[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 189 (Tuesday, September 29, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61082-61083]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21523]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

[Docket No. FAA-2020-0263]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Requests for Comments; 
Clearance of Renewed Collection Approval of Information Collection: 
Safe Disposition of Life Limited Aircraft Parts

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA 
invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew this information 
collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period 
soliciting comments on the following collection of information was 
published on March 13, 2020. The collection involves maintaining and 
recording ``the current status of life-limited parts of each airframe, 
engine, propeller, rotor, and appliance. The information to be 
collected is necessary for maintaining and recording that the part is 
airworthy.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by October 29, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David A. Hoyng by email at: 
[email protected] or [email protected]; phone: 
(325) 260-8658 or (202) 267-1675.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for FAA's performance; (b) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for FAA to enhance the 
quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (d) 
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of 
the collected information.
    OMB Control Number: 2120-0665.
    Title: Safe Disposition of Life Limited Aircraft Parts.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Type of Review: Renewal of an information collection.
    Background: The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment 
period soliciting comments on the following collection of information 
was published on March 13, 2020 (FAA-2020-0263, Federal Register Volume 
85, Number 50 [Pages 14721-14722], Online via [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 
2020-05179]).
    The FAA has found life-limited parts that exceeded their life-
limits installed on type-certificated products during accident 
investigations and in routine surveillance. Although such installation 
of life-limited parts violates existing FAA regulations, concerns have 
arisen regarding the disposition of these life-limited parts when they 
have reached their life limits. Concerns over the use of life-limited 
aircraft parts led Congress to pass a law requiring the safe 
disposition of these parts. The Wendell H. Ford Investment and Reform 
Act for the 21st Century (Pub. L. 106-181), added section 44725 to 
Title 49, United States Code.

Current Requirements

    The type design of an aircraft, aircraft engine, or propeller 
includes the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA), which 
includes the Airworthiness Limitations that describe life limits for 
parts installed on the product. See, for instance, 14 CFR 21.3(c) and 
21.50. In order for an aviation product to comply with its type design, 
the life-limited parts installed on it must fall within the acceptable 
ranges described in the Airworthiness Limitations section of the 
Instructions for Continued Airworthiness. For this reason, installation 
of a life-limited part after the mandatory replacement time has been 
reached would be a violation of the maintenance regulations. Section 
43.13(b) requires that maintenance work be completed so that the 
product worked on ``will be at least equal to its original or properly 
altered condition. * * *'' The product is not at least equal to its 
original or properly altered condition if a life-limited part has 
reached or exceeded its life limit. Existing regulations require that 
specific markings be placed on all life-limited parts at the time of 
manufacture. This includes permanently marking the part with a part 
number (or equivalent) and a serial number (or equivalent). See 14 CFR 
45.14. Persons who install parts must have adequate information to 
determine a part's current life status. In particular, documentation 
problems may mislead an installer concerning the life remaining for a 
life-limited part. This rule further provides for the data needs of 
subsequent installers to ensure they know the life remaining on a part 
and prevent the part being used beyond its life limit. Existing 
regulations provide for records on life-limited parts that are 
installed on aircraft. The regulations require that each owner or 
operator under Sec.  91.417(a)(2)(ii) and each certificate holder under 
Sec.  121.380(a)(2)(iii) or Sec.  135.439(a)(2)(ii), maintain records 
showing ``the current status of life-limited parts of each airframe, 
engine, propeller, rotor, and appliance.'' These regulations do not

[[Page 61083]]

govern the disposition of the part when it is removed from the 
aircraft. If the part is intended to be reinstalled, however, a record 
of the life status of the part will be needed at the time of 
reinstallation to show that the part is within its life limit and to 
create the required record under Sec. Sec.  91.417(a)(2)(ii), 
121.380(a)(2)(iii), or 135.439(a)(2)(ii), as applicable. Therefore, 
when a life-limited part is removed from an aircraft and that part is 
intended to be reinstalled in an aircraft, industry practice is to make 
a record of the part's current status at the time of removal. Repair 
stations, air carriers, and fixed base operators (FBO's) have systems 
in place to keep accurate records of such parts to ensure that they can 
reinstall the parts and have the required records to show that the part 
is airworthy. If the part is not intended to be reinstalled, however, 
under existing regulations and practice there is no record required or 
routinely made when a part is removed from an aircraft. The part may be 
at the end of its life limit and not eligible for installation. Or, the 
part may not have reached the end of its life limit, but is so close 
that reinstallation would not be practicable. In these cases industry 
practices vary. For instance, the part might be put in a bin and later 
sold as scrap metal, it might be used as a training aid, or it might be 
mutilated. This renewal of the OMB control action requires the 
continued information collection.
    Respondents: Industry associations, air carriers, manufacturers, 
repair stations, representatives of employees, a foreign civil air 
authority, and individuals estimated to 8,000.
    Frequency: As identified in previous rulemaking proposals for an 
annual frequency of information collection requirements is 100,000 
procedures.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 30 minutes per procedure.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: As identified in previous rule 
making estimates for this information collection the FAA refined its 
estimate of annual burden, and has determined that there is no more 
than a minimal paperwork burden on any respondent for the record 
keeping and reporting requirements of 30 minutes duration, at $54 per 
hour per procedure.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 24, 2020.
David Hoyng,
Aviation Safety Inspector--LLP SME, Air Carrier Branch/Aircraft 
Maintenance Division/Office of Safety Standards.
[FR Doc. 2020-21523 Filed 9-28-20; 8:45 am]
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