This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

85557 

Vol. 85, No. 249 

Tuesday, December 29, 2020 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2020–1030; Project 

Identifier AD–2020–01079–T] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing 

Company Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a 

new airworthiness directive (AD) for 

certain The Boeing Company Model 

777–300ER series airplanes. This 

proposed AD was prompted by a report 

that a production design change to 

certain insulation blankets inadvertently 

opened up leakage paths for halon and 

smoke to escape from the aft cargo 

compartment in the event of a fire. This 

proposed AD would require installation 

of an insulation blanket assembly on top 

of existing insulation blankets, in 

certain areas of the forward endwall in 

the aft cargo compartment. 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 February 12, 

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: 202–493–2251. 

• 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 service information identified in 

this NPRM, contact Boeing Commercial 

Airplanes, Attention: Contractual & Data 

Services (C&DS), 2600 Westminster 

Blvd., MC 110–SK57, Seal Beach, CA 

90740–5600; telephone 562–797–1717; 

internet https://

www.myboeingfleet.com. You may view 

this referenced service information at 

the FAA, Airworthiness Products 

Section, Operational Safety Branch, 

2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. 

For information on the availability of 

this material at the FAA, call 206–231– 

3195. It is also available on the internet 

at https://www.regulations.gov by 

searching for and locating Docket No. 

FAA–2020–1030. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the internet at https://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2020– 

1030; 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, any 

comments received, and other 

information. The street address for 

Docket Operations is listed above. 

Comments will be available in the AD 

docket shortly after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan L. Monroe, Aerospace Engineer, 

Cabin Safety and Environmental 

Systems Section, FAA, Seattle ACO 

Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des 

Moines, WA 98198; phone and fax: 206– 

231–3570; email: susan.l.monroe@

faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

The FAA invites you to participate in 

this rulemaking by submitting written 

comments, data, or views about this 

proposal. The most helpful comments 

reference a specific portion of the 

proposal, explain the reason for any 

recommended change, and include 

supporting data. To ensure the docket 

does not contain duplicate comments, 

commenters should submit only one 

copy of the comments. Send your 

comments to an address listed under the 

ADDRESSES section. Include ‘‘Docket No. 

FAA–2020–1030; Project Identifier AD– 

2020–01079–T’’ at the beginning of your 

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, as well as a 

report summarizing each substantive 

public contact with FAA personnel 

concerning this proposed rulemaking. 

Before acting on this proposal, the FAA 

will consider all comments received by 

the closing date for comments. The FAA 

will consider comments filed after the 

comment period has closed if it is 

possible to do so without incurring 

expense or delay. The FAA may change 

this NPRM because of those comments. 

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 Susan L. Monroe, 

Aerospace Engineer, Cabin Safety and 

Environmental Systems Section, FAA, 

Seattle ACO Branch, 2200 South 216th 

St., Des Moines, WA 98198; phone and 

fax: 206–231–3570; email: 

susan.l.monroe@faa.gov. Any 

commentary that the FAA receives 

which is not specifically designated as 

CBI will be placed in the public docket 

for this rulemaking. 

Discussion 

The FAA has received a report 

indicating that a production design 

change to certain insulation blankets 

inadvertently opened up leakage paths 

for halon and smoke to escape from the 

aft cargo compartment. This condition, 

if not addressed, could, in the event of 

a fire, result in loss of fire suppressant 

in the cargo compartment, and could 

lead to an uncontained fire and 

subsequent loss of the airplane. 


KHAMMOND on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
85558 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2020 / Proposed Rules 

Related Service Information Under 1 

CFR Part 51 

The FAA reviewed Boeing Special 

Attention Requirements Bulletin 777– 

25–0753 RB, dated July 31, 2020. This 

service information describes 

procedures for installing an insulation 

blanket assembly on top of existing 

insulation blankets, on the left and right 

side corner of the forward endwall in 

the aft cargo compartment. 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. 

FAA’s Determination 

The FAA is proposing this AD 

because the agency evaluated all the 

relevant information and determined 

the unsafe condition described 

previously is likely to exist or develop 

in other products of the same type 

design. 

Proposed AD Requirements 

This proposed AD would require 

accomplishment of the actions 

identified in Boeing Special Attention 

Requirements Bulletin 777–25–0753 RB, 

dated July 31, 2020, described 

previously, except for any differences 

identified as exceptions in the 

regulatory text of this proposed AD. 

For information on the procedures 

and compliance times, see this service 

information at https://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2020– 

1030. 

Explanation of Requirements Bulletin 

The FAA worked in conjunction with 

industry, under the Airworthiness 

Directive Implementation Aviation 

Rulemaking Committee (AD ARC), to 

enhance the AD system. One 

enhancement is a process for annotating 

which steps in the service information 

are ‘‘required for compliance’’ (RC) with 

an AD. Boeing has implemented this RC 

concept into Boeing service bulletins. 

In an effort to further improve the 

quality of ADs and AD-related Boeing 

service information, a joint process 

improvement initiative was worked 

between the FAA and Boeing. The 

initiative resulted in the development of 

a new process in which the service 

information more clearly identifies the 

actions needed to address the unsafe 

condition in the ‘‘Accomplishment 

Instructions.’’ The new process results 

in a Boeing Requirements Bulletin, 

which contains only the actions needed 

to address the unsafe condition (i.e., 

only the RC actions). 

Costs of Compliance 

The FAA estimates that this proposed 

AD affects 22 airplanes of U.S. registry. 

The FAA estimates the following costs 

to comply with this proposed AD: 

ESTIMATED COSTS FOR REQUIRED ACTIONS

Action Labor cost Parts cost Cost per 

product 

Cost on U.S. 

operators 

Insulation blanket installation .......................... 1 work-hour × $85 per hour = $85 ................. $240 $325 $7,150 

According to the manufacturer, some 

or all of the costs of this proposed AD 

may be covered under warranty, thereby 

reducing the cost impact on affected 

individuals. The FAA does not control 

warranty coverage for affected 

individuals. As a result, the FAA has 

included all known costs in the cost 

estimate. 

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) Will not affect intrastate aviation 

in Alaska, 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. 

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 

■ 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): 

The Boeing Company: Docket No. FAA– 

2020–1030; Project Identifier AD–2020– 

01079–T. 

(a) Comments Due Date 

The FAA must receive comments by 

February 12, 2021. 

(b) Affected ADs 

None. 

(c) Applicability 

This AD applies to The Boeing Company 

Model 777–300ER series airplanes, 

certificated in any category, as identified in 

Boeing Special Attention Requirements 

Bulletin 777–25–0753 RB, dated July 31, 

2020. 

(d) Subject 

Air Transport Association (ATA) of 

America Code 25, Equipment/Furnishings. 

(e) Unsafe Condition 

This AD was prompted by a report that a 

production design change to certain 

insulation blankets inadvertently opened up 


KHAMMOND on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 249 / Tuesday, December 29, 2020 / Proposed Rules 85559 

leakage paths for halon and smoke to escape 

from the aft cargo compartment in the event 

of a fire. The FAA is issuing this AD to 

address increased leakage paths, which, in 

the event of a fire, could result in loss of fire 

suppressant in the cargo compartment, and 

could lead to an uncontained fire and 

subsequent loss of the airplane. 

(f) Compliance 

Comply with this AD within the 

compliance times specified, unless already 

done. 

(g) Required Actions 

Except as specified by paragraph (h) of this 

AD: At the applicable times specified in the 

‘‘Compliance’’ paragraph of Boeing Special 

Attention Requirements Bulletin 777–25– 

0753 RB, dated July 31, 2020, do all 

applicable actions identified in, and in 

accordance with, the Accomplishment 

Instructions of Boeing Special Attention 

Requirements Bulletin 777–25–0753 RB, 

dated July 31, 2020. 

Note 1 to paragraph (g): Guidance for 

accomplishing the actions required by this 

AD can be found in Boeing Special Attention 

Service Bulletin 777–25–0753, dated July 31, 

2020, which is referred to in Boeing Special 

Attention Requirements Bulletin 777–25– 

0753 RB, dated July 31, 2020. 

(h) Exceptions to Service Information 

Specifications 

Where Boeing Special Attention 

Requirements Bulletin 777–25–0753 RB, 

dated July 31, 2020, uses the phrase ‘‘the 

original issue date of the Requirements 

Bulletin 777–25–0753 RB,’’ this AD requires 

using ‘‘the effective date of this AD.’’ 

(i) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, Seattle ACO 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 responsible Flight 

Standards Office, as appropriate. If sending 

information directly to the manager of the 

certification office, send it to the attention of 

the person identified in paragraph (j)(1) of 

this AD. Information may be emailed to: 9- 

ANM-Seattle-ACO-AMOC-Requests@faa.gov. 

(2) Before using any approved AMOC, 

notify your appropriate principal inspector, 

or lacking a principal inspector, the manager 

of the responsible Flight Standards Office. 

(3) An AMOC that provides an acceptable 

level of safety may be used for any repair, 

modification, or alteration required by this 

AD if it is approved by The Boeing Company 

Organization Designation Authorization 

(ODA) that has been authorized by the 

Manager, Seattle ACO Branch, FAA, to make 

those findings. To be approved, the repair 

method, modification deviation, or alteration 

deviation must meet the certification basis of 

the airplane, and the approval must 

specifically refer to this AD. 

(j) Related Information 

(1) For more information about this AD, 

contact Susan L. Monroe, Aerospace 

Engineer, Cabin Safety and Environmental 

Systems Section, FAA, Seattle ACO Branch, 

2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 

98198; phone and fax: 206–231–3570; email: 

susan.l.monroe@faa.gov. 

(2) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Boeing Commercial 

Airplanes, Attention: Contractual & Data 

Services (C&DS), 2600 Westminster Blvd., 

MC 110–SK57, Seal Beach, CA 90740–5600; 

telephone 562–797–1717; internet https://

www.myboeingfleet.com. You may view this 

referenced service information at the FAA, 

Airworthiness Products Section, Operational 

Safety Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des 

Moines, WA. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, call 

206–231–3195. 

Issued on November 13, 2020. 

Lance T. Gant, 

Director, Compliance & Airworthiness 

Division, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2020–28824 Filed 12–28–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2020–1028; Project 

Identifier AD–2020–00978–T] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing 

Company Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a 

new airworthiness directive (AD) for all 

The Boeing Company Model 717–200 

airplanes. This proposed AD was 

prompted by a report of discrepant 

spoiler assemblies, which have the 

wrong splice bar installed and lack 

reinforcing doublers. This proposed AD 

would require a one-time inspection of 

the left- and right-wing inboard and 

outboard spoiler assemblies for the 

correct splice bar and doublers 

configuration, and repair if necessary. 

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 February 12, 

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: 202–493–2251. 

• 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 service information identified in 

this NPRM, contact Boeing Commercial 

Airplanes, Attention: Contractual & Data 

Services (C&DS), 2600 Westminster 

Blvd., MC 110–SK57, Seal Beach, CA 

90740–5600; telephone 562–797–1717; 

internet https://

www.myboeingfleet.com. You may view 

this referenced service information at 

the FAA, Airworthiness Products 

Section, Operational Safety Branch, 

2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. 

For information on the availability of 

this material at the FAA, call 206–231– 

3195. It is also available on the internet 

at https://www.regulations.gov by 

searching for and locating Docket No. 

FAA–2020–1028. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the internet at https://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2020– 

1028; 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, any 

comments received, and other 

information. The street address for 

Docket Operations is listed above. 

Comments will be available in the AD 

docket shortly after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mohit Garg, Aerospace Engineer, 

Airframe Section, FAA, Los Angeles 

ACO Branch, 3960 Paramount 

Boulevard, Lakewood, CA 90712–4137; 

phone: 562–627–5264; fax: 562–627– 

5210; email: mohit.garg@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

The FAA invites you to participate in 

this rulemaking by submitting written 

comments, data, or views about this 

proposal. The most helpful comments 

reference a specific portion of the 

proposal, explain the reason for any 

recommended change, and include 

supporting data. To ensure the docket 

does not contain duplicate comments, 

commenters should submit only one 

copy of the comments. Send your 

comments to an address listed under the 

ADDRESSES section. Include ‘‘Docket No. 

FAA–2020–1028; Project Identifier AD– 

2020–00978–T at the beginning of your 

comments. 


KHAMMOND on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS