[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 51 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18534-18537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05499]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-0458; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-00117-T; 
Amendment 39-22696; AD 2024-05-05]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; ATR-GIE Avions de Transport 
R[eacute]gional Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all 
ATR-GIE Avions de Transport R[eacute]gional Model ATR42 and ATR72 
airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report of incorrect marking and 
assembly of the two-way valves for the left- and right-hand engine fire 
extinguishing systems. This AD requires accomplishing a functional 
check of an affected part; replacing an affected part if necessary; 
reporting the functional check results; and prohibiting the 
installation of affected parts; as specified in a European Union 
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is incorporated by reference. 
The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these 
products.

DATES: This AD is effective March 29, 2024.
    The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by 
reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of March 29, 
2024.
    The FAA must receive comments on this AD by April 29, 2024.

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 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.
    AD Docket: You may examine the AD docket at regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FAA-2024-0458; 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 final rule, the mandatory continuing airworthiness 
information (MCAI), any comments received, and other information. The 
street address for Docket Operations is listed above.
    Material Incorporated by Reference:
     For material incorporated by reference in this AD, contact 
EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 
8999 000; email [email protected]; website easa.europa.eu. You may 
find this material on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu.
     You may view this service information 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 at 
regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-0458.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shahram Daneshmandi, Aviation Safety 
Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; 
telephone: 206-231-3220; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites you to send any written data, views, or arguments 
about this final rule. Send your comments to an address listed under 
ADDRESSES. Include ``Docket No. FAA-2024-0458; Project Identifier MCAI-
2024-00117-T'' at the beginning of your comments. The most helpful 
comments reference a specific portion of the final rule, 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 final rule 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 
regulations.gov, including any personal information you provide. The 
agency will also post a report summarizing each substantive verbal 
contact received about this final rule.

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 AD 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 AD, 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 AD. Submissions containing CBI should be sent to Shahram 
Daneshmandi, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 
410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone: 206-231-3220; 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 18535]]

Background

    EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the 
European Union, has issued EASA Emergency AD 2024-0044-E, dated 
February 15, 2024 (EASA Emergency AD 2024-0044-E) (also referred to as 
the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition for all Model ATR42-200, -
300, -320, -400, and -500 airplanes; and Model ATR72-101, -102, 201, -
202, -211, -212, and -212A airplanes. Model ATR72-400 airplanes are not 
certificated by the FAA and are not included on the U.S. type 
certificate data sheet; this AD therefore does not include those 
airplanes in the applicability. The MCAI states that, during scheduled 
maintenance, an operator identified an issue on the left- and right-
hand engine fire extinguishing systems. Further investigation revealed 
incorrect marking and assembly of the two-way valves, which caused the 
fire extinguishing system to not operate as intended. This condition, 
if not detected and corrected, could lead to reduced performance of the 
engine fire extinguishing system, which could result in loss of control 
of the airplane.
    The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these 
products.
    You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FAA-2024-0458.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    EASA Emergency AD 2024-0044-E specifies the following procedures:
     Accomplishing a functional check of an affected part.
     Replacing an affected part with a serviceable part, if any 
discrepancy is detected during the functional check. (A discrepancy is 
any amount of air that flows through either connector of the right 
engine extinguishing system when compressed air is passed through 
either connector of the left engine extinguishing system, and vice 
versa).
     Reporting inspection (i.e., functional check) results to 
the airplane manufacturer.
     Prohibiting the installation of affected parts.
    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 this State of Design Authority, it 
has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI 
referenced above. The FAA is issuing this AD after determining that the 
unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop on 
other products of the same type design.

Requirements of This AD

    This AD requires accomplishing the actions specified in EASA 
Emergency AD 2024-0044-E described previously, except for any 
differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this 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, 
EASA Emergency AD 2024-0044-E is incorporated by reference in this AD. 
This AD requires compliance with EASA AD 2024-0044-E in its entirety 
through that incorporation, except for any differences identified as 
exceptions in the regulatory text of this AD. Using common terms that 
are the same as the heading of a particular section in EASA Emergency 
AD 2024-0044-E 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 Emergency AD 2024-0044-E. Service information 
required by EASA Emergency AD 2024-0044-E for compliance will be 
available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-0458 after this 
AD is published.

Interim Action

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

Justification for Immediate Adoption and Determination of the Effective 
Date

    Section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 
U.S.C. 551 et seq.) authorizes agencies to dispense with notice and 
comment procedures for rules when the agency, for ``good cause,'' finds 
that those procedures are ``impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to 
the public interest.'' Under this section, an agency, upon finding good 
cause, may issue a final rule without providing notice and seeking 
comment prior to issuance. Further, section 553(d) of the APA 
authorizes agencies to make rules effective in less than thirty days, 
upon a finding of good cause.
    An unsafe condition exists that requires the immediate adoption of 
this AD without providing an opportunity for public comments prior to 
adoption. The FAA has found that the risk to the flying public 
justifies forgoing notice and comment prior to adoption of this rule 
because inoperative two-way valves in the engine fire extinguishing 
system could lead to reduced performance of the system, which in 
combination with an engine fire, could result in an uncontrolled engine 
fire and subsequent loss of control of the airplane. Accordingly, 
notice and opportunity for prior public comment are impracticable and 
contrary to the public interest pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B).
    In addition, the FAA finds that good cause exists pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(d) for making this amendment effective in less than 30 days, 
for the same reasons the FAA found good cause to forgo notice and 
comment.

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)

    The requirements of the RFA do not apply when an agency finds good 
cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 to adopt a rule without prior notice and 
comment. Because the FAA has determined that it has good cause to adopt 
this rule without notice and comment, RFA analysis is not required.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this AD affects 80 airplanes of U.S. 
registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this 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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5 work-hours x $85 per hour = $425...........................              $0             $425          $34,000
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[[Page 18536]]

    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 this on-condition actions:

                 Estimated Costs of On-Condition Actions
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                                                             Cost per
              Labor cost                   Parts cost        product
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8 work-hours x $85 per hour = $680....              $0             $680
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    According to the manufacturer, some or all of the costs of this AD 
may be covered under warranty, thereby reducing the cost impact on 
affected individuals. The FAA does not control warranty coverage for 
affected individuals. As a result, the FAA has included all known costs 
in the cost estimate.

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 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

    This AD will not have federalism implications under Executive Order 
13132. This AD will 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 that this AD:
    (1) Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive 
Order 12866, and
    (2) Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Incorporation by 
reference, Safety.

The Amendment

    Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the 
Administrator, the FAA amends 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:

2024-05-05 ATR-GIE Avions de Transport R[eacute]gional: Amendment 
39-22696; Docket No. FAA-2024-0458; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-
00117-T.

(a) Effective Date

    This airworthiness directive (AD) is effective March 29, 2024.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to all ATR-GIE Avions de Transport 
R[eacute]gional airplanes specified in paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of 
this AD, certificated in any category.
    (1) Model ATR42-200, -300, -320, and -500 airplanes.
    (2) Model ATR72-101, -102, -201, -202, -211, -212, and -212A 
airplanes.

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 26, Fire 
Protection.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by a report of incorrect marking and 
assembly of the two-way valves for the left- and right-hand engine 
fire extinguishing systems. The FAA is issuing this AD to address 
inoperative two-way valves in both engine fire extinguishing 
systems. This condition, if not addressed, could lead to reduced 
performance of the engine fire extinguishing system, which could 
result in loss of control of 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, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) 
Emergency AD 2024-0044-E, dated February 15, 2024 (EASA AD 2024-
0044-E).

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2024-0044-E

    (1) Where EASA AD 2024-0044-E refers to its effective date, this 
AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
    (2) Paragraph (4) of EASA AD 2024-0044-E specifies to report 
inspection results to ATR-GIE Avions de Transport R[eacute]gional 
within a certain compliance time. For this AD, report inspection 
(i.e., functional check) results at the applicable time specified in 
paragraph (h)(2)(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.
    (3) This AD does not adopt the ``Remarks'' section of EASA AD 
2024-0044-E.

[[Page 18537]]

(i) Additional AD Provisions

    The following provisions also apply to this AD:
    (1) 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. 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 
International Validation Branch, mail it to the address identified 
in paragraph (j) 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, International 
Validation Branch, FAA; or EASA; or ATR-GIE Avions de Transport 
R[eacute]gional's EASA Design Organization Approval (DOA). If 
approved by the DOA, the approval must include the DOA-authorized 
signature.

(j) Additional Information

    For more information about this AD, contact Shahram Daneshmandi, 
Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, 
Westbury, NY 11590; telephone: 206-231-3220; email: 
[email protected].

(k) Material Incorporated by Reference

    (1) The Director of the Federal Register approved the 
incorporation by reference (IBR) of the service information listed 
in this paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
    (2) You must use this service information as applicable to do 
the actions required by this AD, unless this AD specifies otherwise.
    (i) European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Emergency AD 
2024-0044-E, dated February 15, 2024.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) For EASA AD 2024-0044-E, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 
3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999 000; email 
[email protected]; website easa.europa.eu. You may find this EASA 
ADs on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu.
    (4) 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.
    (5) You may view this material at the National Archives and 
Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability 
of this material at NARA, visit www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations or email [email protected].

    Issued on March 6, 2024.
Victor Wicklund,
Deputy Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-05499 Filed 3-12-24; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P