[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 159 (Friday, August 16, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66642-66645]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18046]



[[Page 66642]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-2020; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-00303-A]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Embraer S.A. 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) 
2023-21-06, which applies to certain Embraer S.A. (Embraer) Model EMB-
505 airplanes. AD 2023-21-06 requires installing structural 
reinforcements on certain monuments and replacing certain floor support 
rivets. Since the FAA issued AD 2023-21-06, the FAA has determined that 
certain airplanes need to be re-assigned to a different group and 
certain re-identified floor support part numbers need to be corrected. 
This proposed AD would require installing structural reinforcements on 
monuments and replacing fasteners on the floor support, as specified in 
an Ag[ecirc]ncia Nacional de Avia[ccedil][atilde]o Civil (ANAC) AD, 
which is proposed for incorporation by reference. The FAA is proposing 
this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: The FAA must receive comments on this NPRM by September 30, 
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-2024-2020; 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 ANAC material identified in this proposed AD, contact 
ANAC, Continuing Airworthiness Technical Branch (GTAC), Rua Doutor 
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 at sistemas.anac.gov.br/certificacao/
DA/DAE.asp. It is also available at regulations.gov under Docket No. 
FAA-2024-2020.
     You may view this material at the FAA, Airworthiness 
Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 901 Locust, Kansas City, 
MO 64106. For information on the availability of this material at the 
FAA, call (817) 222-5110.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Rutherford, Aviation Safety 
Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; 
phone: (816) 329-4165; 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-2024-2020; Project Identifier 
MCAI-2024-00303-A'' 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 
the 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 Jim 
Rutherford, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 
410, Westbury, NY 11590. 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 2023-21-06, Amendment 39-22578 (88 FR 85093, 
December 7, 2023) (AD 2023-21-06), for certain serial-numbered Embraer 
Model EMB-505 airplanes. AD 2023-21-06 was prompted by an MCAI 
originated by ANAC, which is the aviation authority for Brazil. ANAC 
issued ANAC AD 2023-05-03, effective June 2, 2023 (ANAC AD 2023-05-03) 
to correct an unsafe condition.
    AD 2023-21-06 requires installing structural reinforcements on 
certain monuments and replacing certain floor support rivets. The FAA 
issued AD 2023-21-06 to address certain monuments (the right-hand 
refreshment center and left-hand forward cabinet) that might not 
withstand the loads expected for specific emergency landing conditions, 
which may cause the detachment of mass items and result in injuries to 
the airplane occupants.

Actions Since AD 2023-21-06 Was Issued

    Since the FAA issued AD 2023-21-06, ANAC superseded ANAC AD 2023-
05-03 and issued ANAC AD 2023-05-03R01, effective March 8, 2024 (ANAC 
AD 2023-05-03R01) for certain serial-numbered Embraer Model EMB-505 
airplanes. ANAC AD 2023-05-03R01 states it was issued to incorporate 
Embraer Service Bulletin SB505-25-0046, Revision 02, dated February 19, 
2024, which updates effectivity information, compliance information, 
and part number information.
    ANAC superseded ANAC AD 2023-05-03R01 and issued ANAC AD 2023-05-
03R02, effective May 17, 2024 (ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02) (also referred to 
as the MCAI) for certain serial-numbered Embraer Model EMB-505 
airplanes. The MCAI states it was issued to incorporate Embraer Service

[[Page 66643]]

Bulletin SB505-25-0046, Revision 03, dated May 6, 2024 (actual date May 
7, 2024), which includes additional actions for certain airplane groups 
that had complied with the requirements of ANAC AD 2023-05-03R01 but 
had not yet installed part number (P/N) 506-66837-001 and updates the 
effectivity information, compliance information, and part number 
information.
    The FAA is issuing this AD to address certain monuments that might 
not withstand the loads expected for specific emergency landing 
conditions, which may cause the detachment of mass items and result in 
injuries to the airplane occupants.
    You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FAA-2024-2020.

Material Incorporated by Reference Under 1 CFR Part 51

    The FAA reviewed ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02, which specifies procedures 
for installing structural reinforcements on certain monuments and 
replacing certain fasteners on the floor support.
    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

    These products have been approved by the aviation authority of 
another country and are 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 on 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 2023-05-03R02 described previously, except for any 
differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this 
proposed AD and except as discussed under ``Differences Between this 
Proposed AD and the MCAI.''

Differences Between This Proposed AD and the MCAI

    The material specified in ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02 allows the use of 
alternative or similar parts in place of the ones specified in the 
kits, provided these alternative or similar parts are approved by 
Embraer, but this proposed AD would require approval from either the 
Manager, International Validation Branch, FAA; ANAC; or ANAC's 
authorized Designee. If approved by the ANAC Designee, the approval 
must include the Designee's authorized signature.

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 2023-05-03R02 by reference in the 
FAA final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance 
with ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02 in its entirety through that incorporation, 
except for any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory 
text of this proposed AD. Material required by ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02 
for compliance will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No. 
FAA-2024-2020 after the FAA final rule is published.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would 
affect 208 airplanes of U.S. registry.
    The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this proposed 
AD:

                                                 Estimated Costs
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                                                                              Cost per          Cost on U.S.
              Action                      Labor cost         Parts cost        product           operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Airplane groups 1 and 2--install    22 work-hours x $85            $1,600          $3,470  $242,900 (70
 structural reinforcements.          per hour = $1,870.                                     airplanes).
Airplane groups 3, 4, and 5--       14 work-hours x $85               600           1,790  $200,480 (112
 install structural reinforcements   per hour = $1,190.                                     airplanes).
 and replace floor fasteners.
Airplane groups 6 and 8--install    26 work-hours x $85             2,000           4,210  $84,200 (20
 structural reinforcements and       per hour = $2,210.                                     airplanes).
 replace floor fasteners.
Airplane group 7--install           20 work-hours x $85             1,600           3,300  $16,500 (5
 structural reinforcements.          per hour = $1,700.                                     airplanes).
Airplane group 9--install           14 work-hours x $85             1,600           2,790  $2,790 (1 airplane).
 structural reinforcements.          per hour = $1,190.
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    The FAA estimates the following costs for the additional work that 
operators would be required to do for compliance with this proposed AD 
if they completed the actions in the original version of Embraer 
Service Bulletin SB505-25-0046, dated March 31, 2021; Service Bulletin 
SB505-25-0046, Revision 01, dated May 8, 2023; or Service Bulletin 
SB505-25-0046, Revision 02, dated February 19, 2024. The agency has no 
way of determining the number of airplanes that might need these 
actions:

                                                 Estimated Costs
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                                                                                                     Cost per
                    Action                                 Labor cost               Parts cost        product
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inspect floor fasteners.......................  9 work-hours x $85 per hour =                $50            $815
                                                 $765.
Replace floor fasteners.......................  1 work-hour x $85 per hour = $85              50             135

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Airplane groups 1 and 2 install reinforcement   2 work-hours x $85 per hour =                200             370
 support on left-hand forward cabinet.           $170.
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    The FAA has included all known costs in its cost estimate. 
According to the manufacturer, however, 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 that the 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 2023-21-06, Amendment 39-22578 (88 
FR 85093, December 7, 2023); and
0
b. Adding the following new airworthiness directive:

Embraer S.A.: Docket No. FAA-2024-2020; Project Identifier MCAI-
2024-00303-A.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) by September 30, 2024.

(b) Affected ADs

    This AD replaces AD 2023-21-06, Amendment 39-22578 (88 FR 85093, 
December 7, 2023).

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to Embraer S.A. Model EMB-505 airplanes, 
certificated in any category, as identified in Ag[ecirc]ncia 
Nacional de Avia[ccedil][atilde]o Civil (ANAC) AD 2023-05-03R02, 
effective May 17, 2024 (ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02).

(d) Subject

    Joint Aircraft System Component (JASC) Code 2500, Cabin 
Equipment/Furnishings.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by the analysis of certain monuments (the 
right-hand refreshment center and left-hand forward cabinet) that 
identified the need for installing structural reinforcements and 
replacing applicable floor support rivets. The FAA is issuing this 
AD to address the unsafe condition. The unsafe condition, if not 
addressed, could result in a monument not withstanding the loads 
expected for specific emergency landing conditions, which may cause 
the detachment of mass items and result in injuries to the airplane 
occupants.

(f) Compliance

    Comply with this AD within the compliance times specified, 
unless already done.

(g) Required Actions

    Except as specified in paragraphs (h) and (i) of this AD: Comply 
with all required actions and compliance times specified in, and in 
accordance with, ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02.

(h) Exceptions to ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02

    (1) Where ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02 refers to its effective date, 
this AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
    (2) Where ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02 refers to Embraer Service 
Bulletin SB505-25-0046, Revision 03, as dated ``May 6, 2024,'' 
replace that text with ``May 7, 2024.''
    (3) Where paragraph (b) of ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02 refers to 
``June 2, 2023, the effective date of AD 2023-05-03, original 
revision,'' replace that text with ``December 11, 2023, the 
effective date of AD 2023-21-06.''
    (4) Although the material referenced in ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02 
allows the use of alternative or similar parts in place of the ones 
specified in the kits provided, this AD requires that alternative or 
similar parts be approved by the Manager, International Validation 
Branch, FAA; ANAC; or ANAC's authorized Designee. If approved by the 
ANAC Designee, the approval must include the Designee's authorized 
signature.
    (5) Where the material referenced in ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02 
specifies to ``discard'' certain parts, replace that text with 
``remove from service.''
    (6) This AD does not adopt paragraph (d)(1) of ANAC AD 2023-05-
03R02.

(i) No Reporting Requirement

    Although the material referenced in ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02 
specifies to submit certain information to the manufacturer, this AD 
does not include that requirement.

(j) 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 local Flight 
Standards District 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 local flight standards district office/certificate holding 
district office.

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(k) Additional Information

    For more information about this AD, contact Jim Rutherford, 
Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, 
Westbury, NY 11590; phone: (816) 329-4165; 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 the AD specifies otherwise.
    (i) Ag[ecirc]ncia Nacional de Avia[ccedil][atilde]o Civil (ANAC) 
AD 2023-05-03R02, effective May 17, 2024.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) For ANAC material identified in this AD, contact ANAC, 
Continuing Airworthiness Technical Branch (GTAC), Rua Doutor 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 at sistemas.anac.gov.br/certificacao/
DA/DAE.asp.
    (4) You may view this material at the FAA, Airworthiness 
Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 901 Locust, Kansas 
City, MO 64106. For information on the availability of this material 
at the FAA, call (817) 222-5110.
    (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 August 8, 2024.
Victor Wicklund,
Deputy Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-18046 Filed 8-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P