[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 139 (Thursday, July 21, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43456-43459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15555]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2022-0882; Project Identifier MCAI-2021-01370-T]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (Type 
Certificate Previously Held by C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership 
(CSALP); Bombardier, Inc.) 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 Airbus Canada Limited Partnership Model BD-500-1A10 and BD-
500-1A11 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report that 
corrosion and wear were discovered on the slat tracks due to 
insufficient grease applied to the slat tracks during production. This 
proposed AD would require repetitive cleaning and greasing of all slat 
tracks to prevent damage and corrosion; doing repetitive inspections of 
the slat tracks for any damage or corrosion, and the correct 
application of grease; and applicable corrective actions; as specified 
in a Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) AD, which is proposed for 
incorporation by reference. 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 September 
6, 2022.

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

[[Page 43457]]

p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    For material that will be incorporated by reference (IBR) in this 
AD, contact TCCA, Transport Canada National Aircraft Certification, 159 
Cleopatra Drive, Nepean, Ontario K1A 0N5, Canada; telephone 888-663-
3639; email [email protected]; internet https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation. 
You may view this material at the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, 
Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. For 
information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 206-
231-3195. It is also available in the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2022-
0882.

Examining the AD Docket

    You may examine the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov by 
searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2022-0882; 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 
mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI), any comments 
received, and other information. The street address for Docket 
Operations is listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chirayu Gupta, Aerospace Engineer, 
Mechanical Systems and Administrative Services Section, FAA, New York 
ACO Branch, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; 
telephone 516-228-7300; 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 ADDRESSES. Include ``Docket No. FAA-2022-0882; Project Identifier 
MCAI-2021-01370-T'' 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 
this 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 NPRM.

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 
Chirayu Gupta, Aerospace Engineer, Mechanical Systems and 
Administrative Services Section, FAA, New York ACO Branch, 1600 Stewart 
Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 516-228-7300; 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.

Background

    The TCCA, which is the aviation authority for Canada, has issued 
TCCA AD CF-2021-43, dated November 29, 2021 (TCCA AD CF-2021-43) (also 
referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition for certain 
Airbus Canada Limited Partnership Model BD-500-1A10 and BD-500-1A11 
airplanes.
    This proposed AD was prompted by a report that corrosion and wear 
were discovered on the slat tracks on a number of in-service airplanes 
due to insufficient grease applied to the slat tracks during 
production. The FAA is proposing this AD to address corrosion and wear 
on the slat tracks, which could lead to loss of one or more slat panels 
or loss of slat track guidance and consequently cause catastrophic 
structural damage to the wings or other parts of the airplane due to 
slat panels departing from the airplane. See the MCAI for additional 
background information.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    TCCA AD CF-2021-43 specifies procedures for repetitive cleaning and 
greasing of all slat tracks, including the slat track rollers, the slat 
pinion gear bearings, and the slat pinion gears to prevent damage 
(e.g., metal wear) and corrosion; doing repetitive general visual 
inspections of the slat tracks for any damage or corrosion, and the 
correct application of grease; and applicable corrective actions. 
Corrective actions include repairs, rework, measurements of the 
reworked area, and a magnetic particle inspection of the reworked area 
for any cracking. TCCA AD CF-2021-43 also specifies procedures for 
reporting the inspection findings.
    This material 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.

FAA's Determination

    These products have been approved by the aviation authority of 
another country and are approved for operation in the United States. 
Pursuant to the FAA's bilateral agreement with the State of Design 
Authority, it has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in 
the MCAI referenced above. The FAA is issuing this NPRM after 
determining that the unsafe condition described previously is likely to 
exist or develop in other products of these same type designs.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

    This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified 
in TCCA AD CF-2021-43 described previously, except for any differences 
identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this proposed AD. 
This proposed AD would also require a reporting requirement.

Explanation of Required Compliance Information

    In the FAA's ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency of the AD 
process, the FAA developed a process to use some civil aviation 
authority (CAA) ADs as the primary source of information for compliance 
with requirements for corresponding FAA ADs. The FAA has been 
coordinating this process with manufacturers and CAAs. As a result, the 
FAA proposes to incorporate TCCA AD CF-2021-43 by reference in the FAA 
final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with 
TCCA AD CF-2021-43 in its entirety through that incorporation, except 
for any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of 
this proposed AD. Service information required by TCCA AD CF-2021-43 
for compliance will be available at https://www.regulations.gov

[[Page 43458]]

by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2022-0882 after the FAA 
final rule is published.

Interim Action

    The FAA considers this proposed AD interim action. If final action 
is later identified, the FAA might consider further rulemaking then.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 61 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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             Labor cost                Parts cost           Cost per product           Cost on U.S. operators
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Up to 15 work-hours x $85 per hour               $0  Up to $1,275.................  Up to $77,775.
 = $1,275.
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* Table does not include estimated costs for reporting.

    The FAA estimates that it would take about 1 work-hour per product 
to comply with the proposed reporting requirement in this proposed AD. 
The average labor rate is $85 per hour. Based on these figures, the FAA 
estimates the cost of reporting the inspection results on U.S. 
operators to be $5,185, or $85 per product.
    The FAA estimates the following costs to do any necessary on-
condition actions that would be required based on the results of any 
required actions. The FAA has no way of determining the number of 
aircraft that might need these on-condition actions:

                 Estimated Costs of On-Condition Actions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Cost per
              Labor cost                   Parts cost        product
------------------------------------------------------------------------
8 work-hours x $85 per hour = $680....              $0             $680
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FAA has received no definitive data on which to base the cost 
estimates for the repair specified in this proposed AD.

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 current 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 take 
approximately 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing 
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and 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:

Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (Type Certificate Previously Held 
by C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership (CSALP); Bombardier, Inc.): 
Docket No. FAA-2022-0882; Project Identifier MCAI-2021-01370-T.

[[Page 43459]]

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) by September 6, 2022.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to Airbus Canada Limited Partnership Model BD-
500-1A10 and BD-500-1A11 airplanes, certificated in any category, as 
identified in Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) AD CF-2021-43, 
dated November 29, 2021 (TCCA AD CF-2021-43).

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 57, Wings.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by a report that corrosion and wear were 
discovered on the slat tracks due to insufficient grease applied to 
the slat tracks during production. The FAA is issuing this AD to 
address corrosion and wear on the slat tracks, which could lead to 
loss of one or more slat panels or loss of slat track guidance and 
consequently cause catastrophic structural damage to the wings or 
other parts of the airplane due to slat panels departing from the 
airplane.

(f) Compliance

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

(g) Requirements

    Except as specified in paragraph (h) of this AD: Comply with all 
required actions and compliance times specified in, and in 
accordance with, TCCA AD CF-2021-43.

(h) Exceptions to TCCA AD CF-2021-43

    (1) Where TCCA AD CF-2021-43 refers to its effective date, this 
AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
    (2) Where TCCA AD CF-2021-43 refers to hours air time, this AD 
requires using flight hours.
    (3) Where the vendor service information referenced in TCCA AD 
CF-2021-43 specifies to do a magnetic particle inspection or an eddy 
current inspection of the repaired area for any cracking, for this 
AD if any cracking is found, the cracking must be repaired before 
further flight using a method approved by the Manager, New York ACO 
Branch, FAA; or TCCA; or Airbus Canada Limited Partnership's TCCA 
Design Organization Approval (DOA). If approved by the DOA, the 
approval must include the DOA-authorized signature.
    (4) The ``applicable SB'' as defined in TCCA AD CF-2021-43 is 
not required by this AD.
    (5) Paragraph C. of TCCA AD CF-2021-43 specifies to report 
inspection results to Airbus Canada Limited Partnership within a 
certain compliance time. For this AD, report inspection results at 
the applicable time specified in paragraph (h)(5)(i) or (ii) of this 
AD.
    (i) If the inspection was done on or after the effective date of 
this AD: Submit the report within 30 days after the inspection.
    (ii) If the inspection was done before the effective date of 
this AD: Submit the report within 30 days after the effective date 
of this AD.

(i) Additional AD Provisions

    The following provisions also apply to this AD:
    (1) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs): The Manager, New 
York 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 responsible Flight Standards 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 (j)(2) of this AD. Information may be emailed to: ATTN: 
Program Manager, Continuing Operational Safety, FAA, New York ACO 
Branch, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; 
telephone 516-228-7300. Before using any approved AMOC, notify your 
appropriate principal inspector, or lacking a principal inspector, 
the manager of the responsible Flight Standards Office.
    (2) Contacting the Manufacturer: For any requirement in this AD 
to obtain instructions from a manufacturer, the instructions must be 
accomplished using a method approved by the Manager, New York ACO 
Branch, FAA; or TCCA; or Airbus Canada Limited Partnership's TCCA 
Design Approval Organization (DAO). If approved by the DAO, the 
approval must include the DAO-authorized signature.

(j) Related Information

    (1) For TCCA AD CF-2021-43, contact TCCA, Transport Canada 
National Aircraft Certification, 159 Cleopatra Drive, Nepean, 
Ontario K1A 0N5, Canada; telephone 888-663-3639; email [email protected]; internet https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation. You may view 
this material at the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, 
Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. For 
information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 
206-231-3195. This material may be found in the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-
2022-0882.
    (2) For more information about this AD, contact Chirayu Gupta, 
Aerospace Engineer, Mechanical Systems and Administrative Services 
Section, FAA, New York ACO Branch, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, 
Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 516-228-7300; email [email protected].

    Issued on July 15, 2022.
Christina Underwood,
Acting Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-15555 Filed 7-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P