[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 206 (Friday, October 23, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67465-67467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23301]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2020-0917; Project Identifier MCAI-2020-00606-A]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) 
for all Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. (Pilatus) Model PC-24 airplanes. This 
proposed AD was prompted by a report that electronic circuit breakers 
(ECBs) were found in a locked state after maintenance, but before 
flight. This proposed AD would require revising the airplane flight 
manual to incorporate a procedure to check for the ECB status. The FAA 
is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: The FAA must receive comments on this proposed AD by December 7, 
2020.

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 https://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 PILATUS 
Aircraft Ltd., Customer Technical Support (MCC), P.O. Box 992, CH-6371 
Stans, Switzerland; phone +41 (0)41 619 67 74; fax: +41 (0)41 619 67 
73; email: aircraft.com">techsupport@pilatus-aircraft.com; internet: https://
www.pilatus-aircraft.com. You may view this service information at the 
FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 901 
Locust Street, Kansas City, Missouri. 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 https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-
0917; or in person at Docket Operations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD docket contains 
this NPRM, any comments received, and other information. The street 
address for Docket Operations is listed above. Comments will be 
available in the AD docket shortly after receipt.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, 
General Aviation & Rotorcraft Section, International Validation Branch, 
901 Locust Street, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; telephone: 
(816) 329-4059; fax: (816) 329-4090; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting 
written comments, data, or views about this proposal. 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. Send your 
comments to an address listed under the ADDRESSES section. Include 
``Docket No. FAA-2020-0917; Project Identifier MCAI-2020-00606-A'' at 
the beginning of your comments.
    Except for Confidential Business Information (CBI) as described in 
the following paragraph, and other information as described in 14 CFR 
11.35, the FAA will post all comments received, without change, as well 
as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA 
personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this 
proposal, the FAA will consider all comments received by the closing 
date for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed after the 
comment period has closed if it is possible to do so without incurring 
expense or delay. The FAA may change this NPRM because of those 
comments.

Confidential Business Information

    CBI is commercial or financial information that is both customarily 
and actually treated as private by its owner. Under the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public 
disclosure. If your comments responsive to this NPRM contain commercial 
or financial information that is customarily treated as private, that 
you actually treat as private, and that is relevant or responsive to 
this NPRM, it is important that you clearly designate the submitted 
comments as CBI. Please mark each page of your submission containing 
CBI as ``PROPIN.'' The FAA will treat such marked submissions as 
confidential under the FOIA, and they will not be placed in the public 
docket of this NPRM. Submissions containing CBI should be sent to Doug 
Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, General Aviation & Rotorcraft 
Section, International Validation Branch, 901 Locust Street, Room 301, 
Kansas City, Missouri 64106; telephone: (816) 329-4059; fax: (816) 329-
4090; email: [email protected]. Any commentary that the FAA receives 
which is not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the 
public docket for this rulemaking.

[[Page 67466]]

Discussion

    The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the 
Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Union, has issued 
EASA AD No. 2020-0096, dated April 29, 2020 (referred to after this as 
the mandatory continuing airworthiness information, or ``the MCAI''), 
to correct an unsafe condition for all Pilatus Model PC-24 airplanes. 
The MCAI states an occurrence was reported where some ECBs were found 
in a locked state after maintenance, but before flight. This situation 
caused the airplane to have a loss of equipment power before take-off 
and the pilot had no indication of this situation. This was caused by 
maintenance personnel turning off some or all of the ECBs through the 
cockpit multi-function display (MFD) prior to performing maintenance 
and then incorrectly or improperly resetting the ECBs when the 
maintenance is complete. Currently, there is no procedure in the 
airplane flight manual (AFM) to check whether the ECBs have been 
correctly set other than a step in the AFM ``Before Engine Start'' 
section that checks whether any ECBs are ``FAILED'' or ``TRIPPED.'' 
Pilatus has issued a temporary revision to the AFM to replace the 
``Before Engine Start'' step to check for ECBs that are ``FAILED, 
TRIPPED or LOCKED.'' This added procedure will help ensure that there 
is indication to the pilot of the status of equipment power supply 
before take-off.
    According to the MCAI, this condition, if not corrected, could lead 
to a loss of power supply to equipment, without indication to the 
flightcrew before take-off. To address this condition, the MCAI 
requires amending the AFM to include a temporary revision issued by 
Pilatus to provide operators with the necessary preflight check 
instructions.
    You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket on the internet at 
https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. 
FAA-2020-0917.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    Pilatus has issued PC-24 (Pilatus) Temporary Revision No. 02371-
016, dated November 1, 2019, to the PC-24 AFM. This service information 
contains a step to be added to the pilot preflight procedures to check 
the ECB status. 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

    This product has been approved by the aviation authority of another 
country, and is approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant 
to the FAA's bilateral agreement with the State of Design Authority, 
the FAA has been notified of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI 
and service information referenced above. The FAA is proposing this AD 
because the FAA evaluated all the relevant information and determined 
the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop 
on other products of the same type design.

Proposed Requirements of This NPRM

    This proposed AD would require revising the airplane flight manual 
to incorporate a pilot preflight procedure to check the ECB status.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 30 airplanes 
of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with 
this proposed AD:

                                      Estimated Costs for Required Actions
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                                                                                    Cost per       Cost on U.S.
                          Labor cost                              Parts cost        product         operators
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1 work-hour x $85 per hour = $85.............................              $0              $85           $2,550
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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.
    The FAA is 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

    The FAA 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 this proposed 
regulation:
    (1) Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive 
Order 12866,
    (2) Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, and
    (3) 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:

Pilatus Aircraft Ltd.: Docket No. FAA-2020-0917; Project Identifier 
MCAI-2020-00606-A.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments by December 7, 2020.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

[[Page 67467]]

(c) Applicability

    This airworthiness directive (AD) applies to Pilatus Aircraft 
Ltd. Model PC-24 airplanes, all serial numbers, certificated in any 
category.

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 24, Electrical 
Power.

(e) Reason

    This AD was prompted by a report that electronic circuit 
breakers (ECBs) were found in a locked state after maintenance, but 
before flight. ECBs were turned off prior to maintenance and then 
not reset properly after maintenance was complete. The FAA is 
issuing this AD to prevent improperly set ECBs, which if not 
detected, could lead to loss of power supply to equipment without 
indication to the flightcrew before take-off.

(f) Compliance

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

(g) Revision of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM)

    Within 30 days after the effective date of this AD, revise 
Section 4 of the existing AFM for your airplane by replacing the 
information as specified in PC-24 (Pilatus) Temporary Revision No. 
02371-016, dated November 1, 2019, to the Pilatus PC-24 AFM.

(h) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    The Manager, International Validation Branch, FAA, has the 
authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested using the 
procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. Send information to: Doug Rudolph, 
Aerospace Engineer, FAA, General Aviation & Rotorcraft Section, 
International Validation Branch, 901 Locust Street, Room 301, Kansas 
City, Missouri 64106; telephone: (816) 329-4059; fax: (816) 329-
4090; email: [email protected]. In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, 
send your request to your principal inspector or local Flight 
Standards District Office, as appropriate. 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.

(i) Related Information

    (1) Refer to Mandatory Continuing Airworthiness Information 
(MCAI) European Union Aviation Safety Agency AD No. 2020-0096, dated 
April 29, 2020, for related information. This MCAI may be found in 
the AD docket on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov by 
searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-0917.
    (2) For more information about this AD, contact Doug Rudolph, 
Aerospace Engineer, FAA, General Aviation & Rotorcraft Section, 
International Validation Branch, 901 Locust Street, Room 301, Kansas 
City, Missouri 64106; telephone: (816) 329-4059; fax: (816) 329-
4090; email: [email protected].
    (3) For service information identified in this AD, contact 
PILATUS Aircraft Ltd., Customer Technical Support (MCC), P.O. Box 
992, CH-6371 Stans, Switzerland; phone +41 (0)41 619 67 74; fax: +41 
(0)41 619 67 73; email: aircraft.com">techsupport@pilatus-aircraft.com; internet: 
https://www.pilatus-aircraft.com. You may view this service 
information at the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, Operational 
Safety Branch, 901 Locust Street, Kansas City, Missouri. For 
information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 
(816) 329-4148.

    Issued on October 13, 2020.
Lance T. Gant,
Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-23301 Filed 10-22-20; 8:45 am]
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