1, 2011.

(h) Other FAA AD Provisions

    The following provisions also apply to this AD:
    (1) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs): The Manager, 
International Branch, ANM-116, FAA, has the authority to approve 
AMOCs for this AD, if requested using the procedures found in 14 CFR 
39.19. In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, send your request to your 
principal inspector or local Flight Standards District Office, as 
appropriate. If sending information directly to the International 
Branch, send it to ATTN: Vladimir Ulyanov, Aerospace Engineer, 
International Branch, ANM-116, Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA, 
1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; telephone 425-
227-1138; fax 425-227-1149. Information may be emailed to: [email protected]. Before using any approved AMOC, notify 
your appropriate principal inspector, or lacking a principal 
inspector, the manager of the local flight standards district 
office/certificate holding district office. The AMOC approval letter 
must specifically reference this AD.
    (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.

(i) Related Information

    Refer to MCAI European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) 
Airworthiness Directive 2011-0196, dated October 7, 2011, and the 
service bulletins specified in paragraphs (i)(1), (i)(2), and (i)(3) 
of this AD, for related information.
    (1) Airbus Mandatory Service Bulletin A330-28-3113, dated July 
19, 2011.
    (2) Airbus Mandatory Service Bulletin A340-28-4129, dated July 
19, 2011.
    (3) Airbus Mandatory Service Bulletin A340-28-5051, dated 
September 1, 2011.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on March 1, 2012.
Jeffrey E. Duven,
Acting Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-6461 Filed 3-15-12; 8:45 am]
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