[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 17 (Monday, January 27, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4300-4302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01470]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2014-0031; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-054-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; SOCATA Airplanes

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

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for 
SOCATA Model TBM 700 airplanes that would supersede AD 99-07-11. 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 cracks on the outboard hinge 
fittings. We are issuing this proposed AD to require actions to address 
the unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by March 13, 2014.

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 proposed AD, contact 
SOCATA, Direction des Services, 65921 Tarbes Cedex 9, France; telephone 
+33 (0) 5 62 41 73 00; fax +33 (0) 5 62 41 76 54, or for North America: 
SOCATA NORTH AMERICA, North Perry Airport, 7501 South Airport Road, 
Pembroke Pines, Florida 33023; telephone: (954) 893-1400; fax: (954) 
964-4141; email: [email protected]; Internet: www.mysocata.com. 
You may review copies of the referenced service information at the FAA, 
Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, Kansas City,

[[Page 4301]]

Missouri 64106. For information on the availability of this material at 
the FAA, call (816) 329-4148.

Examining the AD Docket

    You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating it in Docket No. FAA-
2014-0031; 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: Albert Mercado, Aerospace Engineer, 
FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, 
Missouri 64106; telephone: (816) 329-4119; fax: (816) 329-4090; email: 
[email protected].

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-2014-0031; 
Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-054-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://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 March 18, 1999, we issued AD 99-07-11, Amendment 39-11096 (64 FR 
14820, March 29, 1999) (``AD 99-07-11''). That AD required actions 
intended to address an unsafe condition on the products listed above.
    Since we issued AD 99-07-11, SOCATA determined that the cause of 
the cracks in the horizontal stabilizer outboard hinge fitting was due 
to the incorrect installation of the fittings during production, which 
induced stress. SOCATA has issued new mandatory service information to 
require a modification to the outboard hinge fittings of the horizontal 
stabilizer to eliminate the stress.
    The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical 
Agent for the Member States of the European Community, has issued AD 
No. 2013-0035, dated February 22, 2013 (referred to after this as ``the 
MCAI''), to correct an unsafe condition for the specified products. The 
MCAI states:
During the 1990s, several occurrences were reported of finding 
cracks in the outboard hinge fittings of the horizontal stabiliser 
on TBM 700 aeroplanes.
This condition, if not detected and corrected, could result in 
rupture of the outboard hinge fittings, which would adversely affect 
the structural integrity of the horizontal stabiliser. The in-flight 
loss of the horizontal stabiliser would result in reduced control of 
the aeroplane,
To address this unsafe condition, DGAC France issued AD 1999-060(A), 
requiring repetitive inspections of the fittings and, depending on 
findings, corrective action.
After that AD was issued, SOCATA determined that the cause of the 
cracks was a wrong installation of the fittings during production, 
inducing stress. Consequently, DGAC France issued AD 2000-307(A), 
partially retaining the requirements of DGAC France AD 1999-060(A), 
which was superseded, and required, depending on findings, that the 
installation of the fittings of in-service aeroplanes be rectified 
by introduction of adjusting shims, a modification which was 
introduced as standard on the production line from MSN 162. The 
periodical inspection of the fittings for cracks was still required, 
pending a better understanding of the cause of the cracks.
Since DCAG France AD 2000-307(A) was issued, the results of the 
further analysis revealed that the final design (installation of 
shims on the outboard hinge fittings of the horizontal stabiliser) 
guarantees a service fatigue life which exceeds the one established 
for the TBM 700 during certification. Consequently, for aeroplanes 
with this modification, the repetitive inspections of the fittings 
can be discontinued. However, as the installation of the fittings 
was only required depending on findings, this modification may not 
have been accomplished on all affected aeroplanes.
For the reasons described above, this AD supersedes (and thereby 
cancels the requirements of) DGAC France AD 2000-307(A) and requires 
installation of shims on the outboard hinge fittings of the 
horizontal stabiliser.

    You may examine the MCAI on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating it in Docket No. FAA-
2014-0031.

Relevant Service Information

    DAHER-SOCATA has issued TBM Aircraft Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 
70-080, Amendment 2, dated August 2012. The actions described in this 
service information are intended to correct the unsafe condition 
identified in the MCAI.

FAA's Determination and Requirements of the 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 this State of Design Authority, they 
have notified us of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI and 
service information referenced above. We are proposing this AD because 
we evaluated all information and determined the unsafe condition exists 
and is likely to exist or develop on other products of the same type 
design.

Costs of Compliance

    We estimate that this proposed AD will affect 159 products of U.S. 
registry. We also estimate that it would take about 6.5 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 $500 per product.
    Based on these figures, we estimate the cost of the proposed AD on 
U.S. operators to be $167,347.50, or $1,052.50 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

[[Page 4302]]

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.

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

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 FAA amends Sec.  39.13 by removing Amendment 39-11096 (64 FR 
14820, March 29, 1999), and adding the following new AD:

SOCATA: Docket No. FAA-2014-0031; Directorate Identifier 2013-CE-
054-AD.

(a) Comments Due Date

    We must receive comments by March 13, 2014.

(b) Affected ADs

    This AD supersedes AD 99-07-11, Amendment 39-11096 (64 FR 14820, 
March 29, 1999).

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to SOCATA TBM 700 airplanes, manufacturer serial 
numbers (MSN) 1 through 98, 100 through 156, and 158 through 161, 
certificated in any category.

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association of America (ATA) Code 55: Stabilizers.

(e) Reason

    This AD was prompted by 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 cracks on the 
outboard hinge fittings. We are issuing this AD to require the use 
of new service information issued by DAHER-SOCATA to eliminate the 
stress on the outboard hinge fittings, which is causing the cracks. 
If this condition is not prevented, the outboard hinge fittings 
could fail causing reduced structural integrity of the horizontal 
stabilizer, which could result in reduced control.

(f) Actions and Compliance

    Unless already done, within the next 100 hours time-in-service 
after the effective date of this AD or within the next 12 months 
after the effective date of this AD, whichever occurs first, install 
shims on the outboard hinge fittings of the horizontal stabilizer. 
Do the modification following the Accomplishment Instructions in 
DAHER-SOCATA TBM Aircraft Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 70-080, 
Amendment 2, dated August 2012.

(g) Other FAA AD Provisions

    The following provisions also apply to this AD:
    (1) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs): The Manager, 
Standards Office, 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: Albert Mercado, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Small 
Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 
64106; telephone: (816) 329-4119; fax: (816) 329-4090; email: 
[email protected]. 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.

(h) Related Information

    Refer to MCAI European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD No. 
2013-0035, dated February 22, 2013, for related information. You may 
examine the MCAI on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov by 
searching for and locating it in Docket No. FAA-2014-0031. For 
service information related to this AD, contact SOCATA, Direction 
des Services, 65921 Tarbes Cedex 9, France; telephone +33 (0) 5 62 
41 73 00; fax +33 (0) 5 62 41 76 54, or for North America: SOCATA 
NORTH AMERICA, North Perry Airport, 7501 South Airport Road, 
Pembroke Pines, Florida 33023; telephone: (954) 8-9893-1400; fax: 
(954) 964-4141; email: [email protected]; Internet: 
www.mysocata.com. You may review copies of the referenced service 
information at the FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, 
Kansas City, Missouri 64106. For information on the availability of 
this material at the FAA, call (816) 329-4148.


    Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on January 17, 2014.
Pat Mullen,
Acting Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-01470 Filed 1-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P