94942 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 248 / Tuesday, December 27, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 

PART 127—WOMEN-OWNED SMALL 

BUSINESS FEDERAL CONTRACT 

PROGRAM 

■ 6. The authority citation for part 127 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 632, 634(b)(6), 

637(m), and 644. 

■ 7. In § 127.506, revise paragraph (c)(4) 

to read as follows: 

§ 127.506 May a joint venture submit an 

offer on an EDWOSB or WOSB 

requirement? 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(4) Stating that the WOSB(s) must 

receive profits from the joint venture 

commensurate with the work performed 

by the WOSB; 

* * * * * 

Dated: December 16, 2016. 

A. John Shoraka, 

Associate Administrator, Office of 

Government Contracting & Business 

Development. 

[FR Doc. 2016–30873 Filed 12–23–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8205–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2015–5807; Directorate 

Identifier 2015–SW–063–AD; Amendment 

39–18754; AD 2016–25–28] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus 

Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for Airbus 

Helicopters Model AS355NP 

helicopters. This AD requires removing 

and installing the fire extinguishing 

system pipes. This AD is prompted by 

the discovery that the left-hand and 

right-hand fire extinguishing discharge 

systems were incorrectly connected. 

The actions of this AD are intended to 

correct the unsafe condition on these 

products. 

DATES: This AD is effective January 31, 

2017. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain document listed in this AD 

as of January 31, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: For service information 

identified in this final rule, contact 

Airbus Helicopters, 2701 N. Forum 

Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75052; 

telephone (972) 641–0000 or (800) 232– 

0323; fax (972) 641–3775; or at http://

www.airbushelicopters.com/techpub. 

You may review the referenced 

service information at the FAA, Office 

of the Regional Counsel, Southwest 

Region, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Room 

6N–321, Fort Worth, TX 76177. It is also 

available on the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2015– 

5807. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2015– 

5807; 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 this AD, the European Aviation 

Safety Agency (EASA) ADs, any 

incorporated-by-reference service 

information, the economic evaluation, 

any comments received, and other 

information. The street address for the 

Docket Operations Office (phone: 800– 

647–5527) is U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations 

Office, M–30, West Building Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

George Schwab, Aviation Safety 

Engineer, Safety Management Group, 

Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 10101 

Hillwood Pkwy, Fort Worth, TX 76177; 

telephone (817) 222–5110; email 

george.schwab@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

On April 12, 2016, at 81 FR 21493, the 

Federal Register published our notice of 

proposed rulemaking (NPRM), which 

proposed to amend 14 CFR part 39 by 

adding an AD that would apply to 

Airbus Helicopters Model AS355NP 

helicopters with an Arrius 1A1 fire 

extinguishing system installed. The 

NPRM proposed to require removing 

and correctly installing the fire 

extinguishing system pipes in 

accordance with Airbus Helicopters’ 

service information and removing any 

placards on the instrument panel if 

installed. The proposed requirements 

were intended to correct the 

connections and to prevent the fire 

extinguishing system from discharging 

to the wrong engine compartment, 

failure of the fire extinguishing system 

to control a fire, and subsequent loss of 

control of the helicopter. 

The NPRM was prompted by AD No. 

2011–0192–E, dated October 4, 2011, 

issued by EASA, which is the Technical 

Agent for the Member States of the 

European Union, to correct an unsafe 

condition for Eurocopter (now Airbus 

Helicopters) Model AS355NP 

helicopters with an Arrius 1A1 fire 

extinguishing system installed through 

production modification (mod) OP– 

3931. 

EASA advises that during an 

inspection of the engine fire 

extinguishing system on an AS355NP 

helicopter, the left-hand (LH) fire 

extinguisher discharge system was 

found connected to the right-hand (RH) 

engine compartment and the RH 

discharge system was connected to the 

LH engine compartment. An 

investigation showed that this erroneous 

installation was inherent in Eurocopter 

production modification (mod) OP– 

3931. According to EASA, this 

condition, if not detected and corrected, 

could lead to the discharge of the fire 

extinguisher in the wrong engine 

compartment in the event of a fire. 

Pending the development of a modified 

extinguishing system, EASA Emergency 

AD No. 2011–0192–E required installing 

a placard warning the flight crew of the 

erroneous installation until the squibs 

on each fire extinguisher are exchanged. 

After EASA issued Emergency AD No. 

2011–0192–E, Airbus Helicopters 

developed a permanent modification of 

the discharge system to reconfigure the 

position of the squibs on each fire 

extinguisher to line up with the control 

buttons. EASA subsequently issued 

superseding EASA AD No. 2015–0181, 

dated August 31, 2015, to retain the 

requirements of its previous Emergency 

AD and require the modification of the 

engine fire extinguishing discharge 

system within 12 months. 

Comments 

After our NPRM (81 FR 21493, April 

12, 2016) was published, we received 

two comments from Airbus Helicopters. 

Request 

Airbus Helicopters requested that the 

proposed AD have mod 073990 as a 

terminating action and exempt Model 

AS355NP aircraft that are ‘‘post mod 

073990’’ from the AD’s requirements. 

We agree with the comment but 

disagree that a change to the AD is 

necessary. The AD requires compliance 

with the service information that Airbus 

Helicopters has identified as mod 

073990. A Model AS355NP helicopter 

in a ‘‘post mod 073990’’ configuration 

has complied with the service 

information, and therefore has also 

previously complied with the required 


asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 248 / Tuesday, December 27, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 94943 

actions of the AD under paragraph (d). 

We have added a note to the required 

actions to specify that the service 

information is the equivalent of Mod 

073990. 

Airbus Helicopters also requested that 

we clarify that the AD requires 

removing and installing certain pipes 

and not removing and installing the 

entire fire extinguishing system. 

We agree and revised the Required 

Actions paragraph to clarify that 

compliance means removing and 

installing the pipes. 

FAA’s Determination 

These helicopters have been approved 

by the aviation authority of France and 

are approved for operation in the United 

States. Pursuant to our bilateral 

agreement with France, EASA, its 

technical representative, has notified us 

of the unsafe condition described in the 

EASA AD. We are issuing this AD 

because we evaluated all information 

provided by EASA, reviewed the 

relevant information, considered the 

comments received, and determined the 

unsafe condition exists and is likely to 

exist or develop on other helicopters of 

these same type designs and that air 

safety and the public interest require 

adopting the AD requirements as 

proposed with the changes described 

previously. These changes are 

consistent with the intent of the 

proposals in the NPRM (81 FR 21493, 

April 12, 2016) and will not increase the 

economic burden on any operator nor 

increase the scope of this AD. 

Differences Between This AD and the 

EASA AD 

The EASA AD requires installing a 

placard on the instrument panel to warn 

the flight crew of the erroneous 

installation until the squibs on each fire 

extinguisher are exchanged, and then, 

within 12 months, removing and reinstalling certain pipes in the fire 

extinguishing system to position the 

squibs in line with the control buttons. 

This AD does not require installation of 

the placards or the temporary exchange 

of the squibs. Also, this AD requires 

removing and re-installing the fire 

extinguisher system pipes within 600 

hours time-in-service or at the next 

annual inspection, whichever occurs 

first. 

Related Service Information Under 1 

CFR Part 51 

We reviewed Airbus Helicopters Alert 

Service Bulletin No. AS355–26.00.10, 

Revision 0, dated July 2, 2015 (ASB 

AS355–26.00.10). ASB AS355–26.00.10 

provides procedures for removing the 

fire extinguishing system’s pipes and reinstalling them in a configuration where 

the squibs match the positioning of the 

fire extinguisher discharge heads. ASB 

AS355–26.00.10 also specifies removing 

any previously-affixed placard on the 

instrument panel and installing new 

discharge system pipes. Helicopters 

with mod 073990 installed have already 

complied with ASB AS355–26.00.10. 

This service information 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. 

Other Related Service Information 

We also reviewed Eurocopter 

Emergency Alert Service Bulletin No. 

26.00.09, Revision 0, dated September 

15, 2011 (EASB 26.00.09), issued prior 

to the permanent modification 

developed by Airbus Helicopters. EASB 

26.00.09 provided procedures for 

interchanging the squibs on each fire 

extinguisher. Until this was 

accomplished, EASB 26.00.09 specified 

affixing a label on the instrument panel 

to make the flight crew aware of the 

crossed connection. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this AD affects 2 

helicopters of U.S. Registry and that 

labor costs average $85 per work hour. 

We expect that removing and installing 

the fire extinguishing system requires 24 

work hours and required parts cost 

$6,367. Based on these estimates, we 

expect a total cost of $8,407 per 

helicopter and $16,814 for the U.S. fleet. 

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 

helicopters identified in this rulemaking 

action. 

Regulatory Findings 

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); 

(3) Will not affect intrastate aviation 

in Alaska to the extent that it justifies 

making a regulatory distinction; and 

(4) 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 an economic evaluation 

of the estimated costs to comply with 

this AD and placed it in the AD docket. 

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): 

2016–25–28 Airbus Helicopters: 

Amendment 39–18754; Docket No. 

FAA–2015–5807; Directorate Identifier 

2015–SW–063–AD. 

(a) Applicability 

This AD applies to Airbus Helicopters 

Model AS355NP helicopters, certificated in 

any category, with an Arrius 1A1 fire 

extinguishing system installed. 

(b) Unsafe Condition 

This AD defines the unsafe condition as an 

incorrectly connected fire extinguishing 

discharge system. This condition could result 

in the fire extinguishing system discharging 

to the wrong engine compartment, failure of 

the fire extinguishing system to contain a 

fire, and loss of control of the helicopter. 

(c) Effective Date 

This AD becomes effective January 31, 

2017. 


asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
94944 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 248 / Tuesday, December 27, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 

(d) Compliance 

You are responsible for performing each 

action required by this AD within the 

specified compliance time unless it has 

already been accomplished prior to that time. 

(e) Required Actions 

Within 600 hours time-in-service or at the 

next annual inspection, whichever occurs 

first, remove and install the fire 

extinguishing system pipes, and remove any 

placards on the instrument panel if installed, 

in accordance with the Accomplishment 

Instructions, paragraph 3.B. and 3.B.1 

through 3.B.2, of Airbus Helicopters Alert 

Service Bulletin No. AS355–26.00.10, 

Revision 0, dated July 2, 2015. 

Note 1 to paragraph (e) of this AD: Airbus 

Helicopters identifies Alert Service Bulletin 

No. AS355–26.00.10, Revision 0, dated July 

2, 2015, as mod 073990. 

(f) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, Safety Management 

Group, FAA, may approve AMOCs for this 

AD. Send your proposal to: George Schwab, 

Aviation Safety Engineer, Safety Management 

Group, Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 10101 

Hillwood Pkwy, Fort Worth, TX 76177; 

telephone (817) 222–5110; email 9-ASWFTW-AMOC-Requests@faa.gov. 

(2) For operations conducted under a 14 

CFR part 119 operating certificate or under 

14 CFR part 91, subpart K, we suggest that 

you notify your principal inspector, or 

lacking a principal inspector, the manager of 

the local flight standards district office or 

certificate holding district office, before 

operating any aircraft complying with this 

AD through an AMOC. 

(g) Additional Information 

(1) Eurocopter Emergency Alert Service 

Bulletin No. AS–355–26.00.09, Revision 0, 

dated September 15, 2011, which is not 

incorporated by reference, contains 

additional information about the subject of 

this final rule. For service information 

identified in this final rule, contact Airbus 

Helicopters, 2701 N. Forum Drive, Grand 

Prairie, TX 75052; telephone (972) 641–0000 

or (800) 232–0323; fax (972) 641–3775; or at 

http://www.airbushelicopters.com/techpub. 

You may review a copy of the service 

information at the FAA, Office of the 

Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 10101 

Hillwood Pkwy, Room 6N–321, Fort Worth, 

TX 76177. 

(2) The subject of this AD is addressed in 

European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 

No. 2015–0181, dated August 31, 2015. You 

may view the EASA AD on the Internet at 

http://www.regulations.gov in AD Docket No. 

FAA–2016–2015–5807. 

(h) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 2620, Extinguishing System. 

(i) Material Incorporated by Reference 

(1) The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference of 

the service information listed in this 

paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR 

part 51. 

(2) You must use this service information 

as applicable to do the actions required by 

this AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise. 

(i) Airbus Helicopters Alert Service 

Bulletin No. AS355–26.00.10, Revision 0, 

dated July 2, 2015. 

(ii) Reserved. 

(3) For Airbus Helicopters service 

information identified in this AD, contact 

Airbus Helicopters, 2701 N. Forum Drive, 

Grand Prairie, TX 75052; telephone (972) 

641–0000 or (800) 232–0323; fax (972) 641– 

3775; or at http://

www.airbushelicopters.com/techpub. 

(4) You may view this service information 

at 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. 

(5) You may view this 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/cfr/ibrlocations.html. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on December 

8, 2016. 

Scott A Horn, 

Acting Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2016–30116 Filed 12–23–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2016–5247; Directorate 

Identifier 2015–SW–008–AD; Amendment 

39–18740; AD 2016–25–14] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus 

Helicopters Deutschland GmbH 

Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for Airbus 

Helicopters Deutschland GmbH (Airbus 

Helicopters) Model BO–105LS A–3 

helicopters. This AD requires 

establishing a life limit for the tensiontorsion (TT) straps. This AD is 

prompted by an error in the 

Airworthiness Limitations section of the 

maintenance manual. These actions are 

intended to prevent the unsafe 

condition on these products. 

DATES: This AD is effective January 31, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: For service information 

identified in this final rule, contact 

Airbus Helicopters, 2701 N. Forum 

Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75052; 

telephone (972) 641–0000 or (800) 232– 

0323; fax (972) 641–3775; or at http://

www.airbushelicopters.com/techpub. 

You may review the referenced 

service information at the FAA, Office 

of the Regional Counsel, Southwest 

Region, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy, Room 

6N–321, Fort Worth, TX 76177. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2016– 

5247; 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 this AD, the European Aviation 

Safety Agency (EASA) AD, the 

economic evaluation, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for the Docket Operations 

Office (phone: 800–647–5527) is U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations Office, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt 

Fuller, Senior Aviation Safety Engineer, 

Safety Management Group, Rotorcraft 

Directorate, FAA, 10101 Hillwood 

Pkwy, Fort Worth, Texas 76177; 

telephone (817) 222–5110; email 

matthew.fuller@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

On March 25, 2016, at 81 FR 16100, 

the Federal Register published our 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), 

which proposed to amend 14 CFR part 

39 by adding an AD that would apply 

to Airbus Helicopters Model BO–105LS 

A–3 helicopters with a TT strap part 

number (P/N) 2604067 or P/N 117– 

14110 installed. The NPRM proposed to 

require inspecting the helicopter records 

to determine if there is a life limit for 

the TT straps installed in the helicopter 

lifting system, establishing a life limit if 

none exists, and replacing each TT strap 

that has met or exceeded its life limit. 

The proposed requirements were 

intended to prevent failure of a TT strap 

and subsequent loss of control of a 

helicopter. 

The NPRM was prompted by AD No. 

2015–0042, dated March 9, 2015, issued 

by EASA, which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Union, to correct an unsafe condition 

for the Airbus Helicopters Model BO105 

LS A–3 helicopters. EASA advises that 

life limits have been introduced for TT 


asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES