Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 122 / Monday, June 27, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 36821

Service Bulletin A300–11–6001, Revision 01, 

dated January 30, 2004; and 

(3) For Model A310–203, –204, –221, and 

–222 airplanes and Model A310–304, –322, 

–324, and –325 airplanes: Airbus Service 

Bulletin A310–11–2002, Revision 03, dated 

February 4, 2004. 

Install Safety Signs 

(g) Within 36 months after the effective 

date of this AD, install safety signs on the 

inside and outside of the passenger/crew 

doors and emergency exit doors, and on the 

outside of the cargo compartment doors, in 

accordance with the applicable service 

bulletin. 

Credit for Previous Service Bulletins 

(h) Actions done before the effective date 

of this AD in accordance with Airbus Service 

Bulletin A300–11–0027, dated October 27, 

1993; Airbus Service Bulletin A300–11–6001, 

dated October 27, 1993; Airbus Service 

Bulletin A310–11–2002, dated October 27, 

1993; Airbus Service Bulletin A310–11–2002, 

Revision 1, dated September 28, 1994; or 

Airbus Service Bulletin A310–11–2002, 

Revision 2, dated January 27, 1995; as 

applicable; are acceptable for compliance 

with the requirements of paragraph (g) of this 

AD. 

Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(i) The Manager, International Branch, 

ANM–116, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

FAA, has the authority to approve AMOCs 

for this AD, if requested in accordance with 

the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. 

Related Information 

(j) French airworthiness directive F–2004–

003, dated January 7, 2004, also addresses the 

subject of this AD. 

Material Incorporated by Reference 

(k) You must use the applicable service 

information specified in Table 1 of this AD 

to perform the actions that are required by 

this AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise. 

The Director of the Federal Register approves 

the incorporation by reference of those 

documents in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 

552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. To get copies of 

the service information, go to Airbus, 1 Rond 

Point Maurice Bellonte, 31707 Blagnac 

Cedex, France. To view the AD docket, go to 

the Docket Management Facility, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh 

Street SW., room PL–401, Nassif Building, 

Washington, DC. To review copies of the 

service information, go the National Archives 

and Records Administration (NARA). For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the NARA, call (202) 741–6030, 

or go to http://www.archives.gov/

federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/

ibr_locations.html.

TABLE 1.—MATERIAL INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Airbus Service Bulletin Revision 

level Date 

A300–11–0027 ............................................................................................................................................................ 01 Jan. 30, 2004. 

A300–11–6001 ............................................................................................................................................................ 01 Jan. 30, 2004. 

A310–11–2002 ............................................................................................................................................................ 03 Feb. 4, 2004. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on June 15, 

2005. 

Michael J. Kaszycki, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 05–12512 Filed 6–24–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2004–19533; Directorate 

Identifier 2004–NM–31–AD; Amendment 39–

14164; AD 2005–13–27] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Boeing 

Model 737–300, –400, and –500 Series 

Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

Boeing Model 737–300, –400, and –500 

series airplanes. This AD requires 

repetitive inspections for cracking of the 

crown area of the fuselage skin, and 

corrective actions if necessary. This AD 

is prompted by a Model 737 fuselage 

structure test and fatigue analysis that 

indicate fuselage skin cracking could 

occur between 21,000 and 42,000 total 

flight cycles. We are issuing this AD to 

detect and correct fatigue cracking of the 

fuselage skin, which could cause the 

fuselage skin to fracture and fail, and 

could result in rapid decompression of 

the airplane.

DATES: This AD becomes effective 

August 1, 2005. 

The incorporation by reference of a 

certain publication listed in the AD is 

approved by the Director of the Federal 

Register as of August 1, 2005.

ADDRESSES: For service information 

identified in this AD, contact Boeing 

Commercial Airplanes, P.O. Box 3707, 

Seattle, Washington 98124–2207. 

Docket: The AD docket contains the 

proposed AD, comments, and any final 

disposition. You can examine the AD 

docket on the Internet at http://

dms.dot.gov, or in person at the Docket 

Management Facility office between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. The 

Docket Management Facility office 

(telephone (800) 647–5227) is located on 

the plaza level of the Nassif Building at 

the U.S. Department of Transportation, 

400 Seventh Street SW., room PL–401, 

Washington, DC. This docket number is 

FAA–2004–19533; the directorate 

identifier for this docket is 2004–NM–

31–AD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sue 

Lucier, Aerospace Engineer, Airframe 

Branch, ANM–120S, FAA, Seattle 

Aircraft Certification Office, 1601 Lind 

Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 

98055–4056; telephone (425) 917–6438; 

fax (425) 917–6590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA 

proposed to amend 14 CFR part 39 with 

an AD for certain Boeing Model 737–

300, –400, and –500 series airplanes. 

That action, published in the Federal 

Register on November 5, 2004 (69 FR 

64534), proposed to require repetitive 

inspections for cracking of the crown 

area of the fuselage skin, and corrective 

actions if necessary. 

Comments 

We provided the public the 

opportunity to participate in the 

development of this AD. We have 

considered the comments that have 

been submitted on the proposed AD. 

Request to Incorporate Revised Repair 

and Preventive Modification 

Procedures 

One commenter, the airplane 

manufacturer, requests that the 

proposed AD be revised to include the 

instructions provided to airplane 

operators in Boeing Communication 

System Activity 1–VN5QD. This Boeing 

Communication revises the repair and 

preventive modification procedures in 

Boeing Special Attention Service 

36822 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 122 / Monday, June 27, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

Bulletin 737–53–1234, dated June 13, 

2002 (which is cited as the appropriate 

source of service information for the 

proposed AD). The revised procedures 

reduce the number of fasteners common 

to the first fastener row at the tear 

straps. The commenter states that the 

fastener size and pattern in the tear 

straps that are part of the procedures in 

the original issue of the service bulletin 

will not be consistent with future 

structural repair manual (SRM) repairs. 

These SRM repairs are currently being 

developed for Model 737–300, –400, 

and –500 series airplanes, with 20-inch 

tear strap spacing. The commenter 

explains that the fastener pattern and 

size difference in the SRM is being 

incorporated in an effort to maximize 

the ‘‘fail safety’’ of the repair by 

increasing the net area across the tear 

strap at the critical rows of the repair. 

The commenter points out that the 

procedures in the original issue of the 

service bulletin are adequate and do not 

contain an unsafe repair; however, there 

is a potential inconsistency between the 

service bulletin and the SRM. The 

commenter feels that this inconsistency 

would not represent best design 

practices given the potential number of 

repairs that could be required if a 

significant amount of chem-mill 

cracking occurs. The commenter further 

states that it is planning to revise Boeing 

Special Attention Service Bulletin 737–

53–1234 to incorporate the instructions 

in Boeing Communication System 

Activity 1–VN5QD. 

We partially agree with the 

commenter. We agree with the request 

to incorporate best design practices for 

repairs to the fuselage, because 

mandating an action with known 

obsolete information ultimately requires 

additional work for the industry. 

However, we disagree with including a 

Boeing Communication as part of the 

AD, because multiple sources of ADmandated instructions can increase the 

potential for misinterpretation and noncompliance. In addition, since the time 

the comments were made, the 

commenter (the airplane manufacturer) 

has revised the repair information in the 

service bulletin to include the 

information in Boeing Communication 

System Activity 1–VN5QD. We have 

included this revision of the service 

bulletin (Boeing Special Attention 

Service Bulletin 737–53–1234, Revision 

1, dated March 31, 2005) in the final 

rule as the appropriate source of service 

information for accomplishing the AD 

actions. Revision 1 adds no further work 

to the original issue of the service 

bulletin, but incorporates the 

information in Boeing Communication 

System Activity 1–VN5QD. The final 

rule mandates the revised service 

bulletin. We have also added a new 

paragraph (l) to the final rule, which 

allows credit for actions done in 

accordance with the original issue of the 

service bulletin. We have re-identified 

subsequent paragraphs accordingly. 

Request to Fix Typographical Error 

The same commenter requests that we 

fix the typographical error 

‘‘appropriateaction’’ in paragraph (j) of 

the proposed AD. 

We have changed paragraph (j) of the 

final rule to read ‘‘appropriate action’’

instead of ‘‘appropriateaction.’’

Explanation of Changes Made to This 

AD 

We have revised paragraph (j) of the 

final rule to allow any crack in the 

subject area to be repaired according to 

data that conform to the airplane’s type 

certificate and that are approved by an 

Authorized Representative for the 

Boeing Delegation Option Authorization 

Organization whom we have authorized 

to make such findings. 

We have revised paragraphs (i)(1), 

(i)(2)(i), and (i)(2)(ii) of the final rule to 

remove references to the notes in Part 2 

and Part 3 of the Work Instructions in 

the original issue of the service bulletin. 

The notes are no longer in those parts 

of Revision 1 of the service bulletin. The 

information in the referenced notes is 

still required by this AD, but in Revision 

1 of the service bulletin this information 

has been incorporated into the 

procedures of Part 2 and Part 3.

Conclusion 

We have carefully reviewed the 

available data, including the comments 

that have been submitted, and 

determined that air safety and the 

public interest require adopting the AD 

with the changes described previously. 

We have determined that these changes 

will neither increase the economic 

burden on any operator nor increase the 

scope of the AD. 

Costs of Compliance 

There are about 579 airplanes of the 

affected design in the worldwide fleet. 

The following table provides the 

estimated costs for U.S. operators to 

comply with this proposed AD.

ESTIMATED COSTS

Action Work hours Average labor 

rate per hour 

Cost per

airplane, per 

inspection 

cycle 

Number of 

U.S.-registered 

airplanes 

Fleet cost, per 

inspection 

cycle 

Inspections ........................................................................... 94 $65 $6,110 175 $1,069,250 

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 have 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 that this AD: 

(1) Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ under Executive Order 12866; 

(2) Is not a ‘‘significant rule’’ under 

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 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 122 / Monday, June 27, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 36823

under the criteria of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. 

We prepared a regulatory evaluation 

of the estimated costs to comply with 

this AD. See the ADDRESSES section for 

a location to examine the regulatory 

evaluation.

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 airworthiness 

directive (AD):

2005–13–27 Boeing: Amendment 39–14164. 

Docket No. FAA–2004–19533; 

Directorate Identifier 2004–NM–31–AD. 

Effective Date 

(a) This AD becomes effective August 1, 

2005. 

Affected ADs 

(b) None. 

Applicability 

(c) This AD applies to Boeing Model 737–

300, –400, and –500 series airplanes, 

certificated in any category; as identified in 

Boeing Special Attention Service Bulletin 

737–53–1234, Revision 1, dated March 31, 

2005. 

Unsafe Condition 

(d) This AD was prompted by a Model 737 

fuselage structure test and fatigue analysis 

that indicate fuselage skin cracking could 

occur between 21,000 and 42,000 total flight 

cycles. We are issuing this AD to detect and 

correct fatigue cracking of the fuselage skin, 

which could cause the fuselage skin to 

fracture and fail, and could result in rapid 

decompression of the airplane. 

Compliance 

(e) You are responsible for having the 

actions required by this AD performed within 

the compliance times specified, unless the 

actions have already been done. 

Service Bulletin References 

(f) The term ‘‘service bulletin,’’ as used in 

this AD, means Boeing Special Attention 

Service Bulletin 737–53–1234, Revision 1, 

dated March 31, 2005. 

Initial and Repetitive Inspections 

(g) At the later of the times specified in 

paragraphs (g)(1) and (g)(2) of this AD, 

perform detailed and eddy current 

inspections for cracking of the crown area of 

the fuselage skin in accordance with Part 1, 

including the ‘‘Note,’’ of the Work 

Instructions of the service bulletin, except as 

provided by paragraph (j) of this AD. 

(1) Before the accumulation of the 

applicable total flight cycles specified in the 

‘‘Threshold’’ column of Table 1 of Figure 1 

of the service bulletin. 

(2) Within 4,500 flight cycles after the 

effective date of this AD. 

(h) Repeat either the detailed or eddy 

current inspections specified in paragraph (g) 

of this AD at the applicable intervals 

specified in paragraph (h)(1) or (h)(2) of this 

AD until paragraph (i)(1) or (i)(2) of this AD 

has been done, as applicable. 

(1) Repeat the detailed inspections 

thereafter at intervals not to exceed 1,200 

flight cycles. 

(2) Repeat the eddy current inspections 

thereafter at intervals not to exceed 3,000 

flight cycles. 

Permanent or Time-Limited Repair 

(i) If any cracking is found during any 

inspection required by paragraph (g) or (h) of 

this AD, do the actions specified in 

paragraph (i)(1) or (i)(2) of this AD in 

accordance with the service bulletin, except 

as provided by paragraphs (j) and (k) of this 

AD. 

(1) Before further flight, do a permanent 

repair (including related investigative actions 

and applicable corrective actions) in 

accordance with Part 2 of the Work 

Instructions of the service bulletin. Doing a 

permanent repair ends the repetitive 

inspections required by paragraph (h) of this 

AD for the repaired area only. 

(2) Do the actions specified in paragraphs 

(i)(2)(i) and (i)(2)(ii) of this AD at the time 

specified in the applicable paragraph. Doing 

a time-limited repair ends the repetitive 

inspections required by paragraph (h) of this 

AD for the repaired area only. 

(i) Before further flight, do a time-limited 

repair (including related investigative actions 

and applicable corrective actions) in 

accordance with Part 3 of the Work 

Instructions of the service bulletin. 

(ii) At the times specified in Figure 8 of the 

service bulletin, do the related investigative 

and corrective actions in accordance with 

Part 3 of the Work Instructions of the service 

bulletin. 

Contact the FAA 

(j) Where the service bulletin specifies to 

contact Boeing for appropriate action: Before 

further flight, repair according to a method 

approved by the Manager, Seattle Aircraft 

Certification Office (ACO), FAA; or according 

to data meeting the certification basis of the 

airplane approved by an Authorized 

Representative for the Boeing Delegation 

Option Authorization Organization who has 

been authorized by the Manager, Seattle 

ACO, to make those findings. For a repair 

method to be approved, the approval must 

specifically reference this AD. 

No Reporting 

(k) Although the service bulletin specifies 

reporting certain information to Boeing, this 

AD does not require that action. 

Actions Accomplished According to 

Previous Issue of Service Bulletin 

(l) Actions done before the effective date of 

this AD in accordance with Boeing Special 

Attention Service Bulletin 737–53–1234, 

dated June 13, 2002, are acceptable for 

compliance with the corresponding actions 

required by this AD. 

Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(m) The Manager, Seattle ACO, FAA, has 

the authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, 

if requested using the procedures found in 14 

CFR 39.19. 

Material Incorporated by Reference 

(n) You must use Boeing Special Attention 

Service Bulletin 737–53–1234, Revision 1, 

dated March 31, 2005, to perform the actions 

that are required by this AD, unless the AD 

specifies otherwise. The Director of the 

Federal Register approves the incorporation 

by reference of this document in accordance 

with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. To 

get copies of the service information, contact 

Boeing Commercial Airplanes, P.O. Box 

3707, Seattle, Washington 98124–2207. To 

view the AD docket, go to the Docket 

Management Facility, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 400 Seventh Street SW., 

room PL–401, Nassif Building, Washington, 

DC. To review copies of the service 

information, go to the National Archives and 

Records Administration (NARA). For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the 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 June 15, 

2005. 

Kevin M. Mullin, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 05–12514 Filed 6–24–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P