[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 2, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22640-22642]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06900]


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 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. 89 , No. 64 / Tuesday, April 2, 2024 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 22640]]



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-0772; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-01203-T]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Embraer S.A. (Type Certificate 
Previously Held by Yabor[atilde] Ind[uacute]stria Aeron[aacute]utica 
S.A.) 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 Embraer S.A. Model ERJ 170 airplanes. This proposed AD was 
prompted by a manufacturing quality escape concerning some overheat 
detection system (ODS) sensing elements. This proposed AD would require 
inspecting the ODS sensing elements and performing applicable 
corrective actions, and would prohibit the installation of affected 
parts, as specified in an Ag[ecirc]ncia Nacional de 
Avia[ccedil][atilde]o Civil (ANAC) AD, which is proposed for 
incorporation by reference (IBR). 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 May 17, 
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-2024-0772; 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.
    Material Incorporated by Reference:
     For material identified in this NPRM, contact National 
Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), Aeronautical Products Certification 
Branch (GGCP), Rua Dr. Orlando Feirabend Filho, 230--Centro Empresarial 
Aquarius--Torre B--Andares 14 a 18, Parque Residencial Aquarius, CEP 
12.246-190--S[atilde]o Jos[eacute] dos Campos--SP, Brazil; phone 55 
(12) 3203-6600; email: anac.gov.br">pac@anac.gov.br; website: anac.gov.br/en/. You 
may find this material on the ANAC website: sistemas.anac.gov.br/
certificacao/DA/DAE.asp. It is also available at regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FAA-2024-0772.
     You may view this material at the FAA, Airworthiness 
Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South 216th Street, 
Des Moines, WA. For information on the availability of this material at 
the FAA, call 206-231-3195.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Bragg, Aviation Safety 
Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th Street, Des Moines, WA 98198; phone: 
817-222-5366; 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-2024-0772; Project Identifier 
MCAI-2023-01203-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 
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 
Joshua Bragg, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th Street, 
Des Moines, WA 98198; phone: 817-222-5366; 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

    ANAC, which is the aviation authority for Brazil, has issued ANAC 
AD 2023-11-01, effective November 21, 2023 (ANAC AD 2023-11-01) (also 
referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition on certain 
Embraer S.A. Model ERJ 170-100 LR, -100 SE, -100 STD, and -100 SU 
airplanes; and Model ERJ 170-200 LL, -200 LR, -200 STD, and -200 SU 
airplanes. The MCAI states a quality escape occurred during 
manufacturing concerning some ODS sensing elements produced before 
January 31, 2021. A defective sensing element may not be able to detect 
a thermal bleed leak, which is a latent failure, and depending on the 
affected area, may start an ignition source in the fuel tank, which 
could damage some electronic boxes and expose the wing structure to 
high temperature gradients and unexpected thermal loads, which

[[Page 22641]]

could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane.
    The FAA is proposing 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-2024-0772.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    ANAC AD 2023-11-01 specifies procedures for a detailed inspection 
of the ODS sensing elements of the airplane bleed lines and replacing, 
if applicable. In addition, ANAC AD 2023-11-01 specifies procedures for 
re-activating ODS sensing elements that were deactivated. Also, ANAC AD 
2023-11-01 prohibits installing an affected ODS sensing element, unless 
it is inspected, and one face of the connector hex nut is marked.
    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 ADDRESSES.

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 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 ANAC AD 2023-11-01 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 ANAC AD 2023-11-01 by reference in the FAA 
final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with 
ANAC AD 2023-11-01 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 ANAC AD 2023-11-01 
for compliance will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No. 
FAA-2024-0772 after the FAA final rule is published.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would 
affect 70 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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 work-hours x $85 per hour = $425...........................              $0             $425          $29,750
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FAA estimates the following costs to do any necessary on-
condition action 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 action:

                 Estimated Costs of On-Condition Actions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Cost per
              Labor cost                   Parts cost        product
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 work-hours x $85 per hour = $170....            $500             $670
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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:

[[Page 22642]]

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:

Embraer S.A. (Type Certificate Previously Held by Yabor[atilde] 
Ind[uacute]stria Aeron[aacute]utica S.A.): Docket No. FAA-2024-0772; 
Project Identifier MCAI-2023-01203-T.

 (a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) by May 17, 2024.

 (b) Affected ADs

    None.

 (c) Applicability

    This AD applies to Embraer S.A. (Type Certificate previously 
held by Yabor[atilde] Ind[uacute]stria Aeron[aacute]utica S.A.) 
Model ERJ 170-100 LR, -100 SE, -100 STD, and -100 SU airplanes, and 
Model ERJ 170-200 LL, -200 LR, -200 STD, and -200 SU airplanes, 
certificated in any category, as identified in Ag[ecirc]ncia 
Nacional de Avia[ccedil][atilde]o Civil (ANAC) AD 2023-11-01, 
effective November 21, 2023 (ANAC AD 2023-11-01).

 (d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code: 75, Bleed Air.

 (e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by a manufacturing quality escape 
concerning some overheat detection system (ODS) sensing elements. 
The FAA is issuing this AD to address defective sensing elements. 
The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in a sensing 
element not being able to detect a thermal bleed leak, which is a 
latent failure, and depending on the affected area, may start an 
ignition source in the fuel tank, which could damage some electronic 
boxes and expose the wing structure to high temperature gradients 
and unexpected thermal loads, which could result in reduced 
structural integrity 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, ANAC AD 2023-11-01.

 (h) Exceptions to ANAC AD 2023-11-01

    (1) Where ANAC AD 2023-11-01 refers to its effective date, this 
AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
    (2) Where paragraphs (b)(1), (c)(1), (d)(1), (e)(1), (f)(1), and 
(g)(1), of ANAC AD 2023-11-01 specify to inspect ODS sensing 
elements at various locations, this AD requires adding ``in 
accordance with Embraer Service Bulletin 170-36-0027, revision 04, 
dated September 5, 2023; or later revisions approved by ANAC.''
    (3) Where paragraphs (b) through (h) of ANAC AD 2023-11-01 
specify on-condition actions based on the results of the ODS sensing 
element inspections required by paragraphs (b)(1), (c)(1), (d)(1), 
(e)(1), (f)(1), and(g)(1) of ANAC AD 2023-11-01, this AD requires 
performing all applicable on-condition actions before further flight 
after each inspection.
    (4) This AD does not adopt paragraph (k) of ANAC AD 2023-11-01.

 (i) Parts Returned to Supplier

    Where the service information referenced in ANAC AD 2023-11-01 
specifies to send removed sensing elements to the supplier, 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, 
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 (k) of this AD or email to: [email protected]. If mailing information, also submit information by 
email. 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 ANAC; or ANAC's authorized Designee. If 
approved by the ANAC Designee, the approval must include the 
Designee's authorized signature.
    (3) Required for Compliance (RC): Except as required by 
paragraph (j)(2) of this AD, if any service information referenced 
in ANAC AD 2023-11-01 contains steps in the Accomplishment 
Instructions or figures that are labeled as RC, the instructions in 
RC steps, including subparagraphs under an RC step and any figures 
identified in an RC step, must be done to comply with this AD; any 
steps including substeps under those steps, that are not identified 
as RC are recommended. The instructions in steps, including substeps 
under those steps, 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. If a 
step or substep is labeled ``RC Exempt,'' then the RC requirement is 
removed from that step or substep.

 (k) Additional Information

    For more information about this AD, contact Joshua Bragg, 
Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th Street, Des Moines, 
WA 98198; phone: 817-222-5366; email: [email protected].

 (l) 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) Ag[ecirc]ncia Nacional de Avia[ccedil][atilde]o Civil (ANAC) 
AD 2023-11-01, effective November 21, 2023.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) For ANAC AD 2023-11-01, contact ANAC, Aeronautical Products 
Certification Branch (GGCP), Rua Dr. Orlando Feirabend Filho, 230--
Centro Empresarial Aquarius--Torre B--Andares 14 a 18, Parque 
Residencial Aquarius, CEP 12.246-190--S[atilde]o Jos[eacute] dos 
Campos--SP, Brazil; phone 55 (12) 3203-6600; email: anac.gov.br">pac@anac.gov.br; 
website: anac.gov.br/en/. You may find this ANAC AD on the ANAC 
website: sistemas.anac.gov.br/certificacao/DA/DAE.asp.
    (4) You may view this material at the FAA, Airworthiness 
Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South 216th 
Street, 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 27, 2024.
Victor Wicklund,
Deputy Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-06900 Filed 4-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P