Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 158 / Tuesday, August 18, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 41611 

(2) The Director of the Federal Register 

previously approved the incorporation by 

reference of the service information 

contained in Table 4 of this AD on June 22, 

2006 (71 FR 28766, May 18, 2006). 

TABLE 4—MATERIAL PREVIOUSLY INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Document Revision level Date 

Boeing Component Service Bulletin 233A3205–24–01 ....................................... Original .................................................. July 26, 2001. 

Boeing Component Service Bulletin 69–37319–21–02 ....................................... 1 ............................................................ August 30, 2001. 

(3) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Boeing Commercial 

Airplanes, Attention: Data & Services 

Management, P. O. Box 3707, MC 2H–65, 

Seattle, Washington 98124–2207; telephone 

206–544–5000, extension 1; fax 206–766– 

5680; e-mail me.boecom@boeing.com; 

Internet https://www.myboeingfleet.com. 

(4) You may review copies of the service 

information at the FAA, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, 

Washington. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, call 

425–227–1221 or 425–227–1152. 

(5) You may also review copies of the 

service information that is incorporated by 

reference at the National Archives and 

Records Administration (NARA). For 

information on the availability of this 

material at NARA, call 202–741–6030, or go 

to: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/ 

code_of_federal_regulations/ 

ibr_locations.html. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on August 

7, 2009. 

Stephen P. Boyd, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–19180 Filed 8–17–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2009–0004; Directorate 

Identifier 2008–NM–160–AD; Amendment 

39–15995; AD 2009–17–04] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Model 

A318, A319, A320, and A321 Series 

Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for the 

products listed above. This AD results 

from mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information (MCAI) 

originated by an aviation authority of 

another country to identify and correct 

an unsafe condition on an aviation 

product. The MCAI describes the unsafe 

condition as: 

One case of elevator servo-control 

disconnection has been experienced on an 

aircraft of the A320 family. Failure occurred 

at the servo-control rod eye-end. Further to 

this finding, additional inspections have 

revealed cracking at the same location on a 

number of other servo-control rod eye-ends. 

In one case, both actuators of the same 

elevator surface were affected. * * * 

A dual servo-control disconnection on the 

same elevator could result in an uncontrolled 

surface, the elevator surface being neither 

actuated nor damped, which could lead to 

reduced control of the aircraft. 

* * * * * 

We are issuing this AD to require 

actions to correct the unsafe condition 

on these products. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective 

September 22, 2009. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain publication listed in this AD 

as of September 22, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may examine the AD 

docket on the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in person at the 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 

Docket Operations, M–30, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim 

Dulin, Aerospace Engineer, 

International Branch, ANM–116, 

Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA, 

1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, 

Washington 98057–3356; telephone 

(425) 227–2141; fax (425) 227–1149. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

We issued a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR 

part 39 to include an AD that would 

apply to the specified products. That 

NPRM was published in the Federal 

Register on January 13, 2009 (74 FR 

1646). That NPRM proposed to correct 

an unsafe condition for the specified 

products. The MCAI states: 

One case of elevator servo-control 

disconnection has been experienced on an 

aircraft of the A320 family. Failure occurred 

at the servo-control rod eye-end. Further to 

this finding, additional inspections have 

revealed cracking at the same location on a 

number of other servo-control rod eye-ends. 

In one case, both actuators of the same 

elevator surface were affected. The root cause 

of the cracking has not yet been determined 

and tests are ongoing. It is anticipated that 

further actions will be required. 

A dual servo-control disconnection on the 

same elevator could result in an uncontrolled 

surface, the elevator surface being neither 

actuated nor damped, which could lead to 

reduced control of the aircraft. 

For the reason described above, this AD 

requires a one-time inspection [for cracking] 

of the elevator servo-control rod eye-ends 

and, in case of findings, the accomplishment 

of corrective actions. 

The corrective actions include replacing 

any cracked rod eye-end with a 

serviceable unit and re-adjusting the 

elevator servo-control. You may obtain 

further information by examining the 

MCAI in the AD docket. 

Explanation of Revised Service 

Information 

Airbus has issued All Operators Telex 

(AOT) A320–27A1186, Revision 04, 

dated April 3, 2009. (We referred to 

Airbus AOT A320–27A1186, dated June 

23, 2008, in the NPRM as the 

appropriate source of service 

information for doing the proposed 

actions.) Airbus has also issued AOT 

A320–27A1186, Revision 01, dated 

August 11, 2008; Revision 02, dated 

March 30, 2009; and Revision 03, dated 

April 1, 2009. Airbus issued Revision 

01, Revision 03, and Revision 04 of the 

AOT to include minor improvements in 

the procedures. No additional work is 

necessary for airplanes on which Airbus 

AOT A320–27A1186, dated June 23, 

2008; Revision 01, dated August 11, 

2008; Revision 02, dated March 30, 

2009; or Revision 03, dated April 1, 

2009; has been accomplished before the 

effective date of this AD. We have 

revised paragraphs (f)(1) through (f)(5), 

and paragraph (h) of this AD, to include 

Airbus AOT A320–27A1186, Revision 

04, dated April 3, 2009. We have also 

added a new paragraph (f)(6) to this AD 

to include credit for accomplishing the 

actions before the effective date of this 

AD using the previously issued AOTs. 

Airbus AOT A320–27A1186, Revision 

02, dated March 30, 2009, reduces the 


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41612 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 158 / Tuesday, August 18, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

minimum threshold for inspections 

from 10,000 to 2,500 flight cycles, based 

on in service findings. Due to the 

criticality of the unsafe condition, we 

have determined that this AD must be 

issued without further delay; however, 

after this AD is published we might 

consider additional rulemaking to 

address the reduced compliance time. 

Comments 

We gave the public the opportunity to 

participate in developing this AD. We 

considered the comments received. 

Request To Revise Work Instructions 

Northwest Airlines (NWA) asks that 

we require Airbus to rewrite the work 

instructions specified in Airbus AOT 

A320–27A1186, dated June 23, 2008. 

NWA states that the work steps are not 

written in a manner that is easily 

transferable to work cards, such as 

would normally be provided with a 

service bulletin. NWA adds that most of 

the work steps are provided in multiple 

references that must be extracted and 

properly sequenced so that the intent of 

the AOT can be accomplished. 

We acknowledge NWA’s concern. We 

note that Airbus has issued revisions to 

AOT A320–27A1186 as described above 

under ‘‘Explanation of Revised Service 

Information.’’ However, we disagree that 

Airbus should revise AOT A320– 

27A1186 again because we have 

determined that actions done in 

accordance with Airbus AOT A320– 

27A1186, dated June 23, 2008; Revision 

01, dated August 11, 2008; Revision 02, 

dated March 30, 2009; and Revision 03, 

dated April 1, 2009; or Revision 04, 

dated April 3, 2009; are adequate to 

address the identified unsafe condition. 

Therefore, we have made no change to 

the AD in this regard. 

Request To Remove Reporting 

Requirement 

NWA also asks that the reporting 

requirement not be included. NWA 

states that it sees the value in reporting 

confirmed findings, but if there are no 

findings the reporting requirement 

offers no improvement in safety. 

We disagree with NWA. We have 

determined that reporting both positive 

and negative inspection findings will 

enable the manufacturer to obtain better 

insight into the prevalence of the 

cracking. Reporting all findings will 

allow the manufacturer to conduct 

statistical analyses on a continuous 

basis rather than waiting for the 

compliance time to expire, which may 

be several years for certain airplanes. 

Access to all findings will help the 

manufacturer to develop final action to 

address the identified unsafe condition 

in an expeditious manner. We have 

made no change to the AD in this 

regard. 

Conclusion 

We reviewed the available data, 

including the comments received, and 

determined that air safety and the 

public interest require adopting the AD 

with the changes described previously. 

We determined that these changes will 

not increase the economic burden on 

any operator or increase the scope of the 

AD. 

Differences Between This AD and the 

MCAI or Service Information 

We have reviewed the MCAI and 

related service information and, in 

general, agree with their substance. But 

we might have found it necessary to use 

different words from those in the MCAI 

to ensure the AD is clear for U.S. 

operators and is enforceable. In making 

these changes, we do not intend to differ 

substantively from the information 

provided in the MCAI and related 

service information. 

We might also have required different 

actions in this AD from those in the 

MCAI in order to follow our FAA 

policies. Any such differences are 

highlighted in a note within the AD. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this AD will affect 

730 products of U.S. registry. We also 

estimate that it will take about 13 workhours per product to comply with the 

basic requirements of this AD. The 

average labor rate is $80 per work-hour. 

Based on these figures, we estimate the 

cost of this AD to the U.S. operators to 

be $759,200, or $1,040 per product. 

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. 

We are 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 

We determined that this AD will not 

have federalism implications under 

Executive Order 13132. This AD will 

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 AD: 

1. Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ under Executive Order 12866; 

2. Is not a ‘‘significant rule’’ under the 

DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures 

(44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979); and 

3. Will not have a significant 

economic impact, positive or negative, 

on a substantial number of small entities 

under the criteria of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. 

We prepared a regulatory evaluation 

of the estimated costs to comply with 

this AD and placed it in the AD docket. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; or in person at the 

Docket Operations office between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. The AD docket 

contains the NPRM, the regulatory 

evaluation, any comments received, and 

other information. The street address for 

the Docket Operations office (telephone 

(800) 647–5527) is in the ADDRESSES

section. Comments will be available in 

the AD docket shortly after receipt. 

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39 

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation 

safety, Incorporation by reference, 

Safety. 

Adoption of the Amendment 

■ Accordingly, under the authority 

delegated to me by the Administrator, 

the FAA amends 14 CFR part 39 as 

follows: 

PART 39—AIRWORTHINESS 

DIRECTIVES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 39 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701. 

§ 39.13 [Amended] 

■ 2. The FAA amends § 39.13 by adding 

the following new AD: 

2009–17–04 Airbus: Amendment 39–15995. 

Docket No. FAA–2009–0004; Directorate 

Identifier 2008–NM–160–AD. 

Effective Date 

(a) This airworthiness directive (AD) 

becomes effective September 22, 2009. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 158 / Tuesday, August 18, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 41613 

Affected ADs 

(b) None. 

Applicability 

(c) This AD applies to Airbus Model A318– 

111, –112, –121, and –122; A319–111, –112, 

–113, –114, –115, –131, –132, and –133; 

A320–111, –211, –212, –214, –231, –232, 

–233; and A321–111, –112, –131, –211, –212, 

–213, –231, and –232 series airplanes; 

certificated in any category; all manufacturer 

serial numbers. 

Subject 

(d) Air Transport Association (ATA) of 

America Code 27: Flight controls. 

Reason 

(e) The mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information (MCAI) states: 

One case of elevator servo-control 

disconnection has been experienced on an 

aircraft of the A320 family. Failure occurred 

at the servo-control rod eye-end. Further to 

this finding, additional inspections have 

revealed cracking at the same location on a 

number of other servo-control rod eye-ends. 

In one case, both actuators of the same 

elevator surface were affected. The root cause 

of the cracking has not yet been determined 

and tests are ongoing. It is anticipated that 

further actions will be required. 

A dual servo-control disconnection on the 

same elevator could result in an uncontrolled 

surface, the elevator surface being neither 

actuated nor damped, which could lead to 

reduced control of the aircraft. 

For the reason described above, this AD 

requires a one-time inspection [for cracking] 

of the elevator servo-control rod eye-ends 

and, in case of findings, the accomplishment 

of corrective actions. 

The corrective actions include replacing any 

cracked rod eye-end with a serviceable unit 

and re-adjusting the elevator servo-control. 

Actions and Compliance 

(f) Unless already done, after the 

accumulation of 10,000 total flight cycles 

since first flight of the airplane, do the 

following actions. 

(1) Not before the accumulation of 10,000 

total flight cycles since first flight of the 

airplane, and at the later of the times 

specified in paragraphs (f)(1)(i) and (f)(1)(ii) 

of this AD: Inspect both the left-hand and 

right-hand inboard elevator servo-control rod 

eye-ends for cracking, in accordance with the 

instructions of Airbus All Operators Telex 

(AOT) A320–27A1186, Revision 04, dated 

April 3, 2009. 

(i) Within 1,500 flight cycles or 200 days 

after the effective date of this AD, whichever 

occurs first. 

(ii) Within 1,500 flight cycles or 200 days 

after accumulating 10,000 total flight cycles 

since first flight of the airplane, whichever 

occurs first. 

(2) Not before the accumulation of 10,000 

total flight cycles since first flight of the 

airplane, and at the later of the times 

specified in paragraphs (f)(2)(i) and (f)(2)(ii) 

of this AD: Inspect both the left-hand and 

right-hand outboard elevator servo-control 

rod eye-ends for cracking, in accordance with 

the instructions of Airbus AOT A320– 

27A1186, Revision 04, dated April 3, 2009. 

(i) Within 3,000 flight cycles or 400 days 

after the effective date of this AD, whichever 

occurs first. 

(ii) Within 3,000 flight cycles or 400 days 

after accumulating 10,000 total flight cycles 

since first flight of the airplane, whichever 

occurs first. 

(3) If any cracking is found during any 

inspection required by this AD, before further 

flight, accomplish all applicable corrective 

actions in accordance with the instructions of 

Airbus AOT A320–27A1186, Revision 04, 

dated April 3, 2009. 

(4) Submit a report of the findings of the 

inspection required by paragraphs (f)(1) and 

(f)(2) of this AD to Airbus in accordance with 

the instructions of Airbus AOT A320– 

27A1186, Revision 04, dated April 3, 2009; 

at the applicable time specified in paragraph 

(f)(4)(i) or (f)(4)(ii) of this AD. 

(i) If the inspection was done after the 

effective date of this AD: Submit the report 

within 40 days after the inspection. 

(ii) If the inspection was done before the 

effective date of this AD: Submit the report 

within 40 days after the effective date of this 

AD. 

(5) As of the effective date of this AD, no 

person may install on any airplane an 

elevator servo-control rod eye-end unless it 

has been inspected in accordance with the 

instructions of Airbus AOT A320–27A1186, 

Revision 04, dated April 3, 2009. 

(6) Actions done before the effective date 

of this AD in accordance with Airbus AOT 

A320–27A1186, dated June 23, 2008; 

Revision 01, dated August 11, 2008; Revision 

02, dated March 30, 2009; or Revision 03, 

dated April 1, 2009; are acceptable for 

compliance with the corresponding actions 

required by this AD. 

FAA AD Differences 

Note 1: This AD differs from the MCAI 

and/or service information as follows: No 

differences. 

Other FAA AD Provisions 

(g) The following provisions also apply to 

this AD: 

(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, International 

Branch, ANM–116, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, FAA, has the authority to 

approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. 

Send information to Attn: Tim Dulin, 

Aerospace Engineer, International Branch, 

ANM–116, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

FAA, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, 

Washington 98057–3356; telephone (425) 

227–2141; fax (425) 227–1149. Before using 

any approved AMOC on any airplane to 

which the AMOC applies, notify your 

appropriate principal inspector (PI) in the 

FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), 

or lacking a PI, your local FSDO. 

(2) Airworthy Product: For any requirement 

in this AD to obtain corrective actions from 

a manufacturer or other source, use these 

actions if they are FAA-approved. Corrective 

actions are considered FAA-approved if they 

are approved by the State of Design Authority 

(or their delegated agent). You are required 

to assure the product is airworthy before it 

is returned to service. 

(3) Reporting Requirements: For any 

reporting requirement in this AD, under the 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 

the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

has approved the information collection 

requirements and has assigned OMB Control 

Number 2120–0056. 

Related Information 

(h) Refer to MCAI European Aviation 

Safety Agency Airworthiness Directive 2008– 

0149, dated August 5, 2008; and Airbus AOT 

A320–27A1186, Revision 04, dated April 3, 

2009; for related information. 

Material Incorporated by Reference 

(i) You must use Airbus All Operators 

Telex A320–27A1186, Revision 04, dated 

April 3, 2009, to do the actions required by 

this AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise. 

(The document number and issue date of 

Airbus AOT A320–27A1186, Revision 04, 

dated April 3, 2009, are specified only on the 

first page of the AOT.) 

(1) The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference of 

this service information under 5 U.S.C. 

552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. 

(2) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Airbus, Airworthiness 

Office—EAS, 1 Rond Point Maurice Bellonte, 

31707 Blagnac Cedex, France; telephone +33 

5 61 93 36 96; fax +33 5 61 93 44 51; e-mail: 

account.airworth-eas@airbus.com; Internet 

http://www.airbus.com. 

(3) You may review copies of the service 

information at the FAA, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, 

Washington. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, call 

425–227–1221 or 425–227–1152. 

(4) You may also review copies of the 

service information that is incorporated by 

reference at the National Archives and 

Records Administration (NARA). For 

information on the availability of this 

material at NARA, call 202–741–6030, or go 

to: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/ 

code_of_federal_regulations/ 

ibr_locations.html. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on August 

7, 2009. 

Stephen P. Boyd, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–19636 Filed 8–17–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

14 CFR Part 97 

[Docket No. 30682; Amdt. No. 3335] 

Standard Instrument Approach 

Procedures, and Takeoff Minimums 

and Obstacle Departure Procedures; 

Miscellaneous Amendments 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final Rule. 


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