[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 23, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30281-30284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08561]


 ========================================================================
 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. 79 / Tuesday, April 23, 2024 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 30281]]



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-1007; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-01249-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 supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 
2022-13-11, which applies to all Airbus SAS Model A350-941 and -1041 
airplanes. AD 2022-13-11 requires revising the existing airplane flight 
manual (AFM) for airplanes equipped with affected flight control units 
(FCUs) and replacing any affected FCU with a serviceable FCU. Since the 
FAA issued AD 2022-13-11, the FAA has determined that it is necessary 
to expand the applicability of the AFM revision requirement to all 
Model A350-941 and -1041 airplanes, including those equipped with 
serviceable FCUs. This proposed AD would continue to require certain 
actions in AD 2022-13-11, including replacing any affected FCU with a 
serviceable FCU, expand the requirement to revise the existing AFM for 
all airplanes, and prohibit the installation of affected parts, as 
specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) 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 June 7, 
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-2024-1007; 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, 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. It is also available at regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FAA-2024-1007.
     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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dat Le, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 
1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: 562-627-
5357; 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-2024-1007; Project Identifier 
MCAI-2023-01249-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 Dat 
Le, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, 
Westbury, NY 11590; phone: 562-627-5357; 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 FAA issued AD 2022-13-11, Amendment 39-22097 (87 FR 39741, July 
5, 2022) (AD 2022-13-11), for all Airbus SAS Model A350-941 and -1041 
airplanes. AD 2022-13-11 was prompted by an MCAI originated by EASA, 
which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the European 
Union. EASA issued AD 2021-0260, dated November 18, 2021, to correct an 
unsafe condition.
    AD 2022-13-11 requires revising the existing AFM to include a 
procedure on the use of the AFS control panel ALT knob. AD 2022-13-11 
also requires replacing any affected FCU with a serviceable FCU, which 
would terminate the AFM revision following that replacement. The FAA 
issued AD

[[Page 30282]]

2022-13-11 to address erroneous target altitude during descent, climb, 
or go-around, which could result in an unexpected vertical trajectory 
deviation and loss of correct situational awareness that could 
potentially result in uncontrolled impact with the ground.

Actions Since AD 2022-13-11 Was Issued

    Since the FAA issued AD 2022-13-11, EASA superseded 2021-0260 and 
issued EASA AD 2023-0215, dated December 11, 2023; corrected December 
13, 2023 (EASA AD 2023-0215) (also referred to as the MCAI), to correct 
an unsafe condition for all Airbus SAS Model A350-941 and -1041 
airplanes. EASA AD 2023-0215 states that since EASA AD 2021-0260 was 
issued, several operators reported uncommanded altitude changes on 
airplanes equipped with serviceable FCUs. Airbus is investigating the 
cause of these reported events and, as a precautionary measure, 
expanded the applicability of the AFM Temporary Revision (TR) 121, 
issue 1.0, to all airplanes, including those equipped with serviceable 
FCUs. For the reasons described above, EASA AD 2023-0215 partially 
retains the requirements of the EASA AD 2021-0260, which is superseded, 
and requires amendment of the applicable AFM by incorporating the AFM 
TR 121, issue 1.0, for airplanes equipped with serviceable FCUs. EASA 
AD 2023-0215 is still considered to be an interim action, and further 
EASA AD action may follow.
    The FAA is proposing this AD to address erroneous target altitude 
during descent, climb, or go-around, which could result in an 
unexpected vertical trajectory deviation and loss of correct 
situational awareness that could potentially result in uncontrolled 
impact with the ground. You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at 
regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-1007.

Explanation of Retained Requirements

    Although this proposed AD does not explicitly restate the 
requirements of AD 2022-13-11, this proposed AD would retain certain 
requirements of AD 2022-13-11. Those requirements are referenced in 
EASA AD 2023-0215, which, in turn, is referenced in paragraph (g) of 
this proposed AD.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    EASA AD 2023-0215 specifies procedures for revising the existing 
AFM to include a procedure on the use of the AFS control panel ALT knob 
for all Airbus SAS Model A350-941 and -1041 airplanes, including the 
airplanes equipped with serviceable FCUs part number (P/N) C31006AD01; 
and replacing any affected FCU having P/N C31006AC01 or C31006AB01 with 
a serviceable FCU having P/N C31006AD01. EASA AD 2023-0215 also 
prohibits 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 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 retain certain requirements of AD 2022-13-
11. This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified 
in EASA AD 2023-0215 described previously, except for any differences 
identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this proposed AD.

Compliance With AFM Revisions

    EASA AD 2023-0215 requires operators to ``inform all flight crews'' 
of revisions to the AFM, and thereafter to ``operate the aeroplane 
accordingly.'' However, this proposed AD would not specifically require 
those actions as those actions are already required by FAA regulations. 
FAA regulations require operators furnish to pilots any changes to the 
AFM (for example, 14 CFR 121.137), and to ensure the pilots are 
familiar with the AFM (for example, 14 CFR 91.505). As with any other 
flightcrew training requirement, training on the updated AFM content is 
tracked by the operators and recorded in each pilot's training record, 
which is available for the FAA to review. FAA regulations also require 
pilots to follow the procedures in the existing AFM including all 
updates. 14 CFR 91.9 requires that any person operating a civil 
aircraft must comply with the operating limitations specified in the 
AFM. Therefore, including a requirement in this proposed AD to operate 
the airplane according to the revised AFM would be redundant and 
unnecessary.

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 2023-0215 by reference in the FAA 
final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with 
EASA AD 2023-0215 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 2023-0215 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 2023-
0215. Service information required by EASA AD 2023-0215 for compliance 
will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-1007 
after the FAA final rule is published.

Interim Action

    The FAA considers that this proposed AD would be an interim action. 
The FAA anticipates that further AD action will follow.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would 
affect 27 airplanes of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following 
costs to comply with this proposed AD:

[[Page 30283]]



                                      Estimated Costs for Required Actions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Labor cost                   Parts cost         Cost per product         Cost on U.S. operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Up to 6 work-hours x $85 per hour =             $27,000   Up to $27,510.............  Up to $742,770.
 $510.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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:
0
a. Removing Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2022-13-11, Amendment 39-22097 
(87 FR 39741, July 5, 2022); and
0
b. Adding the following new AD:

Airbus SAS: Docket No. FAA-2024-1007; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-
01249-T.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) by June 7, 2024.

(b) Affected ADs

    This AD replaces AD 2022-13-11, Amendment 39-22097 (87 FR 39741, 
July 5, 2022) (AD 2022-13-11).

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to all Airbus SAS Model A350-941 and -1041 
airplanes, certificated in any category.

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 22, Auto Flight.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by a report of inadvertent auto flight 
system (AFS) altitude changes on the flight control unit (FCU); an 
investigation revealed that, depending on the ring selection, 
failure of the ALT knob on the FCU could change the target altitude. 
The FAA is issuing this AD to address erroneous target altitude 
during descent, climb, or go-around, which could result in an 
unexpected vertical trajectory deviation and loss of correct 
situational awareness that could potentially result in uncontrolled 
impact with the ground.

(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, EASA AD 2023-0215, dated December 11, 2023; 
corrected December 13, 2023 (EASA AD 2023-0215).

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2023-0215

    (1) Where EASA AD 2023-0215 refers to ``02 December 2021 [the 
effective date of EASA AD 2021-0260],'' this AD requires using 
August 9, 2022 (the effective date of AD 2022-13-11).
    (2) Where EASA AD 2023-0215 refers to its effective date, this 
AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
    (3) Where paragraphs (1) and (2) of EASA AD 2023-0215 specify to 
``inform all flight crews, and thereafter, operate the aeroplane 
accordingly,'' this AD does not require those actions as those 
actions are already required by existing FAA operating regulations.
    (4) The ``Remarks'' section of EASA AD 2023-0215 does not apply 
to this AD.

(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].
    (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 Airbus SAS'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 Dat Le, Aviation 
Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 
11590; phone: 562-627-5357; 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) AD 2023-0215, 
dated December 11, 2023; corrected dated December 13, 2023.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) For EASA AD 2021-0260 and EASA AD 2023-0215, contact EASA, 
Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 
8999 000; email [email protected]; website easa.europa.eu. You may 
find these EASA ADs on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu.

[[Page 30284]]

    (4) 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.
    (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 April 17, 2024.
Victor Wicklund,
Deputy Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-08561 Filed 4-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P