[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 154 (Friday, August 13, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44657-44660]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17046]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2021-0659; Project Identifier 2018-SW-112-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Leonardo S.p.a. Helicopters

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 Leonardo S.p.a. Model A109A, A109A II, A109C, A109E, A109K2,
A109S, AW109SP, A119, and AW119 MKII helicopters. This proposed AD was
prompted by a report of damage to a rigid connecting link (rod), and
loosening of the nut on the upper rod end. This proposed AD would
require a visual inspection of the affected rods for damage, cracks, or
abnormal play, and corrective actions if necessary, as specified in a
European Aviation Safety Agency (now European Union Aviation Safety
Agency) (EASA) 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 September
27, 2021.

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 https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>.
     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.
    For EASA material that is proposed for IBR in this AD, contact
EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; phone: +49 221
8999 000; email<EMAIL_ADDRESS>internet www.easa.europa.eu. You
may find this IBR material on the EASA website at https://ad.easa.europa.eu. You may view this material at the FAA, Office of the
Regional Counsel,

Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Room 6N-321, Fort Worth, TX
76177. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA,
call<PHONE_NUMBER>. This material is also available at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2021-
0659.

Examining the AD Docket

    You may examine the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov by
searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2021-0659; 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 EASA AD,
any comments received, and other information. The street address for
Docket Operations is listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Darren Gassetto, Aerospace Engineer,
COS Program Management Section, Operational Safety Branch, Compliance &
Airworthiness Division, FAA, 1600 Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY
11590; phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>; email<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
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-2021-0659; Project Identifier
2018-SW-112-AD'' 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
https://www.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
Darren Gassetto, Aerospace Engineer, COS Program Management Section,
Operational Safety Branch, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, FAA,
1600 Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: (516) 228-
7323; email<EMAIL_ADDRESS>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 EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the
European Union, has issued EASA AD 2018-0280, dated December 17, 2018
(EASA AD 2018-0280), to correct an unsafe condition for Leonardo S.p.a.
(formerly Finmeccanica S.p.A., AgustaWestland S.p.A., Agusta S.p.A.;
and AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation, formerly Agusta Aerospace
Corporation) Model A109A, A109A II, A109C, A109E, A109K2, A109S,
A109LUH, AW109SP, A119, and AW119 MKII helicopters. Model A109LUH
helicopters 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 helicopters in the applicability.
    This proposed AD was prompted by a report of damage to a rod, and
loosening of the nut on the upper rod end. The FAA is proposing this AD
to address damage to the rod, and loosening of the nut on the upper rod
end, which could result in failure of the rod, possibly resulting in
reduced control of the helicopter. See EASA AD 2018-0280 for additional
background information.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    EASA AD 2018-0280 requires a visual inspection of the affected rods
for damage, cracks, or evidence of abnormal play, and, depending on
findings, any applicable corrective actions (which include replacing
damaged or cracked connecting links and actions to address abnormal
play).
    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 helicopters have been approved by EASA and are approved for
operation in the United States. Pursuant to the FAA's bilateral
agreement with the European Union, EASA has notified the FAA about the
unsafe condition described in its AD. The FAA is proposing this AD
after evaluating all known relevant information and determining that
the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop
on other helicopters of these same type designs.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

    This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified
in EASA AD 2018-0280, described previously, as incorporated by
reference, 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 2018-0280 by reference in the FAA
final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with
EASA AD 2018-0280 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 2018-0280 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 2018-
0280. Service information required by EASA AD 2018-0280 for compliance
will be available at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and
locating Docket No. FAA-2021-0659 after the FAA final rule is
published.

Interim Action

    The FAA considers this proposed AD would be an interim action. The
inspection reports that are required by this AD will enable the
manufacturer to obtain better insight into the nature, cause, and
extent of the cracking, and eventually to develop final action to
address the unsafe condition. Once final action has been identified,
the FAA might consider further rulemaking.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this proposed AD affects 291 helicopters 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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1 work-hour x $85 per hour = $85.............................              $0              $85          $24,735
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    The FAA estimates that it would take about 1 work-hour per product
to comply with the proposed reporting requirement in this proposed AD.
The average labor rate is $85 per hour. Based on these figures, the FAA
estimates the cost of reporting the inspection results on U.S.
operators to be $24,735, or $85 per product.
    The FAA estimates the following costs to do any necessary on-
condition replacements that would be required based on the results of
any required inspections. The FAA has no way of determining the number
of aircraft that might need these on-condition replacements:

                                     Estimated Costs of On-Condition Actions
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               Labor cost                             Parts cost                       Cost per product
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3 work-hours x $85 per hour = $255......  Up to $2,351......................  Up to $2,606.
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    The FAA has included all known costs in its cost estimate.
According to the manufacturer, however, some of the costs of this
proposed AD may be covered under warranty, thereby reducing the cost
impact on affected operators.

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 current 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

    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:

Leonardo S.p.a.: Docket No. FAA-2021-0659; Project Identifier 2018-
SW-112-AD.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive
(AD) by September 27, 2021.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to Leonardo S.p.a. Model A109A, A109A II, A109C,
A109E, A109K2, A109S, AW109SP, A119, and AW119 MKII helicopters,
certificated in any category, with an affected part as identified in
European Aviation Safety Agency (now European Union Aviation Safety
Agency) (EASA) AD 2018-0280, dated December 17, 2018 (EASA AD 2018-
0280).

(d) Subject

    Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) Codes: 6700, Rotorcraft
Flight Control; 6730, Rotorcraft Servo System.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by a report of damage to a rigid connecting
link (rod), and loosening of the nut on the upper rod end. The FAA
is issuing this AD to address damage to the rod, and loosening of
the nut on the upper rod end. The unsafe condition, if not
addressed, could result in failure of the rod, possibly resulting in
reduced control of the helicopter.

(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 2018-0280.

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2018-0280

    (1) Where EASA AD 2018-0280 requires compliance in terms of
flight hours, this AD requires using hours time-in-service.
    (2) Where EASA AD 2018-0280 requires compliance from its
effective date, this AD requires using the effective date of this
AD.
    (3) Where EASA AD 2018-0280 specifies action if ``any
discrepancy'' is found, for this AD, discrepancies include damage,
cracks, and evidence of abnormal play.
    (4) Where the service information specified in EASA AD 2018-0280
specifies to ``replace the damaged connecting link'', for this AD,
if any damage or cracks are found, remove the rod from service.
    (5) Where the service information specified in EASA AD 2018-0280
specifies to ``contact Leonardo Helicopters'' if abnormal play is
detected, for this AD if any abnormal play is detected, corrective
action must be accomplished using a method approved by the Manager,
International Validation Branch, FAA; or EASA; or Leonardo S.p.a.'s
EASA Design Organization Approval (DOA). If approved by the DOA, the
approval must include the DOA-authorized signature.
    (6) Where EASA AD 2018-0280 requires reporting inspection
results to Leonardo S.p.a. within 14 days after the effective date
of EASA AD 2018-0280, this AD requires reporting inspection results
at the applicable time in paragraph (h)(6)(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 14 days after the inspection.
    (ii) If the inspection was done before the effective date of
this AD: Submit the report within 14 days after the effective date
of this AD.
    (7) This AD does not require the ``Remarks'' section of EASA AD
2018-0280.

(i) Special Flight Permit

    Special flight permits, as described in 14 CFR 21.197 and
21.199, are not allowed.

(j) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    (1) 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, send
it to the attention of the person identified in paragraph (k)(2) of
this AD. Information may be emailed to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>    (2) 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.

(k) Related Information

    (1) For EASA AD 2018-0280, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3,
50668 Cologne, Germany; phone: +49 221 8999 000; email:
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>internet www.easa.europa.eu. You may view this
material at the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, Southwest
Region, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Room 6N-321, Fort Worth, TX 76177. For
information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call
(817) 222-5110. This material may be found in the AD docket at
https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No.
FAA-2021-0659.
    (2) For more information about this AD, contact Darren Gassetto,
Aerospace Engineer, COS Program Management Section, Operational
Safety Branch, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, FAA, 1600
Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone:<PHONE_NUMBER>;
email<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
    Issued on August 4, 2021.
Lance T. Gant,
Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft Certification
Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-17046 Filed 8-12-21; 8:45 am]
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