[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 203 (Friday, October 21, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 63968-63970]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22201]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 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.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 203 / Friday, October 21, 2022 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 63968]]



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2022-1300; Project Identifier MCAI-2022-00663-T]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) 
for certain Airbus SAS Model A321-251NX, A321-252NX, A321-253NX, A321-
271NX and A321-272NX airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by an 
emergency exit slide deployment test on an Airbus Cabin Flex (ACF) 
overwing emergency exit, the emergency exit slide did not deploy due to 
disconnected slide release cable junction. This proposed AD would 
require a one-time detailed inspection of the installation of the ACF 
overwing emergency exit slide release mechanism for discrepancies, and 
applicable corrective actions, as specified in a European Union 
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) 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 December 5, 
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 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    For material that will be incorporated by reference (IBR) in this 
AD, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; 
telephone +49 221 8999 000; email [email protected]; internet 
www.easa.europa.eu. You may find this material on the EASA website at 
https://ad.easa.europa.eu. 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-2022-1300.

Examining the AD Docket

    You may examine the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov by 
searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2022-1300; 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: Vladimir Ulyanov, Aerospace Engineer, 
Large Aircraft Section, FAA, International Validation Branch, 2200 
South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; telephone 206-231-3229; 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-2022-1300; Project Identifier 
MCAI-2022-00663-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 
Vladimir Ulyanov, Aerospace Engineer, Large Aircraft Section, FAA, 
International Validation Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 
98198; telephone 206-231-3229; 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

    EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the 
European Union, has issued EASA AD 2022-0090, dated May 18, 2022 (also 
referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition for certain 
Airbus SAS Model A321-251NX, A321-252NX, A321-253NX, A321-271NX and 
A321-272NX airplanes.
    This proposed AD was prompted by an emergency exit slide deployment 
test on an Airbus SAS Model A321neo Cabin Flex (ACF) overwing emergency 
exit, where the emergency exit slide did not deploy. The investigation 
identified that the slide release mechanism cable

[[Page 63969]]

junction was disconnected inside the surrounding collets and knurled 
sleeve nut. The mushroom head connector was not inserted into the T-
slot cable joint. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the 
disconnected slide release cable junction, which could prevent 
emergency slide deployment, possibly resulting in injury to occupants 
during an emergency evacuation. See the MCAI for additional background 
information.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    EASA AD 2022-0090 specifies procedures for a one-time detailed 
inspection of the installation of the ACF overwing emergency exit slide 
release mechanism on both left hand (LH) and right hand (RH) sides of 
the fuselage for discrepancies (i.e., a disconnected slide release 
cable inside the sleeve nuts and collets (mushroom head not inserted in 
T-slot joint) and missing lockwire around the knurled sleeve nut), and 
applicable corrective actions. The corrective actions include 
connecting the slide release cable and installing lockwire on the 
knurled sleeve nut.
    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 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, 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 the same type design.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

    This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified 
in EASA AD 2022-0090 described previously, except for any differences 
identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this proposed AD.

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 EASA AD 2022-0090 by reference in the FAA 
final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with 
EASA AD 2022-0090 in its entirety through that incorporation, except 
for any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of 
this proposed AD. Using common terms that are the same as the heading 
of a particular section in EASA AD 2022-0090 does not mean that 
operators need comply only with that section. For example, where the AD 
requirement refers to ``all required actions and compliance times,'' 
compliance with this AD requirement is not limited to the section 
titled ``Required Action(s) and Compliance Time(s)'' in EASA AD 2022-
0090. Service information required by EASA AD 2022-0090 for compliance 
will be available at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and 
locating Docket No. FAA-2022-1300 after the FAA final rule is 
published.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 65 airplanes 
of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with 
this proposed AD:

                                      Estimated Costs for Required Actions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Cost per       Cost on U.S.
                          Labor cost                              Parts cost        product         operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14 work-hours x $85 per hour = $1,190........................            * $0           $1,190          $77,350
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The FAA has received no definitive data on which to base the cost estimates for the parts specified in this
  proposed AD.

    The FAA estimates the following costs to do any necessary on-
condition actions that would be required based on the results of any 
optional 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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 work-hours x $85 per hour = $1,020.      Negligible           $1,020
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

[[Page 63970]]

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 SAS: Docket No. FAA-2022-1300; Project Identifier MCAI-2022-
00663-T.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) by December 5, 2022.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to Airbus SAS Model A321-251NX, A321-252NX, 
A321-253NX, A321-271NX and A321-272NX airplanes, certificated in any 
category, as identified in European Union Aviation Safety Agency 
(EASA) AD 2022-0090, dated May 18, 2022 (EASA AD 2022-0090).

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 52, Doors.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by an emergency exit slide deployment test 
on an Airbus Cabin Flex (ACF) overwing emergency exit, where the 
emergency exit slide did not deploy due to a disconnected slide 
release cable junction. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the 
disconnected slide release cable junction, which could prevent 
emergency slide deployment, possibly resulting in injury to 
occupants during an emergency evacuation. See the mandatory 
continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) for additional 
background information.

(f) Compliance

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

(g) Requirements

    Except as specified in paragraphs (h) and (i) of this AD: Comply 
with all required actions and compliance times specified in, and in 
accordance with, EASA AD 2022-0090.

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2022-0090

    (1) Where EASA AD 2022-0090 refers to its effective date, this 
AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
    (2) The ``Remarks'' section of EASA AD 2022-0090 does not apply 
to this AD.
    (3) Where paragraph (2) of EASA AD 2022-0090 specifies 
compliance times for corrective actions, for this AD, perform those 
corrective actions at the applicable times specified in paragraph 
(h)(3)(i), (ii), and (iii) of this AD.
    (i) If missing lockwire around the knurled sleeve nut is found 
and the slide release cable inside the sleeve nuts and collets is 
connected (mushroom head inserted in T-slot joint): Install lockwire 
within 4 months after the effective date of this AD.
    (ii) If a disconnected slide release cable inside the sleeve 
nuts and collets (mushroom head not inserted in T-slot joint) is 
found and lockwire around the knurled sleeve nut is not missing: 
Connect slide release cable before further flight.
    (iii) If a disconnected slide release cable inside the sleeve 
nuts and collets (mushroom head not inserted in T-slot joint) is 
found and the lockwire around the knurled sleeve nut is missing: 
Connect slide release cable and install lockwire before further 
flight.

(i) No Reporting Requirement

    Although the service information referenced in EASA AD 2022-0090 
specifies to submit certain information to the manufacturer, this AD 
does not include that requirement.

(j) Additional AD Provisions

    The following provisions also apply to this AD:
    (1) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs): The Manager, 
Large Aircraft Section, 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 responsible Flight 
Standards Office, as appropriate. If sending information directly to 
the Large Aircraft Section, International Validation Branch, send it 
to the attention of the person identified in paragraph (k)(2) of 
this AD. Information may be emailed to: [email protected]. 
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, Large Aircraft 
Section, International Validation Branch, FAA; or EASA; or Airbus 
SAS's EASA Design Organization Approval (DOA). If approved by the 
DOA, the approval must include the DOA-authorized signature.
    (3) Required for Compliance (RC): Except as required by 
paragraph (j)(2) of this AD, if any service information referenced 
in EASA AD 2022-0090 contains paragraphs that are labeled as RC, the 
instructions in RC paragraphs, including subparagraphs under an RC 
paragraph, must be done to comply with this AD; any paragraphs, 
including subparagraphs under those paragraphs, that are not 
identified as RC are recommended. The instructions in paragraphs, 
including subparagraphs under those paragraphs, not identified as RC 
may be deviated from using accepted methods in accordance with the 
operator's maintenance or inspection program without obtaining 
approval of an AMOC, provided the instructions identified as RC can 
be done and the airplane can be put back in an airworthy condition. 
Any substitutions or changes to instructions identified as RC 
require approval of an AMOC.

(k) Related Information

    (1) For EASA AD 2022-0090, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 
50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999 000; email 
[email protected]; internet www.easa.europa.eu. You may find this 
EASA AD on the EASA website at https://ad.easa.europa.eu. 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-
2022-1300.
    (2) For more information about this AD, contact Vladimir 
Ulyanov, Aerospace Engineer, Large Aircraft Section, FAA, 
International Validation Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, 
WA 98198; telephone 206-231-3229; email [email protected].

    Issued on October 6, 2022.
Christina Underwood,
Acting Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-22201 Filed 10-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P