[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 22, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 44917-44920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11172]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-1298; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-00216-T; 
Amendment 39-22745; AD 2024-09-03]
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 ATR42-500 and Model 
ATR72 airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of heavy corrosion on 
one of the two lugs of the travel limiting unit (TLU) lever assembly. 
This AD requires repetitive inspections of the TLU lever assembly for 
corrosion and, depending on findings, a conductivity test and 
applicable corrective actions, and prohibits 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 June 6, 2024.
    The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by 
reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of June 6, 
2024.
    The FAA must receive comments on this AD by July 8, 2024.

[[Page 44918]]


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-2024-1298; 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, 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 
ad.easa.europa.eu.
     You may view this service information 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. It is also available at 
regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-1298.

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-2024-1298; Project Identifier MCAI-
2024-00216-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.

Background

    EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the 
European Union, has issued EASA AD 2024-0096, dated May 2, 2024 (EASA 
AD 2024-0096) (also referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe 
condition on all ATR--GIE Avions de Transport R[eacute]gional Model 
ATR42-400, -500 and Model ATR72-101, -102, -201, -202, -211, -212, and 
-212A airplanes. Model ATR42-400 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 one of the two lugs of the TLU lever assembly was reported 
as having heavy corrosion. Subsequent investigation evidenced that heat 
treatment of that lug of the TLU lever was not correctly accomplished. 
This improper heat treatment leads to reduced resistance to 
intergranular corrosion and could result in heavy corrosion and 
premature failure of the TLU lever. This condition, if not detected and 
corrected, could result in the rudder deflection not being limited at 
high airplane speed, which, if combined with a large rudder pedal 
input, could ultimately 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-2024-1298.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    EASA AD 2024-0096 specifies procedures for a visual inspection of 
affected TLU lever assemblies for corrosion, and, depending on the 
inspection results, repetitive inspection of the TLU lever assembly or 
a conductivity test and applicable corrective actions. Corrective 
actions depend on the conductivity test findings and include contacting 
the manufacturer for repair instructions and replacing the TLU lever 
assembly. EASA AD 2024-0096 also requires the conductivity test for all 
airplanes, requires reporting the inspection results to ATR--GIE Avions 
de Transport R[eacute]gional, and 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 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 AD 
2024-0096 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

[[Page 44919]]

requirements for corresponding FAA ADs. The FAA has been coordinating 
this process with manufacturers and CAAs. As a result, EASA AD 2024-
0096 is incorporated by reference in this AD. This AD requires 
compliance with EASA AD 2024-0096 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 AD 2024-0096 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 
2024-0096. Service information required by EASA AD 2024-0096 for 
compliance will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-
2024-1298 after this AD is published.

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 corrosion on the TLU lever assembly, if not addressed, could 
result in TLU lever assembly failure and excessive rudder deflection 
with consequent loss of control of the airplane. In addition, the 
inspection must be accomplished within 30 calendar days after the 
effective date of this AD. 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 58 airplanes of U.S. 
registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this AD:

                                      Estimated Costs for Required Actions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Cost per       Cost on U.S.
                          Labor cost                              Parts cost        product         operators
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1.5 work-hours x $85 per hour = $128.........................              $0             $128           $7,424
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                 Estimated Costs of On-Condition Actions
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                                                             Cost per
              Labor cost                   Parts cost        product
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1 work-hour x $85 per hour = $85......          $5,220           $5,305
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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

[[Page 44920]]

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:

2024-09-03 ATR--GIE Avions de Transport R[eacute]gional: Amendment 
39-22745; Docket No. FAA-2024-1298; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-
00216-T.

(a) Effective Date

    This airworthiness directive (AD) is effective June 6, 2024.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to all ATR--GIE Avions de Transport 
R[eacute]gional Model ATR42-500 and Model ATR72-101, -102, -201, -
202, -211, -212, and -212A airplanes.

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 27, Flight 
Controls.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by heavy corrosion on one of the two lugs 
of the travel limiting unit (TLU) lever assembly. The FAA is issuing 
this AD to address corrosion of the TLU lever assembly. The unsafe 
condition, if not detected and corrected, could result in the rudder 
deflection not being limited at high airplane speed which, if 
combined with a large rudder pedal input, could ultimately 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) AD 
2024-0096, dated May 2, 2024 (EASA AD 2024-0096).

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2024-0096

    (1) Where EASA AD 2024-0096 refers to its effective date, this 
AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
    (2) Where paragraph (4) of EASA AD 2024-0096 specifies ``to 
contact ATR for repair instructions and to accomplish those 
instructions accordingly,'' this AD requires replacing that text 
with ``repair of any corrosion before further flight 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.''
    (3) The service information referenced in EASA AD 2024-0096 
specifies replacement of the TLU lever ``before further flight'' or 
``within 6 months,'' as applicable depending on the results of the 
inspection and conductivity test. For this AD, the compliance time 
to replace the TLU lever starts from the conductivity test.
    (4) Replace paragraph (8) of EASA AD 2024-0096 with 
``Accomplishment of the applicable actions for affected parts in 
accordance with ATR AOM 2024/04 Issue 1 is acceptable to comply with 
the requirements of paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of this AD, as 
applicable, for those affected parts only.''
    (5) Paragraph (9) of EASA AD 2024-0096 specifies to report 
inspection results to ATR 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 10 days after the inspection.
    (ii) If the inspection was done before the effective date of 
this AD: Submit the report within 10 days after the effective date 
of this AD.
    (6) This AD does not adopt the ``Remarks'' section of EASA AD 
2024-0096.

(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 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.
    (3) The following service information was approved for IBR on 
June 6, 2024.
    (i) European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2024-0096, 
dated May 2, 2024.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (4) For EASA AD 2024-0096, 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 
AD on the EASA website ad.easa.europa.eu.
    (5) You may view this service information 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.
    (6) 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 May 10, 2024.
James D. Foltz,
Deputy Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-11172 Filed 5-17-24; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P