[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 144 (Thursday, July 26, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43736-43738]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18254]



[[Page 43736]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2012-0773; Directorate Identifier 2009-SW-71-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH Helicopters

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the 
Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH (Eurocopter) Model MBB-BK 117 C-2 
helicopters. This proposed AD is prompted by the discovery that some 
helicopters have blind rivets installed in the place of solid rivets in 
the long tail rotor drive shaft. The proposed actions are intended to 
detect blind rivets installed in the long tail rotor drive shaft, which 
could lead to failure of the tail rotor drive shaft and subsequent loss 
of control of the helicopter.

DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by September 24, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Docket: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for sending your 
comments electronically.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Send comments to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: Deliver to the ``Mail'' address between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

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 economic 
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 service information identified in this proposed AD, contact 
American Eurocopter Corporation, 2701 N. Forum Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 
75052, telephone (972) 641-0000 or (800) 232-0323, fax (972) 641-3775, 
or at http://www.eurocopter.com/techpub. You may review the referenced 
service information at the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, 
Southwest Region, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Room 663, Fort Worth, Texas 
76137.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Grigg, ASW-112, Manager, FAA, 
Rotorcraft Directorate, Safety Management Group, 2601 Meacham Blvd., 
Fort Worth, Texas 76137, telephone (817) 222-5126, fax (817) 222-5961, 
email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    We invite you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting 
written comments, data, or views. We also invite comments relating to 
the economic, environmental, energy, or federalism impacts that might 
result from adopting the proposals in this document. The most helpful 
comments reference a specific portion of the proposal, explain the 
reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data. To 
ensure the docket does not contain duplicate comments, commenters 
should send only one copy of written comments, or if comments are filed 
electronically, commenters should submit only one time.
    We will file in the docket all comments that we receive, as well as 
a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA personnel 
concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this proposal, we 
will consider all comments we receive on or before the closing date for 
comments. We will consider comments filed after the comment period has 
closed if it is possible to do so without incurring expense or delay. 
We may change this proposal in light of the comments we receive.

Discussion

    The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical 
Agent for the Member States of the European Union, has issued EASA AD 
No. 2009-0119, dated June 4, 2009, to correct an unsafe condition for 
the Eurocopter Model MBB-BK 117 C-2 helicopters. EASA advises that an 
error was discovered in the Eurocopter aircraft maintenance manual 
(AMM), which erroneously specifies replacing the solid rivets on the 
long tail rotor drive shaft with blind rivets. All delivered 
helicopters had the long tail rotor drive shafts installed during 
production fitted with the correct solid rivets. The long tail rotor 
drive shafts repaired in-service in accordance with the AMM may have 
blind rivets installed. This condition, if not corrected, could lead to 
a significant reduction of the life of the long tail rotor drive shaft, 
failure of the long tail rotor drive shaft, and subsequent loss of 
control of the helicopter.

FAA's Determination

    These helicopters have been approved by the aviation authority of 
the Federal Republic of Germany and are approved for operation in the 
United States. Pursuant to our bilateral agreement with Germany, EASA, 
its technical representative, has notified us of the unsafe condition 
described in its AD. We are proposing this AD because we evaluated all 
known relevant information and determined that an unsafe condition 
exists and is likely to exist or develop on other helicopters of these 
same type designs.

Related Service Information

    Eurocopter has issued Alert Service Bulletin No. MBB BK117 C-2-65A-
003, dated May 4, 2009 (ASB), which specifies inspecting long tail 
rotor drive shafts to determine what type of rivets are installed. If 
one or more blind rivets are installed, the ASB specifies replacing the 
long tail rotor drive shaft assembly with a serviceable long tail rotor 
drive shaft assembly. EASA classified this ASB as mandatory and issued 
EASA AD No. 2009-0119, dated June 4, 2009, to ensure the continued 
airworthiness of these helicopters.

Proposed AD Requirements

    This proposed AD would require, within 100 hours time-in-service 
(TIS), inspecting the long tail rotor drive shaft assembly for blind 
rivets. If there are no blind rivets installed on the shaft assembly, 
no further action would be required by this AD. If there are one or 
more blind rivets installed on the shaft assembly, this AD would 
require replacing the shaft assembly of the long tail rotor drive shaft 
with an airworthy shaft assembly before further flight.

Differences Between This Proposed AD and the EASA AD

    This proposed AD uses the term ``TIS'' instead of ``flight hours.''

Costs of Compliance

    We estimate that this proposed AD would affect 88 helicopters of 
U.S. registry. We estimate that operators may incur the following costs 
in order to comply with this AD:

[[Page 43737]]

     It would take about 2 work hours to inspect and replace 
the tail rotor at an average labor rate of $85 per work hour.
     Required parts to replace each long tail rotor drive shaft 
assembly cost about $4,600 each.
    Based upon these figures, the total cost per helicopter would be 
$4,770. The total cost for the entire U.S. fleet would be $419,760, 
assuming that the long tail rotor drive shaft assembly would be 
required to be replaced on the entire fleet.

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, 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 to the extent that 
it justifies making a regulatory distinction; 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 an economic 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 
airworthiness directive (AD):

Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH: Docket No. FAA-2012-0773; Directorate 
Identifier 2009-SW-71-AD.

(a) Applicability

    This AD applies to Model MBB BK117 C-2 helicopters, with long 
tail rotor drive shaft assembly part number (P/N) B651M1002101 or 
B651M1002102 installed, certificated in any category.

(b) Unsafe Condition

    This AD defines the unsafe condition as the installation of 
blind rivets instead of solid rivets in the long tail rotor drive 
shaft. This condition could result in failure of the long tail rotor 
drive shaft and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

(c) Compliance

    You are responsible for performing each action required by this 
AD within the specified compliance time unless it has already been 
accomplished prior to that time.

(d) Actions Required

    Within 100 hours time-in-service (TIS), inspect the long tail 
rotor drive shaft assembly for blind rivets as indicated in sections 
A-A and B-B of Figure 1 to Paragraph (d) of this AD.
    (1) If there are no blind rivets installed on the shaft 
assembly, no further action is required by this AD.
    (2) If there are one or more blind rivets installed on the shaft 
assembly in the areas depicted in Figure 1 to Paragraph (d) of this 
AD, before further flight, replace the shaft assembly of the long 
tail rotor drive shaft with an airworthy shaft assembly that does 
not have blind rivets installed.
    (3) After the effective date of this AD, do not install a tail 
rotor drive shaft assembly that has blind rivets installed.

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP26JY12.049

(e) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOC)

    (1) The Manager, FAA, Safety Management Group, may approve AMOCs 
for this AD. Send your proposal to: Jim Grigg, ASW-112, Manager, 
Rotorcraft Directorate, Safety Management Group, 2601 Meacham Blvd., 
Fort Worth, Texas 76137, telephone (817) 222-5126, fax (817) 222-
5961, email [email protected].
    (2) For operations conducted under 14 CFR part 119 operating 
certificate or under 14 CFR part 91, subpart K, we suggest that you 
notify your principal inspector, or lacking a principal inspector, 
the manager of the local flight standards district office or 
certificate holding district office before operating any aircraft 
complying with this AD through an AMOC.

(f) Additional Information

    (1) Eurocopter Alert Service Bulletin No. MBB BK117 C-2-65A-003, 
dated May 4, 2009, which is not incorporated by reference, contains 
additional information about the subject of this AD. For service 
information identified in this AD, contact American Eurocopter 
Corporation, 2701 N. Forum Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75052, telephone 
(972) 641-0000 or (800) 232-0323, fax (972) 641-3775, or at http://www.eurocopter.com/techpub. You may review the referenced service 
information at the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, Southwest 
Region, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Room 663, Fort Worth, Texas 76137.
    (2) The subject of this AD is addressed in European Aviation 
Safety Agency AD No. 2009-0119, dated June 4, 2009.

(g) Subject

    Joint Aircraft System/Component (JASC) Code 6510: Tail Rotor 
Drive Shaft.

    Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 18, 2012.
Kim Smith,
Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-18254 Filed 7-25-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P