[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 17, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58086-58089]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15461]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-1890; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-00087-T]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 
2022-24-05, which applies to all Airbus SAS Model A318, A319, A320, and 
A321 series airplanes. AD 2022-24-05 requires repetitive inspections of 
certain galleys for corrosion of trolley retainer aluminum blocks and 
delamination of the upper panel of the trolley compartment, and 
applicable corrective action. Since the FAA issued AD 2022-24-05, the 
list of affected galleys has been revised, and a modification has been 
developed to restore the design integrity of the affected galleys. This 
proposed AD would continue to require the actions in AD 2022-24-05, 
provide optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections, 
revise the list of affected parts, and prohibit the installation of 
affected parts under certain conditions, as specified in a European 
Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). 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 September 
3, 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-2024-1890; 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 proposed 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. It is also 
available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-1890.
     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: Timothy Dowling, Aviation Safety 
Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; 
phone: 817-222-5102; 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-2024-1890; Project Identifier

[[Page 58087]]

MCAI-2024-00087-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 
Timothy Dowling, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, 
Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: 817-222-5102; email: 
[email protected]. Any commentary that the FAA receives that is 
not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket 
for this rulemaking.

Background

    The FAA issued AD 2022-24-05, Amendment 39-22245 (87 FR 74291, 
December 5, 2022) (AD 2022-24-05), for all Airbus SAS Model A318-111, -
112, -121, and -122 airplanes; Model A319-111, -112, -113, -114, -115, 
-131, -132, -133, -151N, -153N, and -171N airplanes; Model A320-211, -
212, -214, -216, -231, -232, -233, -251N, -252N, -253N, -271N, -272N, 
and -273N airplanes; and Model A321-111, -112, -131, -211, -212, -213, 
-231, -232, -251N, -251NX, -252N, -252NX, -253N, -253NX, -271N, -271NX, 
-272N, and -272NX airplanes. AD 2022-24-05 was prompted by an MCAI 
originated by EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States 
of the European Union. EASA issued AD 2021-0183R1, dated September 20, 
2021, to correct an unsafe condition.
    AD 2022-24-05 requires repetitive inspections of certain galleys 
for corrosion of trolley retainer aluminum blocks and delamination of 
the upper panel of the trolley compartment, and applicable corrective 
actions. The FAA issued AD 2022-24-05 to address damage that could 
affect the galley's capability to hold the trolley under emergency 
landing loads, which could lead to trolley detachment, possibly 
resulting in blocking of an escape path during an emergency exit.

Actions Since AD 2022-24-05 Was Issued

    Since the FAA issued AD 2022-24-05, EASA superseded EASA AD 2021-
0183R1, dated September 20, 2021, and issued EASA AD 2024-0038, dated 
February 5, 2024 (EASA AD 2024-0038) (also referred to as the MCAI), to 
correct an unsafe condition for all Airbus SAS Model A318, A319, A320, 
and A321 series airplanes. EASA AD 2024-0038 states that the list of 
affected galleys has been revised, and Airbus and the galley 
manufacturer have developed a modification to restore the design 
integrity of the affected galleys.
    The FAA is proposing this AD to detect and correct damage that 
could affect the galley's capability to hold the trolley under 
emergency landing loads, which could lead to trolley detachment, 
possibly resulting in blocking of an escape path during an emergency 
exit.
    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-2024-1890.

Explanation of Retained Requirements

    Although this proposed AD does not explicitly restate the 
requirements of AD 2022-24-05, this proposed AD would retain all of the 
requirements of AD 2022-24-05. Those requirements are referenced in 
EASA AD 2024-0038, which, in turn, is referenced in paragraph (g) of 
this proposed AD.

Material Incorporated by Reference Under 1 CFR Part 51

    EASA AD 2024-0038 includes the following provisions:
     Procedures for repetitive general visual inspections of 
certain galleys for discrepancies including corrosion of trolley 
retainer aluminum blocks and delamination of upper panel of trolley 
compartment;
     Corrective actions including repeating the inspection at 
an earlier interval, repairing the trolley compartment upper panel, and 
limiting the trolley weight;
     Procedures for modifying the affected galleys as optional 
terminating action for the repetitive inspections;
     A revised the list of affected galleys; and
     Prohibition of the installation of affected parts unless 
the parts are inspected and corrected.
    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 require accomplishing the actions specified 
in EASA AD 2024-0038 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 EASA AD 2024-0038 by reference in the FAA 
final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with 
EASA AD 2024-0038 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 2024-0038 does not mean that 
operators need comply only with that section. For example, where the AD 
requirement refers to ``all required

[[Page 58088]]

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 2024-0038. Material required by EASA AD 2024-0038 
for compliance will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No. 
FAA-2024-1890 after the FAA final rule is published.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would 
affect 1,425 airplanes of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the 
following costs to comply with this proposed AD:

                                      Estimated Costs for Required Actions
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                                                                                     Cost per      Cost on U.S.
                 Action                          Labor cost           Parts cost      product       operators
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Retained actions from AD                 2 work-hours x $85 per               $0          $170         $242,250
 2022[dash]24[dash]05.                    hour = $170 per hour.
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                  Estimated Costs for Optional Actions
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          Labor cost              Parts cost        Cost per product
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Up to 40 work-hours x $85 per             (*)   Up to $3,400.*
 hour = $3,400.
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* The FAA has received no definitive data on which to base the cost
  estimates for the parts associated with the modification specified in
  this proposed AD.

    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 these on-condition actions:

                 Estimated Costs of On-Condition Actions
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              Labor cost                Parts cost     Cost per product
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 work-hour x $85 per hour = $85.....           $0                  $85
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    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
    (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) 2022-24-05, Amendment 39-22245 
(87 FR 74291, December 5, 2022); and
0
b. Adding the following new AD:

Airbus SAS: Docket No. FAA-2024-1890; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-
00087-T.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) by September 3, 2024.

(b) Affected ADs

    This AD replaces AD 2022-24-05, Amendment 39-22245 (87 FR 74291, 
December 5, 2022) (AD 2022-24-05).

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to all Airbus SAS Model airplanes identified in 
paragraphs (c)(1) through (4) of this AD, certificated in any 
category.
    (1) Model A318-111, -112, -121, and -122 airplanes.
    (2) Model A319-111, -112, -113, -114, -115, -131, -132, -133, -
151N, -153N, and -171N airplanes.

[[Page 58089]]

    (3) Model A320-211, -212, -214, -216, -231, -232, -233, -251N, -
252N, -253N, -271N, -272N, and -273N airplanes.
    (4) Model A321-111, -112, -131, -211, -212, -213, -231, -232, -
251N, -251NX, -252N, -252NX, -253N, -253NX, -271N, -271NX, -272N, 
and -272NX airplanes.

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 25, Equipment/
Furnishings.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by a report that damage (including 
delamination of work deck and corroded and cracked retainer blocks) 
was found during inspection of certain galleys. The FAA is issuing 
this AD to address damage that could affect the galley's capability 
to hold the trolley under emergency landing loads, which could lead 
to trolley detachment, possibly resulting in blocking of an escape 
path during an emergency exit.

(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 2024-0038, dated February 5, 2024 (EASA AD 
2024-0038).

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2024-0038

    (1) Where EASA AD 2024-0038 refers to ``18 August 2021 [the 
effective date of the EASA AD 2021-0183 at original issue],'' this 
AD requires using January 9, 2023 (the effective date of AD 2022-24-
05).
    (2) Where EASA AD 2024-0038 refers to its effective date, this 
AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
    (3) This AD does not adopt the ``Remarks'' section of EASA AD 
2024-0038.
    (4) Where EASA AD 2024-0038 does not specify corrective action 
after a post-repair inspection that has findings of damage, this AD 
requires obtaining repair instructions before further flight from 
the FAA, EASA, or Airbus SAS's EASA Design Organization Approval 
(DOA), and accomplishing those actions accordingly. Any approval by 
the DOA must include the DOA-authorized signature.

(i) No Reporting Requirement

    Although material referenced in EASA AD 2024-0038 specifies to 
submit certain information to the manufacturer, 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. 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 Airbus SAS's EASA Design 
Organization Approval (DOA). If approved by the DOA, the approval 
must include the DOA-authorized signature.
    (3) Required for Compliance (RC): Except as required by 
paragraph (j)(2) of this AD, if any material contains procedures or 
tests that are identified as RC, those procedures and tests must be 
done to comply with this AD; any procedures or tests that are not 
identified as RC are recommended. Those procedures and tests that 
are 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 procedures and 
tests identified as RC can be done and the airplane can be put back 
in an airworthy condition. Any substitutions or changes to 
procedures or tests identified as RC require approval of an AMOC.

(k) Additional Information

    For more information about this AD, contact Timothy Dowling, 
Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, 
Westbury, NY 11590; phone: 817-222-5102; email: 
[email protected].

(l) Material Incorporated by Reference

    (1) The Director of the Federal Register approved the 
incorporation by reference (IBR) of the material listed in this 
paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
    (2) You must use this material as applicable to do the actions 
required by this AD, unless this AD specifies otherwise.
    (i) European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2024-0038, 
dated February 5, 2024.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) For EASA AD 2024-0038, 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 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 July 10, 2024.
Peter A. White,
Deputy Director, Integrated Certificate Management Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-15461 Filed 7-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P