[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 141 (Wednesday, July 23, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42708-42710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-17332]



[[Page 42708]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2013-0548; Directorate Identifier 2013-NM-008-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Bombardier, Inc. Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); reopening of 
comment period.

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SUMMARY: We are revising an earlier proposed airworthiness directive 
(AD) for certain Bombardier, Inc. Model BD-700-1A11 airplanes. The NPRM 
proposed to require replacement of certain oxygen mask lanyards. The 
NPRM was prompted by a report that certain lanyards for the passenger 
oxygen masks are longer than the specified length, possibly leading to 
inactive oxygen masks in an emergency. This action revises the NPRM by 
proposing to require revised service information with corrected 
instructions. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct lanyards 
of incorrect length, which might not activate the flow of oxygen in an 
emergency, resulting in injury to passengers. Since these actions 
impose an additional burden over that proposed in the NPRM, we are 
reopening the comment period to allow the public the chance to comment 
on these proposed changes.

DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by September 8, 
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, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    For service information identified in this proposed AD, contact 
Bombardier, Inc., 400 C[ocirc]te-Vertu Road West, Dorval, Qu[eacute]bec 
H4S 1Y9, Canada; telephone 514-855-5000; fax 514-855-7401; email 
[email protected]; Internet http://www.bombardier.com. You 
may review this referenced service information at the FAA, Transport 
Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA. 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 Mandatory 
Continuing Airworthiness Information (MCAI), 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: Cesar Gomez, Aerospace Engineer, 
Airframe and Mechanical Systems Branch, ANE-171, FAA, New York Aircraft 
Certification Office, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 
11590; telephone (516) 228-7318; fax (516) 794-5531.

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-2013-0548; 
Directorate Identifier 2013-NM-008-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

    We issued an NPRM to amend 14 CFR part 39 by adding an AD that 
would apply to certain Bombardier, Inc. Model BD-700-1A11 airplanes. 
The NPRM published in the Federal Register on July 18, 2013 (78 FR 
42893). The NPRM proposed to require replacement of certain oxygen mask 
lanyards.

Actions Since Previous NPRM Was Issued

    Since we issued the NPRM (78 FR 42893, July 18, 2013), the airplane 
manufacturer found that the service information cited in the NPRM had 
information that caused some airplanes to not be corrected. Also, we 
have identified an additional Supplemental Type Certificate that is 
affected by the identified unsafe condition.
    Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA), which is the aviation 
authority for Canada, has issued Canadian Airworthiness Directive CF-
2012-31R1, dated September 17, 2013 (referred to after this as the 
Mandatory Continuing Airworthiness Information, or ``the MCAI''), to 
correct an unsafe condition for the specified products, because the 
previous MCAI referred to the faulty service information. The MCAI 
states:

    The aeroplane manufacturer has determined that the Oxygen 
Dispensing Unit (ODU) lanyards, in several locations throughout the 
aeroplane cabin, are excessively long. In an emergency situation 
where oxygen is required, it is possible that certain occupants may 
put their oxygen mask on without automatically activating the oxygen 
flow which could result in a fatal injury.
    The original issue of this [TCCA] AD mandated the replacement of 
the existing ODU lanyards with lanyards of the correct length.
    After the issuance of the original [TCCA] AD, the aeroplane 
manufacturer discovered that operators had not replaced all of the 
affected ODU lanyards due to misinterpretation of the accomplishment 
instructions of the Basic Issue of SB 700-1A11-35-009. Revision 1 of 
this [TCCA] AD is issued to mandate the incorporation of the revised 
SB with clarified accomplishment instructions.

You may obtain further information by examining the MCAI in the AD 
docket on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FAA-2013-0548-0002.

Relevant Service Information

    Bombardier, Inc. has issued Service Bulletin 700-1A11-35-009, 
Revision 02, dated May 28, 2013. The actions described in this service 
information are intended to correct the unsafe condition identified in 
the MCAI.

Comments

    We gave the public the opportunity to comment on the NPRM (78 FR 
42893, July 18, 2013). We received no comments on the NPRM or on the 
determination of the cost to the public.

FAA's Determination and Requirements of This Proposed AD

    This product has been approved by the aviation authority of another

[[Page 42709]]

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.
    Certain changes described above expand the scope of the NPRM (78 FR 
42893, July 18, 2013). As a result, we have determined that it is 
necessary to reopen the comment period to provide additional 
opportunity for the public to comment on this proposed AD.

``Contacting the Manufacturer'' Paragraph in This Proposed AD

    Since late 2006, we have included a standard paragraph titled 
``Airworthy Product'' in all MCAI ADs in which the FAA develops an AD 
based on a foreign authority's AD.
    The MCAI or referenced service information in an FAA AD often 
directs the owner/operator to contact the manufacturer for corrective 
actions, such as a repair. Briefly, the Airworthy Product paragraph 
allowed owners/operators to use corrective actions provided by the 
manufacturer if those actions were FAA-approved. In addition, the 
paragraph stated that any actions approved by the State of Design 
Authority (or its delegated agent) are considered to be FAA-approved.
    In another NPRM, Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-101-AD (78 FR 
78285, December 26, 2013), we proposed to prevent the use of repairs 
that were not specifically developed to correct the unsafe condition, 
by requiring that the repair approval provided by the State of Design 
Authority or its delegated agent specifically refer to the FAA AD. This 
change was intended to clarify the method of compliance and to provide 
operators with better visibility of repairs that are specifically 
developed and approved to correct the unsafe condition. In addition, we 
proposed to change the phrase ``its delegated agent'' to include a 
design approval holder (DAH) with State of Design Authority design 
organization approval (DOA), as applicable, to refer to a DAH 
authorized to approve required repairs for the proposed AD.
    One commenter to the other NPRM, Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-
101-AD (78 FR 78285, December 26, 2013), stated the following: ``The 
proposed wording, being specific to repairs, eliminates the 
interpretation that Airbus messages are acceptable for approving minor 
deviations (corrective actions) needed during accomplishment of an AD 
mandated Airbus service bulletin.''
    This comment has made the FAA aware that some operators have 
misunderstood or misinterpreted the Airworthy Product paragraph to 
allow the owner/operator to use messages provided by the manufacturer 
as approval of deviations during the accomplishment of an AD-mandated 
action. The Airworthy Product paragraph does not approve messages or 
other information provided by the manufacturer for deviations to the 
requirements of the AD-mandated actions. The Airworthy Product 
paragraph only addresses the requirement to contact the manufacturer 
for corrective actions for the identified unsafe condition and does not 
cover deviations from other AD requirements. However, deviations to AD-
required actions are addressed in 14 CFR 39.17, and anyone may request 
the approval for an alternative method of compliance to the AD-required 
actions using the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19.
    To address this misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the 
Airworthy Product paragraph, we have changed that paragraph and 
retitled it ``Contacting the Manufacturer.'' This paragraph now 
clarifies that for any requirement in this proposed AD to obtain 
corrective actions from a manufacturer, the action must be accomplished 
using a method approved by the FAA, TCCA, or Bombardier's TCCA Design 
Approval Organization (DAO). Where necessary throughout this proposed 
AD, we also replaced any reference to approvals of corrective actions 
with a reference to the Contacting the Manufacturer paragraph.
    The Contacting the Manufacturer paragraph also clarifies that, if 
approved by the DAO, the approval must include the DAO-authorized 
signature. The DAO signature indicates that the data and information 
contained in the document are TCCA-approved, which is also FAA-
approved. Messages and other information provided by the manufacturer 
that do not contain the DAO-authorized signature approval are not TCCA-
approved, unless TCCA directly approves the manufacturer's message or 
other information.
    This clarification does not remove flexibility previously afforded 
by the Airworthy Product paragraph. Consistent with long-standing FAA 
policy, such flexibility was never intended for required actions. This 
is also consistent with the recommendation of the Airworthiness 
Directive Implementation Aviation Rulemaking Committee to increase 
flexibility in complying with ADs by identifying those actions in 
manufacturers' service instructions that are ``Required for 
Compliance'' with ADs. We continue to work with manufacturers to 
implement this recommendation. But once we determine that an action is 
required, any deviation from the requirement must be approved as an 
alternative method of compliance.

Costs of Compliance

    We estimate that this proposed AD affects 22 airplanes of U.S. 
registry. We also estimate that it would take about 16 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 $0 per product. Based on these figures, we estimate the cost of 
this proposed AD on U.S. operators to be $29,920, or $1,360 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.

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 proposed 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.

[[Page 42710]]

    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 adding the following new airworthiness 
directive (AD):

Bombardier, Inc.: Docket No. FAA-2013-0548; Directorate Identifier 
2013-NM-008-AD.

(a) Comments Due Date

    We must receive comments by September 8, 2014.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to Bombardier, Inc. Model BD-700-1A11 airplanes, 
certificated in any category, modified by FAA Supplemental Type 
Certificate (STC) ST02140NY, issued October 14, 2005 (http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgstc.nsf/0/6B8CF26D01F5E6DE862570C7006DCD7E?OpenDocument&Highlight=st02140ny) 
and to airplanes, certificated in any category, modified by FAA STC 
ST02033NY, issued December 2, 2004 (http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgstc.nsf/0/99FF781E0BD20AD886256FA300558250?OpenDocument&Highlight=02033).

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 35, Oxygen.

(e) Reason

    This AD was prompted by a report that certain lanyards for the 
passenger oxygen masks are longer than the specified length, 
possibly leading to inactive oxygen masks in an emergency. We are 
issuing this AD to detect and correct lanyards of incorrect length, 
which might not activate the flow of oxygen in an emergency, 
resulting in injury to passengers.

(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) Replacement

    Within 750 flight hours or 15 months after the effective date of 
this AD, whichever occurs first: Replace lanyards having part 
numbers (PN) B431564-503 and -505 for all passenger oxygen 
dispensing units, with lanyards having PN B431564-507, in accordance 
with the Accomplishment Instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin 
700-1A11-35-009, Revision 02, dated May 28, 2013.

(h) Other FAA AD Provisions

    The following provisions also apply to this AD:
    (1) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs): The Manager, New 
York Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), ANE-170, 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 ACO, send it to ATTN: Program Manager, Continuing 
Operational Safety, FAA, New York ACO, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 
410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 516-228-7300; fax 516-794-5531. 
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) Contacting the Manufacturer: For any requirement in this AD 
to obtain corrective actions from a manufacturer, the action must be 
accomplished using a method approved by the Manager, New York ACO, 
ANE-170, Engine and Propeller Directorate, FAA; or Transport Canada 
Civil Aviation (TCCA); or Bombardier, Inc.'s TCCA Design Approval 
Organization (DAO). If approved by the DAO, the approval must 
include the DAO-authorized signature.

(i) Related Information

    (1) Refer to Mandatory Continuing Airworthiness Information 
(MCAI) Canadian Airworthiness Directive CF-2012-31, dated December 
7, 2012, for related information. This MCAI may be found in the AD 
docket on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov by searching 
for and locating it in Docket No. FAA-2013-0548.
    (2) For service information identified in this AD, contact 
Bombardier, Inc., 400 C[ocirc]te-Vertu Road West, Dorval, 
Qu[eacute]bec H4S 1Y9, Canada; telephone 514-855-5000; fax 514-855-
7401; email [email protected]; Internet http://www.bombardier.com. You may review this service information at the 
FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, 
WA. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, 
call 425-227-1221.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on July 15, 2014.
John P. Piccola,
Acting Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-17332 Filed 7-22-14; 8:45 am]
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