[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 8 (Thursday, January 11, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1311-1313]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00178]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 8 / Thursday, January 11, 2018 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 1311]]



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2018-0003; Directorate Identifier 2017-CE-033-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; American Champion Aircraft Corp.

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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

SUMMARY: We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2017-07-
10, which applies to certain American Champion Aircraft Corp. (ACAC) 
Model 8KCAB airplanes. AD 2017-07-10 requires fabrication and 
installation of a placard to prohibit aerobatic flight, inspection of 
the aileron hinge rib and support, and a reporting requirement of the 
inspection results to the FAA. This AD was prompted by a report of a 
cracked hinge support and cracked hinge ribs, which resulted in partial 
loss of control with the aileron binding against the cove. Since we 
issued AD 2017-07-10, ACAC redesigned the aileron hinge supports with a 
reinforcement kit to strengthen the supports and prevent future damage 
from developing. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections 
of the aileron hinge support, installation of the aileron hinge support 
reinforcement kit, and incorporation of revised pages into the service 
manual. We are proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on 
these products.

DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by February 26, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, using the procedures found in 14 CFR 
11.43 and 11.45, 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: Deliver to Mail address above between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    For service information identified in this NPRM, contact American 
Champion Aircraft Corp., P.O. Box 37, 32032 Washington Ave., Rochester, 
Wisconsin 53167; telephone: (262) 534-6315; fax: (262) 534-2395; email: 
[email protected]; internet: http://www.americanchampionaircraft.com/service-letters.html. You may review 
copies of the referenced service information at the FAA, Policy and 
Innovation Division, 901 Locust, Kansas City, 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 Docket No. FAA-2018-
0003; or in person at the Docket Operations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD docket contains 
this NPRM, the regulatory evaluation, any comments received, and other 
information. The street address for the Docket Operations (phone: 800-
647-5527) is in the ADDRESSES section. Comments will be available in 
the AD docket shortly after receipt.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wess Rouse, Small Airplane Program 
Manager, 2300 East Devon Avenue, Room 107, Des Plaines, Illinois 60018; 
telephone: (847) 294-8113; fax: (847) 294-7834; 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-2018-0003; 
Directorate Identifier 2017-CE-033-AD'' at the beginning of your 
comments. We specifically invite comments on the overall regulatory, 
economic, environmental, and energy aspects of this NPRM. We will 
consider all comments received by the closing date and may amend this 
NPRM 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

    We issued AD 2017-07-10, Amendment 39-18849 (82 FR 17542, April 12, 
2017), (``AD 2017-07-10''), for certain American Champion Aircraft 
Corp. (ACAC) Model 8KCAB airplanes. AD 2017-07-10 requires fabrication 
and installation of a placard to prohibit aerobatic flight, inspection 
of the aileron hinge rib and support, and a reporting requirement of 
the inspection results to the FAA. AD 2017-07-10 resulted from a report 
of a cracked hinge support and cracked hinge ribs, which resulted in 
partial loss of control with the aileron binding against the cove. We 
issued AD 2017-07-10 to prevent failure of the aileron support 
structure, which may lead to excessive deflection, binding of the 
control surface, and potential loss of control.

Actions Since AD 2017-07-10 Was Issued

    Since we issued AD 2017-10, ACAC redesigned the aileron hinge 
supports with a reinforcement kit. This kit, when incorporated, 
strengthens the supports and prevents future damage from developing.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    We reviewed American Champion Aircraft Corp. Service Letter (SL) 
442, Revision A, dated August 18, 2017 (ACAC SL No. 442); American 
Champion Aircraft Corp. Service Letter 444 Initial Revision, dated 
August 18, 2017 (ACAC SL No. 444); and page 4-1 of the Airworthiness 
Limitations section and page 5-9 of the Time and Maintenance Checks, 
both dated October 3, 2017, and included in American Champion Aircraft 
Corporation SM-601 8KCAB Service Manual, Reissue B, dated October 3, 
2017. ACAC SL No. 442 describes procedures and inspection intervals for 
inspection of the aileron hinge rib and hinge support. ACAC SL No. 444 
provides instructions for the installation of the aileron hinge 
reinforcement kit.

[[Page 1312]]

Page 4-1 and page 5-9 are revised pages that add a repetitive 
inspection to the 8KCAB Service Manual, SM-601, Reissue B, dated 
October 3, 2017. This service information is reasonably available 
because the interested parties have access to it through their normal 
course of business or by the means identified in the ADDRESSES section.

FAA's Determination

    We are proposing this AD because we evaluated all the relevant 
information and determined the unsafe condition described previously is 
likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design.

Proposed AD Requirements

    This proposed AD would retain the placarding requirement of AD 
2017-07-10 to prohibit aerobatic flight until completion of the initial 
10-hour inspection. This proposed AD would also require repetitive 100-
hour inspections until a maximum of 400 hours is reached, installation 
of the aileron hinge reinforcement kit, and incorporation of pages into 
the Airworthiness Limitations and Time and Maintenance Checks sections 
of the service manual. The existing AD contained a reporting 
requirement for the inspection results. This proposed NPRM will not 
include a reporting requirement.
    Provided no damage is found during the inspections, an airplane 
could have up to five inspections before incorporating the 
reinforcement kit (initially at 10 hours TIS with the retained 
inspection from AD 2017-07-10, and then four 100-hour inspections up to 
a maximum of 400 hours TIS).

Differences Between This Proposed AD and the Service Information

    ACAC SL No. 442 and ACAC SL No. 444 both require installation of 
the aileron hinge support reinforcement kit within 100 hours TIS for 
airplanes used for competitive aerobatics. Since the FAA has no way of 
tracking airplanes used for competitive aerobatics, we require 
installation of the reinforcement kit within 400 hours TIS. ACAC SL No. 
444 requires 100-hour repetitive inspections after installation of the 
reinforcement kit. This proposed AD does not write those actions into 
the AD requirements; however, the revised pages of the Airworthiness 
Limitations section in the service manual include that inspection 
requirement. Both ACAC SL No. 442 and ACAC SL No. 444 have reporting 
requirements, but this AD does not include a reporting requirement. The 
actions of this AD take precedence over the service information.

Costs of Compliance

    We estimate that this proposed AD affects 64 airplanes of U.S. 
registry.
    We estimate the following costs to comply with this proposed AD:

                                                 Estimated Costs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Cost per      Cost on U.S.
                Action                         Labor cost           Parts cost        product        operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fabrication of placard, inspection of   2 work-hours x $85 per              $100         $270.00         $17,280
 aileron hinge rib and support.          hour = $170.00.
Repetitive 100-hour TIS inspections...  1.5 work-hours x $85 per             N/A          127.50           8,160
                                         hour = $127.50.
Installation of aileron hinge support   50 work-hours x $85 per            2,200           6,450         412,800
 reinforcement kit.                      hour = $4,250.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.
    This AD is issued in accordance with authority delegated by the 
Executive Director, Aircraft Certification Service, as authorized by 
FAA Order 8000.51C. In accordance with that order, issuance of ADs is 
normally a function of the Compliance and Airworthiness Division, but 
during this transition period, the Executive Director has delegated the 
authority to issue ADs applicable to small airplanes, gliders, domestic 
business jet transport airplanes, and associated appliances to the 
Director of the Policy and Innovation Division.

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),
    (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 Airworthiness Directive (AD) 
2017-07-10, Amendment 39-18849 (82 FR 17542, April 12, 2017), and 
adding the following new AD:


[[Page 1313]]


American Champion Aircraft Corp.: Docket No. FAA-2018-0003; Product 
Identifier 2017-CE-033-AD.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this AD action by February 26, 
2018.

(b) Affected ADs

    This AD replaces AD 2017-07-10, Amendment 39-18849 (82 FR 17542, 
April 12, 2017) (``AD 2017-07-10'').

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to any American Champion Aircraft Corp. Model 
8KCAB airplane, certificated in any category, that either has:
    (i) A serial number in the range of 1116-2012 through 1120-2012 
or 1122-2012 through 1170-2017; or
    (ii) is equipped with part number 4-2142 exposed balance 
ailerons.

(d) Subject

    Joint Aircraft System Component (JASC)/Air Transport Association 
(ATA) of America Code 57, Wings.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    AD 2017-07-10 was prompted by a report of a cracked hinge 
support and cracked hinge ribs, which resulted in partial loss of 
control with the aileron binding against the cove. This AD 
incorporates a newly designed aileron hinge support reinforcement 
kit. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the aileron 
support structure, which may lead to excessive deflection, binding 
of the control surface, and potential loss of control.

(f) Compliance

    Comply with this AD within the compliance times specified, 
unless already done.

(g) Restrict Airplane Operation

    (1) As of April 12, 2017 (the effective date retained from AD 
2017-07-10), the airplane is restricted to non-aerobatic flight 
until the actions required in paragraphs (g)(2) through (3) of this 
AD are done.
    (2) Before further flight after April 12, 2017 (the effective 
date retained from AD 2017-07-10), fabricate a placard using at 
least \1/8\ inch letters with the words ``AEROBATIC FLIGHT 
PROHIBITED'' on it and install the placard on the instrument panel 
within the pilot's clear view.
    (3) This action may be performed by the owner/operator (pilot) 
holding at least a private pilot certificate and must be entered 
into the aircraft records showing compliance with this AD in 
accordance with 14 CFR 43.9 (a)(1)-(4) and 14 CFR 91.417(a)(2)(v). 
The record must be maintained as required by 14 CFR 91.417, 121.380, 
or 135.439.

(h) Inspection and Reinforcement

    (1) Within the next 10 hours time-in-service (TIS) after April 
12, 2017 (the effective date retained from AD 2017-07-10), inspect 
the aileron hinge rib and support for cracks or other damage 
following American Champion Aircraft Corporation Service Letter (SL) 
442, dated February 16, 2017, or American Champion Aircraft Corp. 
Service Letter (SL) 442, Revision A, dated August 18, 2017 (ACAC SL 
No. 442).
    (2) If no cracks or other damage is found during the initial 
inspection required in paragraph (h)(1) of this AD, the placard 
prohibiting aerobatic flight required in paragraph (g)(2) of this AD 
can be removed.
    (3) Within 100 hours TIS from the initial inspection required in 
paragraph (h)(1) of this AD or within 10 hours TIS after the 
effective date of this AD, whichever occurs later, and repetitively 
thereafter at intervals not the exceed 100 hours TIS, inspect the 
aileron hinge rib and support for cracks or other damage following 
ACAC SL No. 442.
    (4) If cracks or other damage is found during any inspection 
required in paragraph (h)(1) or (3) of this AD, before further 
flight, replace any retained parts or structure that are cracked or 
damaged, and install the aileron hinge reinforcement kit following 
American Champion Aircraft Corp. Service Letter 444, dated August 
18, 2017 (ACAC SL No. 444).
    (5) Within 400 hours after the initial inspection required in 
paragraph (h)(1) of this AD, if not already done as required in 
paragraph (h)(4) of this AD, install the aileron hinge reinforcement 
kit following the procedures in ACAC SL No. 444.
    (6) After installation of the aileron hinge reinforcement kit 
required in paragraph (h)(4) or (5) of this AD, as applicable, 
insert page 4-1 of the Airworthiness Limitations section and page 5-
9 of the Time and Maintenance Checks section, both dated October 3, 
2017, from the American Champion Aircraft Corporation SM-601 8KCAB 
Service Manual, Reissue B, dated October 3, 2017, into the 
maintenance program (service manual).
    (7) Installing the aileron hinge reinforcement kit as required 
in paragraph (h)(4) or (h)(5) of this AD and the insertion of page 
4-1 of the Airworthiness Limitations section and page 5-9 of the 
Time and Maintenance Checks section, both dated October 3, 2017, of 
the American Champion Aircraft Corporation SM-601 8KCAB Service 
Manual, Reissue B, dated October 3, 2017, into the maintenance 
program (service manual), as required in paragraph (h)(6) of this AD 
is terminating action to this AD. The revised Airworthiness 
Limitations section includes a 100-hour/annual inspection 
requirement for the aileron hinge supports.

(i) Reporting Requirement

    Although ACAC SL No. 442 and ACAC SL No. 444 specify submitting 
certain information to the manufacturer, this AD does not require 
that action.

(j) Special Flight Permit

    No aerobatic flight permitted with a special flight permit.

(k) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    (1) The Manager, Chicago ACO Branch, 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 
manager of the ACO, send it to the attention of the person 
identified in paragraph (l) of this AD.
    (2) 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.

(l) Related Information

    (1) For more information about this AD, contact Wess Rouse, 
Small Airplane Program Manager, 2300 East Devon Avenue, Room 107, 
Des Plaines, Illinois 60018; telephone: (847) 294-8113; fax: (847) 
294-7834; email: [email protected].
    (2) For service information identified in this AD, contact 
American Champion Aircraft Corp., P.O. Box 37, 32032 Washington 
Ave., Rochester, Wisconsin 53167; telephone: (262) 534-6315; fax: 
(262) 534-2395; email: [email protected]; internet: http://www.americanchampionaircraft.com/service-letters.html. You may view 
this referenced service information at the FAA, Policy and 
Innovation Division, 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 3, 2018.
Melvin J. Johnson,
Deputy Director, Policy & Innovation Division, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-00178 Filed 1-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P