6214 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

not include any entity that is 

consolidated with a savings association 

on the Consolidated Statement of the 

Condition of the Thrift Financial Report. 

(b) The Director assesses fees for 

processing notices, applications, 

securities filings, and requests, and for 

providing other services. 

5. Revise § 502.75(b) to read as 

follows:

§ 502.75 What will happen if I do not pay 

my fees on time?

* * * * *

(b) Failure to pay. If you are a savings 

association and your holding company, 

affiliate, or subsidiary fails to pay any 

fee within 60 days of the date specified 

in a bill, the Director may assess and 

collect that fee, with interest, from you. 

If the holding company, affiliate, or 

subsidiary is related to more than one 

savings association, the Director may 

assess the fee against and collect it from 

each savings association as the Director 

may prescribe.

Dated: February 4, 2004.

By the Office of Thrift Supervision. 

Richard M. Riccobono, 

Deputy Director.

[FR Doc. 04–2846 Filed 2–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6720–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. 2003–SW–38–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Eurocopter 

Deutschland Model MBB–BK 117 A–1, 

A–3, A–4, B–1, B–2, and C–1

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: This document proposes 

adopting a new airworthiness directive 

(AD) for the specified Eurocopter 

Deutschland (ECD) model helicopters. 

This proposal would require inspecting 

the vertical fin skin paneling to 

determine if it was manufactured with 

the correct wall thickness. This proposal 

is prompted by a report from the 

manufacturer that some vertical fins 

may have been produced with the 

wrong vertical fin skin thickness. The 

actions specified by this proposed AD 

are intended to prevent failure of the 

vertical fin and subsequent loss of 

control of the helicopter.

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 12, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in 

triplicate to the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Office of the 

Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 

Attention: Rules Docket No. 2003–SW–

38–AD, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Room 

663, Fort Worth, Texas 76137. You may 

also send comments electronically to 

the Rules Docket at the following 

address: 9-asw-adcomments@faa.gov.

Comments may be inspected at the 

Office of the Regional Counsel between 

9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard Monschke, Aviation Safety 

Engineer, FAA, Rotorcraft Directorate, 

Rotorcraft Standards Staff, Fort Worth, 

Texas 76193–0110, telephone (817) 

222–5116, fax (817) 222–5961.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

Interested persons are invited to 

participate in the making of the 

proposed rule by submitting such 

written data, views, or arguments as 

they may desire. Communications 

should identify the Rules Docket 

number and be submitted in triplicate to 

the address specified above. All 

communications received on or before 

the closing date for comments will be 

considered before taking action on the 

proposed rule. The proposals contained 

in this document may be changed in 

light of the comments received. 

Comments are specifically invited on 

the overall regulatory, economic, 

environmental, and energy aspects of 

the proposed rule. All comments 

submitted will be available, both before 

and after the closing date for comments, 

in the Rules Docket for examination by 

interested persons. A report 

summarizing each FAA-public contact 

concerned with the substance of this 

proposal will be filed in the Rules 

Docket. 

Commenters wishing the FAA to 

acknowledge receipt of their mailed 

comments submitted in response to this 

proposal must submit a self-addressed, 

stamped postcard on which the 

following statement is made: 

‘‘Comments to Docket No. 2003–SW–

38–AD.’’ The postcard will be date 

stamped and returned to the 

commenter. 

Discussion 

The Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA), the 

airworthiness authority for the Federal 

Republic of Germany, notified the FAA 

that an unsafe condition may exist on 

ECD Model MBB–BK117 helicopters, 

Model A–1 up to B–2, serial number (S/

N) all, and Model C–1, S/N 7500 up to 

7545. The LBA advises that during tail 

boom production, metal sheeting of 0.6-

millimeter (mm) thickness was found 

instead of the specified 0.8-mm 

thickness for the skin paneling of 

several tail booms. 

ECD has issued Alert Service Bulletin 

No. ASB–MBB–BK117–30–109, 

Revision 1, dated July 3, 2003, which 

specifies measuring the wall thickness 

of the skin paneling of the vertical fin 

to determine the thickness. The LBA 

classified this service bulletin as 

mandatory and issued AD No. 2003–

219, dated August 21, 2003, to ensure 

the continued airworthiness of these 

helicopters in the Federal Republic of 

Germany.

This helicopter model is 

manufactured in the Federal Republic of 

Germany and is type certificated for 

operation in the United States under the 

provisions of 14 CFR 21.29 and the 

applicable bilateral agreement. Pursuant 

to the applicable bilateral agreement, 

the LBA has kept the FAA informed of 

the situation described above. The FAA 

has examined the findings of the LBA, 

reviewed all available information, and 

determined that AD action is necessary 

for products of this type design that are 

certificated for operation in the United 

States. 

This previously described unsafe 

condition is likely to exist or develop on 

other helicopters of the same type 

design registered in the United States. 

Therefore, the proposed AD would 

require, within 100 hours time-inservice, using external calipers, 

measuring the wall thickness, including 

primer coating, of the skin paneling of 

the vertical fin. If the wall thickness, 

including the primer coating, of the 

paneling is less than 0.778 millimeter 

(0.03063 inch) at any of the measured 

locations, this proposed AD would also 

require replacing the vertical fin with an 

airworthy part before further flight. 

The FAA estimates that this proposed 

AD would affect 132 helicopters of U.S. 

registry and the proposed actions would 

take approximately 1 hour per 

helicopter to accomplish at an average 

labor rate of $65 per work hour. Based 

on these figures, we estimate the total 

cost impact of the proposed AD on U.S. 

operators to be $8580 assuming no 

vertical fins will need to be replaced. 

The regulations proposed herein 

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. Therefore, 

it is determined that this proposal 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2004 / Proposed Rules 6215

would not have federalism implications 

under Executive Order 13132. 

For the reasons discussed above, I 

certify that this proposed regulation (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) if 

promulgated, 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. A copy of the draft 

regulatory evaluation prepared for this 

action is contained in the Rules Docket. 

A copy of it may be obtained by 

contacting the Rules Docket at the 

location provided under the caption 

ADDRESSES.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39 

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation 

safety, Safety.

The Proposed Amendment 

Accordingly, pursuant to the 

authority delegated to me by the 

Administrator, the Federal Aviation 

Administration proposes to amend part 

39 of the Federal Aviation Regulations 

(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. Section 39.13 is amended by 

adding a new airworthiness directive to 

read as follows:

Eurocopter Deutschland: Docket No. 2003–

SW–38–AD.

Applicability: Model MBB–BK 117 A–1, A–

3, A–4, B–1, and B–2, all serial numbers (S/

N), and Model C–1, S/N 7500 through 7545, 

certificated in any category. 

Compliance: Required within 100 hours 

time in service, unless accomplished 

previously. 

To prevent failure of the vertical fin and 

subsequent loss of control of the helicopter, 

do the following: 

(a) Using external calipers, measure the 

wall thickness, including primer coating, of 

the skin paneling of the vertical fin at the 

locations shown in Figure 1 of this AD.

Note 1: Eurocopter Deutschland (ECD) 

Alert Service Bulletin No. ASB–MBB–

BK117–30–109, Revision 1, dated July 3, 

2003, pertains to the subject of this AD.

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P

6216 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

(b) If the wall thickness, including the 

primer coating, of the paneling is less than 

0.778 millimeter (0.03063 inch) at any of the 

measured locations, replace the vertical fin 

with an airworthy part before further flight. 

(c) To request a different method of 

compliance or a different compliance time 

for this AD, follow the procedures in 14 CFR 

39.19. Contact the Safety Management Group, 

Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, for information 

about previously approved alternative 

methods of compliance.

Note 2: The subject of this AD is addressed 

in Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (Federal Republic of 

Germany) AD 2003–219, dated August 21, 

2003.

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on 

January 30, 2004.

David A. Downey, 

Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 04–2783 Filed 2–9–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–C

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Parts 60 and 121 

[Docket No. FAA–2002–12461; Notice No. 

02–11] 

RIN 2120–AH07 

Flight Simulation Device Initial and 

Continuing Qualification and Use

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: On September 25, 2002, the 

FAA published a Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (NPRM) to establish a new 


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