[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 142 (Monday, July 28, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35483-35485]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-14244]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 39
[Docket No. FAA-2025-1721; Project Identifier MCAI-2025-00268-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 adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD)
for all Airbus SAS Model A330-200, A330-200 Freighter, A330-300, A330-
800, A330-900, A340-200, A340-300, A340-500, and A340-600 series
airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reported occurrences of
forward passenger/crew doors jamming during slide deployment caused by
improper door rigging. This proposed AD would require repetitive
detailed inspections, and, depending on findings, corrective action(s).
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
11, 2025.
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-2025-1721; 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 European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) material
identified in this proposed AD, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3,
50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999 000; email
[email protected]. 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-2025-1721.
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: Emma Copeland, Aviation Safety
Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; phone: 224-
323-1241; 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 using a method listed
under the ADDRESSES section. Include ``Docket No. FAA-2025-1721;
Project Identifier MCAI-2025-00268-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 Emma
Copeland, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des
Moines, WA 98198; phone: 224-323-1241; 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 2025-0053, dated March 5, 2025 (EASA
AD 2025-0053) (also referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe
condition for all Airbus SAS Model A330-200, A330-200 Freighter, A330-
300, A330-800, A330-900, A340-200, A340-300, series airplanes, and
Model A340-541, A340-542, A340-642, and A340-643 airplanes. Model A340-
542 and -643 airplanes are not certificated by the FAA and are not
included on the U.S. type certificate data sheet; this proposed AD
therefore does not include those airplanes in the applicability. The
MCAI states that there were reported occurrences of forward passenger/
crew doors jamming during slide deployment caused by door mis-rigging.
This
[[Page 35484]]
condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead to unsuccessful
slide deployment which, in case of an emergency, could prevent timely
evacuation from the airplane, possibly resulting in injury to the
occupants.
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-2025-1721.
Material Incorporated by Reference Under 1 CFR Part 51
EASA AD 2025-0053 specifies procedures for repetitive detailed
inspections to check the clearances between the door and door frame on
each door stop fitting, check the rigging values of the X-guide roller,
check the clearance values between the rollers and the guide fittings,
and ensure all door stop screw tab washers are properly bent on forward
passenger/crew doors. On-condition actions include performing
adjustment of the door(s), performing another detailed inspection of
the clearance, obtaining and following further instructions if
discrepancies remain, and reporting any measured value that is not
within limits or any washer that is not bent properly. 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
These products have been approved by the civil 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, that authority 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 2025-0053 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 2025-0053 by reference in the FAA
final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with
EASA AD 2025-0053 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 2025-0053 does not mean that
operators need to 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 2025-
0053. Material required by EASA AD 2025-0053 for compliance will be
available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2025-1721 after the
FAA final rule is published.
Costs of Compliance
The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would
affect 159 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.
Labor cost Parts cost product operators
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6 work-hours x $85 per hour = $1,275......................... $0 $1,275 $202,725
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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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Cost per
Labor cost Parts cost product
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13 work-hours x $85 per hour = $935... $0 $935
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The FAA has received no definitive data on which to base the cost
estimates for the on-condition actions specified in this proposed AD.
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
[[Page 35485]]
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 adding the following new airworthiness
directive:
Airbus SAS: Docket No. FAA-2025-1721; Project Identifier MCAI-2025-
00268-T.
(a) Comments Due Date
The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive
(AD) by September 11, 2025.
(b) Affected ADs
None.
(c) Applicability
This AD applies to all Airbus SAS airplanes specified in
paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this AD, certificated in any category.
(1) Model A330-201, -202, -203, -223, -243, -223F, -243F, -301,
-302, -303, -321, -322, -323, -341, -342, -343, -841 and -941
airplanes.
(2) Model A340-211, -212, -213, -311, -312, -313, -541, and -642
airplanes.
(d) Subject
Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 52, Doors.
(e) Unsafe Condition
This AD was prompted by reported occurrences of forward
passenger/crew doors jamming during slide deployment caused by
improper door rigging. The FAA is issuing this AD to address
occurrences of forward passenger/crew doors jamming during slide
deployment. The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in
unsuccessful slide deployment preventing timely evacuation from the
airplane, possibly resulting in injury to the occupants.
(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
2025-0053, dated March 5, 2025 (EASA AD 2025-0053).
(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2025-0053
(1) Where EASA AD 2025-0053 refers to its effective date, this
AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
(2) Where paragraphs (2), (3), and (5) of EASA AD 2025-0053
specify ``any discrepancy'', this AD requires replacing that text
with ``any measured value that is not within limits or lock washer
that does not bend correctly''.
(3) This AD does not adopt the ``Remarks'' section of EASA AD
2025-0053.
(i) Additional AD Provisions
The following provisions also apply to this AD:
(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs): The Manager, AIR-
520, Continued Operational Safety 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 Continued Operational Safety Branch, send it to the attention of
the person identified in paragraph (j) of this AD and email 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, AIR-520,
Continued Operational Safety 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 (i)(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.
(j) Additional Information
For more information about this AD, contact Emma Copeland,
Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA
98198; phone: 224-323-1241; email: [email protected].
(k) Material Incorporated by Reference
(1) The Director of the Federal Register approved the
incorporation by reference 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 2025-0053,
dated March 5, 2025.
(ii) [Reserved]
(3) For EASA material identified in this AD, contact EASA,
Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221
8999 000; email [email protected]. You may find this material 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/[email protected]">www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/[email protected].
Issued on July 24, 2025.
Peter A. White,
Deputy Director, Integrated Certificate Management Division, Aircraft
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-14244 Filed 7-25-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P