[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 193 (Friday, October 8, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56229-56232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21938]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2021-0871; Project Identifier MCAI-2020-01581-A]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Vulcanair S.p.A. 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 certain Vulcanair S.p.A. Models P.68C, P.68C-TC, P.68 ``OBSERVER,'' 
P.68 OBSERVER 2, P.68R, and P.68TC OBSERVER airplanes. This proposed 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 a damaged stabilator trim control cable. This 
proposed AD would require inspecting the stabilator trim control cables 
and replacing if necessary. This proposed AD would also require 
reporting the results of each inspection to Vulcanair S.p.A. 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 November 
22, 2021.

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 Vulcanair 
S.p.A., Fulvio Oloferni, via Giovanni Pascoli, 7, Naples, 80026, Italy; 
phone: +39 081 5918 135; email: [email protected]; website: 
www.vulcanair.com. You may view this service information at the FAA, 
Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 901 Locust, 
Kansas City, MO 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 at https://www.regulations.gov by 
searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2021-0871; 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, the MCAI, 
any comments received, and other information. The street address for 
Docket Operations is listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Johnson, Aviation Safety 
Engineer, FAA, General Aviation & Rotorcraft Section, International 
Validation Section, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, MO 64106-2641; 
phone: (720) 626-5462; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites you to send any written relevant data, views, or 
arguments about this proposal. Send your comments to an address listed 
under the ADDRESSES section. Include ``Docket No. FAA-2021-0871; 
Project Identifier MCAI-2020-01581-A'' at the beginning of your 
comments. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion of the 
proposal, explain the reason for any recommended change, and include 
supporting data. The FAA will consider all comments received by the 
closing date and may amend the proposal because of those 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, to 
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you 
provide. The agency will also post a report summarizing each 
substantive verbal contact received about this proposed AD.

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

[[Page 56230]]

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 Gregory Johnson, Aviation Safety 
Engineer, FAA, General Aviation & Rotorcraft Section, International 
Validation Section, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, MO 64106-2641. 
Any commentary that the FAA receives which is not specifically 
designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this 
rulemaking.

Background

    The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the 
Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Union, has issued 
EASA AD 2020-0262, dated November 30, 2020 (referred to after this as 
``the MCAI''), to address an unsafe condition on certain serial-
numbered Vulcanair S.p.A. Models P.68R, P.68C, P.68C-TC, P.68 
``OBSERVER,'' P.68 ``OBSERVER 2,'' and P.68TC ``OBSERVER'' airplanes. 
The MCAI states:

    Two occurrences have been reported of finding a damaged 
stabilator trim control cable connected to the stabilator trim 
actuator assembly, mounted on fuselage frame No.16. The related 
technical investigation concluded that the cause of the damage is a 
design issue.
    This condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead to 
failure of an affect [sic] part, preventing trim surface control 
(remaining in the last position), possibly resulting in reduced 
control of the aeroplane.
    To address this potential unsafe condition, and pending a design 
improvement, Vulcanair published the [service bulletin] SB, to 
provide inspection instructions for detecting damage.
    For the reasons described above, this [EASA] AD requires 
repetitive inspections of the affected parts, and, depending on 
findings, replacement.
    This [EASA] AD is considered to be an interim action and further 
[EASA] AD action may follow.

    You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2021-
0871.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    The FAA reviewed Vulcanair S.p.A. P.68 Variants Mandatory Service 
Bulletin No. 263, dated October 20, 2020. The service information 
contains procedures for repetitively inspecting each stabilator trim 
control cable part number 5.6067-1, 5.6161-1, 5.6171-1, 5.6231-2, or 
5.6231-4 for broken wires and replacing the cable if necessary. 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 this State of Design Authority, it 
has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI and 
service information referenced above. The FAA is issuing this NPRM 
after determining the unsafe condition described previously is likely 
to exist or develop on other products of the same type design.

Proposed AD Requirements

    This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified 
in the service information already described. This proposed AD would 
also require reporting inspection results to the manufacturer.

Interim Action

    The FAA considers this proposed AD an interim action. The 
inspection reports that would be required by this proposed AD will 
enable the manufacturer to obtain better insight into the nature, 
cause, and extent of the damage, and eventually to develop final action 
to address the unsafe condition. Once final action has been identified, 
the FAA might consider further rulemaking.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would 
affect 127 airplanes of U.S. registry.
    The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this proposed 
AD:

                                                 Estimated Costs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                 Cost on U.S.
              Action                    Labor cost        Parts cost      Cost per product        operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inspection.......................  0.50 work-hour x                 $0  $42.50 per           $5,397.50 per
                                    $85 per hour =                       inspection cycle.    inspection cycle.
                                    $42.50 per
                                    inspection cycle.
Report...........................  1 work-hour x $85                 0  $85 per inspection   $10,795 per
                                    per hour = $85 per                   cycle.               inspection cycle.
                                    reporting cycle.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FAA estimates the following costs to do any replacements that 
would be required based on the results of the proposed inspection. The 
FAA has no way of determining the number of airplanes that might need 
this replacement:

                                               On-Condition Costs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Cost per
                    Action                                 Labor cost               Parts cost        product
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Replacement...................................  2 work-hours x $85 per hour =               $340            $510
                                                 $170.
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Paperwork Reduction Act

    A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for 
failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of 
information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. The OMB 
Control Number for this information collection is 2120-0056. Public 
reporting for this collection of information is estimated to be 
approximately 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing 
instructions, searching existing data

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sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, completing and 
reviewing the collection of information. All responses to this 
collection of information are mandatory. Send comments regarding this 
burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, 
including suggestions for reducing this burden to: Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, Federal Aviation Administration, 10101 
Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177-1524.

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) Would not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, and
    (3) Would 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:

Vulcanair S.p.A.: Docket No. FAA-2021-0871; Project Identifier MCAI-
2020-01581-A.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) by November 22, 2021.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to Vulcanair S.p.A. (Vulcanair) Models P.68C, 
P.68C-TC, P.68 ``OBSERVER,'' P.68 OBSERVER 2, P.68R, and P.68TC 
OBSERVER airplanes, serial numbers 333, 337 to 339 inclusive, 378, 
379, and 383 and larger (except serial numbers 387 and 398), 
certificated in any category, with a stabilator trim control cable 
part number 5.6067-1, 5.6161-1, 5.6171-1, 5.6231-2, or 5.6231-4 
installed.

(d) Subject

    Joint Aircraft System Component (JASC) Code 2740, Stabilizer 
Control System.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by a damaged stabilator trim control cable 
connected to the stabilator trim actuator assembly, mounted on 
fuselage frame No. 16. The FAA is issuing this AD to detect and 
address failure of a stabilator trim control cable, which could 
prevent trim surface control thereby leaving the cable remaining in 
the last position. The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could 
result in reduced control of the airplane.

(f) Compliance

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

(g) Required Actions

    Before a stabilator trim control cable part number 5.6067-1, 
5.6161-1, 5.6171-1, 5.6231-2, or 5.6231-4 accumulates more than 400 
hours time-in-service (TIS) since first installation on an airplane 
or within 50 hours TIS after the effective date of this AD, 
whichever occurs later, and thereafter at intervals not to exceed 50 
hours TIS, visually inspect the stabilator trim control cable for 
broken wires and replace the stabilator trim control cable before 
further flight if there is broken wire in a strand in accordance 
with steps 1 through 22 of Part 2 Work Procedure in Vulcanair S.p.A. 
P.68 Variants Mandatory Service Bulletin No. 263, dated October 20, 
2020 (MSB 263).

(h) Reporting

    Within 14 days after the initial inspection required by 
paragraph (g) of this AD or within 14 days after the effective date 
of this AD, whichever occurs later, report the results of the 
initial inspection to Vulcanair at 
[email protected] or at the address in 
paragraph (k)(3) of this AD. Thereafter, report the inspection 
results within 14 days after each inspection. Each report must 
include the following information:
    (1) Owner/operator name, mailing address, phone number, and 
email address;
    (2) Airplane model, serial number, and registration number;
    (3) Airplane hours TIS at the time of the inspection;
    (4) Stabilator trim control cable hours TIS at the time of the 
inspection;
    (5) Date of the inspection;
    (6) Inspection result (positive or negative); and
    (7) A description of any non-conformity (damage).

(i) Special Flight Permit

    Special flight permits are prohibited.

(j) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    (1) 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. 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 certification office, send it to the 
attention of the person identified in paragraph (k)(1) of this AD or 
email [email protected].
    (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.

(k) Related Information

    (1) For more information about this AD, contact Gregory Johnson, 
Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, General Aviation & Rotorcraft 
Section, International Validation Section, 901 Locust, Room 301, 
Kansas City, MO 64106-2641; phone: (720) 626-5462; email: 
[email protected].
    (2) Refer to European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 
2020-0262, dated November 30, 2020, for more information. You may 
examine the EASA AD in the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov 
by searching for and locating it in Docket No. FAA-2021-0871.
    (3) For service information identified in this AD, contact 
Vulcanair S.p.A., Fulvio Oloferni, via Giovanni Pascoli, 7, Naples, 
80026, Italy; phone: +39 081 5918 135; email: 
[email protected]; website: www.vulcanair.com. You may 
view this referenced service information at the FAA, Airworthiness 
Products Section, Operational

[[Page 56232]]

Safety Branch, 901 Locust, Kansas City, MO 64106. For information on 
the availability of this material at the FAA, call (816) 329-4148.

    Issued on October 1, 2021.
Lance T. Gant,
Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-21938 Filed 10-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P