[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 120 (Friday, June 21, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51988-51990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13559]


 ========================================================================
 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. 120 / Friday, June 21, 2024 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 51988]]



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-1692; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-00050-T]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited 
(Type Certificate Previously Held by Bombardier, Inc.) 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 De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited Model DHC-8-401 and 
-402 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of an in-
flight event where isolation valve caution messages were received. This 
proposed AD would require inspecting the fuse/shuttle valve serial 
numbers, and replacing certain fuse/shuttle valves, as specified in a 
Transport Canada 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 August 5, 
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-2024-1692; 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 Transport Canada, Transport Canada 
National Aircraft Certification, 159 Cleopatra Drive, Nepean, Ontario 
K1A 0N5, Canada; telephone 888-663-3639; email 
[email protected]. You may 
find this material on the Transport Canada website at tc.canada.ca/en/
aviation. It is also available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-
2024-1692.
     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: Gabriel Kim, Aviation Safety Engineer, 
FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone: 
516-228-7300; 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-2024-1692; Project Identifier 
MCAI-2024-00050-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 
Gabriel Kim, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 
410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone: 516-228-7300; 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

    Transport Canada, which is the aviation authority for Canada, has 
issued Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01, dated January 11, 2024 
(Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01) (also referred to as the MCAI), to 
correct an unsafe condition for certain De Havilland Aircraft of Canada 
Limited Model DHC-8-401 and DHC-8-402 airplanes. The MCAI states that 
an in-service event was reported where the crew received a number two 
isolation valve (ISO #2) caution message followed by a number one 
isolation valve (ISO #1) caution message. The landing gear was extended 
via an alternate extension system as the crew prepared for landing. 
Upon landing, the crew used the emergency brake to stop the airplane. 
The airplane stopped safely within the runway limits.
    Subsequent maintenance activity discovered an external leak from 
the main landing gear (MLG) brake assembly, and it was found that the 
fuse/shuttle valve assembly did not function properly. Further 
investigation revealed that the fuse/shuttle valve

[[Page 51989]]

assembly failure resulted from a factory assembly error, which occurred 
on a limited number of fuse/shuttle valves.
    The assembly error can cause valve deformation leading to premature 
wear, and eventually fuse/shuttle valve failure. This condition, if not 
corrected, could result in the loss of powered landing gear extension/
retraction, outboard and inboard spoilers, nose wheel steering, and 
normal braking, and possibly a runway excursion.
    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-2024-1692.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01 specifies procedures for inspecting 
the fuse/shuttle valve serial numbers, and if any fuse/shuttle valve 
assemblies with the listed serial numbers are found, replacing the 
affected fuse/shuttle valves.
    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 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 require accomplishing the actions specified 
in Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01 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 Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01 by reference 
in the FAA final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require 
compliance with Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01 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 Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01 AD for compliance will be 
available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-1692 after the 
FAA final rule is published.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would 
affect 54 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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 work-hour x $85 per hour = $85.............................              $0              $85           $4,590
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 work-hours x $85 per hour =    $64,453 per fuse/              $64,878
 $425 per fuse/shuttle valve.     shuttle valve
                                  assembly.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FAA has included all known costs in its cost estimate. 
According to the manufacturer, however, some or all of the costs of 
this proposed AD may be covered under warranty, thereby reducing the 
cost impact on affected operators.

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

[[Page 51990]]

    (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 adding the following new airworthiness 
directive:

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (Type Certificate Previously 
Held by Bombardier, Inc.): Docket No. FAA-2024-1692; Project 
Identifier MCAI-2024-00050-T.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) by August 5, 2024.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited Model 
DHC-8-401 and -402 airplanes, certificated in any category, as 
identified in Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01, dated January 11, 2024 
(Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01).

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 27, Flight 
Controls; 29, Hydraulic Power; and 32, Landing Gear.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by a report of an in-flight event where 
isolation valve caution messages were received. The FAA is issuing 
this AD to address certain fuse/shuttle valves. The unsafe 
condition, if not addressed, could result in the loss of powered 
landing gear extension/retraction, outboard and inboard spoilers, 
nose wheel steering, normal braking, and possibly a runway 
excursion.

(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, Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01.

(h) Exceptions to Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01

    (1) Where Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01 refers to its effective 
date, this AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
    (2) Where Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01 refers to hours air 
time, this AD requires using flight hours.

(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 Transport Canada; or De Havilland 
Aircraft of Canada Limited's Transport Canada Design Approval 
Organization (DAO). If approved by the DAO, the approval must 
include the DAO-authorized signature.

(j) Additional Information

    For more information about this AD, contact Gabriel Kim, 
Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, 
Westbury, NY 11590; telephone: 516-228-7300; 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) Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01, dated January 11, 2024.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) For Transport Canada AD CF-2024-01, contact Transport 
Canada, Transport Canada National Aircraft Certification, 159 
Cleopatra Drive, Nepean, Ontario K1A 0N5, Canada; telephone 888-663-
3639; email [email protected]; website tc.canada.ca/en/
aviation.
    (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 June 14, 2024.
James D. Foltz,
Deputy Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-13559 Filed 6-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P