15434 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 54 / Tuesday, March 23, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2020–1170; Project 

Identifier MCAI–2020–00720–R] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Bell Textron 

Canada Limited Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a 

new airworthiness directive (AD) for 

Bell Textron Canada Limited (Bell) 

Model 429 helicopters. This proposed 

AD would require inspecting certain 

serial-numbered Emergency Flotation 

System (EFS) inflation hoses and 

depending on the results of those 

inspections, marking certain parts or 

removing certain parts from service. 

This proposed AD was prompted by a 

report that a float compartment on an 

EFS did not inflate. The actions of this 

proposed AD are intended to address an 

unsafe condition on these products. 

DATES: The FAA must receive comments 

on this proposed AD by May 7, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Docket: Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

online instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Send comments to the U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: Deliver to the 

‘‘Mail’’ address between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

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– 

1170; 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 proposed 

AD, the Transport Canada AD, 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 service information identified in 

this proposed rule, contact Bell Textron 

Canada Limited, 12,800 Rue de l’Avenir, 

Mirabel, Quebec J7J1R4; telephone 450– 

437–2862 or 800–363–8023; fax 450– 

433–0272; or at https://

www.bellcustomer.com. You may view 

this referenced service information at 

the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, 

Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood 

Pkwy., Room 6N–321, Fort Worth, TX 

76177. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Daniel E. Moore, Aviation Safety 

Engineer, Denver ACO Branch, 

Compliance & Airworthiness Division, 

FAA, 26805 East 68th Ave., Denver, CO 

80249; telephone 303–342–1086; email 

daniel.e.moore@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

The FAA invites you to send any 

written relevant data, views, or 

arguments about this proposal. Send 

your comments to an address listed 

under ADDRESSES. Include ‘‘Docket No. 

FAA–2020–1170; Project Identifier 

MCAI–2020–00720–R’’ at the beginning 

of your comments. The most helpful 

comments reference a specific portion of 

the proposal, explain the reason for any 

recommended change, and include 

supporting data. The FAA will consider 

all comments received by the closing 

date and may amend this proposal 

because of those 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, to https://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. The 

agency will also post a report 

summarizing each substantive verbal 

contact received about this proposal. 

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 Daniel E. Moore, 

Aviation Safety Engineer, Denver ACO 

Branch, Compliance & Airworthiness 

Division, FAA, 26805 East 68th Ave., 

Denver, CO 80249; telephone 303–342– 

1086; ; email daniel.e.moore@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 

Transport Canada, which is the 

aviation authority for Canada, has 

issued Canadian AD No. CF–2020– 

21R1, issued August 19, 2020 to correct 

an unsafe condition for Bell Model 429 

helicopters, all serial numbers. The 

Transport Canada AD advises that 

during maintenance on an EFS, the 

third compartment of the left forward 

float did not inflate. Transport Canada 

advises that an investigation determined 

the supply hose for the gas flow from 

the pressurized cylinder to the float 

compartment was blocked due to a 

manufacturing defect. Bell advised that 

similar supply hoses are installed on 

various EFS part numbers, which could 

be installed on different helicopter type 

designs. Transport Canada advises that 

this condition, if not detected and 

corrected, could result in partial 

inflation of the EFS during an 

emergency landing on water, preventing 

a timely egress from the helicopter, and 

injury to helicopter occupants. 

FAA’s Determination 

These helicopters have been approved 

by the aviation authority of Canada and 

are approved for operation in the United 

States. Pursuant to the FAA’s bilateral 

agreement with Canada, Transport 

Canada, its technical representative, has 

notified the FAA of the unsafe condition 

described in the Transport Canada AD. 

The FAA is proposing this AD after 

evaluating all known relevant 

information and determining that an 

unsafe condition is likely to exist or 

develop on other helicopters of the same 

type design. 

Related Service Information Under 1 

CFR Part 51 

The FAA reviewed Safran 

Aerosystems Services Service Bulletin 

No. 025–69–21, Revision 00, dated, 

March 23, 2020 (SB 025–69–21). SB 

025–69–21 is attached as an appendix to 

Bell Alert Service Bulletin No. 429–20– 

52, dated March 30, 2020 (ASB 429–20– 

52). SB 025–69–21 is proposed for 

incorporation by reference in this 

proposed AD. ASB 429–20–52 is not 

proposed for incorporation by reference 

in this proposed AD. SB 025–69–21 

specifies, for certain EFSs manufactured 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 54 / Tuesday, March 23, 2021 / Proposed Rules 15435 

before July 2019, and any float supply 

hose manufactured before January 2014, 

performing a special inspection to verify 

that there is no blockage through the 

float supply hoses of the EFS inflation 

system. 

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. 

Proposed AD Requirements 

This proposed AD would require, 

within 100 hours time-in-service (TIS), 

removing each EFS supply hose and 

inspecting each end (also referred to as 

fitting or banjo) of the EFS supply hose 

using a certain plastic cable tie, and 

depending on the results of those 

inspections, removing from service 

certain parts and replacing those parts 

with airworthy parts. This proposed AD 

would also require marking a green dot 

on the base of certain supply hoses and 

writing ‘‘SB 025–69–21’’ above the 

external identification marking of the 

EFS with indelible ink. Finally, the 

proposed AD would prohibit installing 

any EFS supply hose manufactured 

before January 2014 unless it has been 

inspected in accordance with the 

proposed AD. 

Differences Between This Proposed AD 

and the Transport Canada AD 

The Transport Canada AD requires 

compliance within 600 hours air time or 

within the next 24-month inspection of 

the EFS, whichever occurs first, whereas 

this proposed AD would require 

compliance within 100 hours TIS. The 

Transport Canada AD limits the 

applicability to certain EFS supply 

hoses listed in SB 025–69–21, whereas 

this proposed AD would apply to 

certain EFS supply hoses manufactured 

before January 2014 but excludes EFS 

supply hoses marked with ‘‘SB 025–69– 

21.’’ 

Costs of Compliance 

The FAA estimates that this proposed 

AD would affect 110 helicopters of U.S. 

Registry. The FAA estimates that 

operators may incur the following costs 

in order to comply with this proposed 

AD. Labor costs are estimated at $85 per 

work-hour. 

Removing and inspecting each EFS 

supply hose would take about 0.75 

work-hour, for an estimated cost of $64 

per hose. 

Installing or replacing each EFS 

supply hose would take about 0.10 

work-hour with a minimal parts cost, for 

an estimated cost of $9 per hose. 

Marking each EFS supply hose with a 

green dot and the applicable service 

bulletin number would take a minimal 

amount of time at a nominal cost. 

According to Safran’s service 

information, some 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 

by Safran. Accordingly, all costs are 

included in this 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, 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: 

Bell Textron Canada Limited Helicopters:

Docket No. FAA–2020–1170; Project 

Identifier MCAI–2020–00720–R. 

(a) Applicability 

This airworthiness directive (AD) applies 

to Bell Textron Canada Limited (Bell) Model 

429 helicopters, certificated in any category, 

with a Bell Emergency Flotation System 

(EFS) kit P/N 429–706–069–101/–103/–105/– 

121/–123/–125/–139/–141/–143/or –157 

manufactured before July 2019, with a float 

supply hose manufactured before January 

2014, installed, except for float supply hoses 

marked with ‘‘SB 025–69–21’’ above the 

external identification marking. 

(b) Unsafe Condition 

This AD defines the unsafe condition as a 

blocked float supply hose installed on an 

EFS. This condition could result in partial 

inflation of an EFS float during an emergency 

landing on water and subsequently 

preventing a timely egress from the 

helicopter. 

(c) Comments Due Date 

The FAA must receive comments by May 

7, 2021. 

(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 

(1) Within 100 hours time-in-service (TIS): 

(i) Remove each EFS supply hose from the 

float and inspect each end of the EFS supply 

hose by inserting a plastic cable tie, 300 mm 

minimum × 5 mm maximum (11.811 in. 

minimum × .196 in. maximum), into the 

holes of the related fitting as shown in Figure 

1 of Safran Aerosystems Services Service 

Bulletin No. 025–69–21, Revision 00, dated 

March 23, 2020 (SB 025–69–21). 

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

Each end of the supply hose may also be 

referred to as fitting or banjo. 

(ii) If the cable tie does not pass through 

the hose, before further flight, remove the 

EFS supply hose from service and replace it 

with an airworthy part. 

(iii) If the cable tie passes through the 

supply hose, mark a green dot with indelible 

ink on the base of the supply hose and write 

‘‘SB 025–69–21’’ above the external 

identification marking of the EFS with 

indelible ink. 

(2) As of the effective date of this AD, do 

not install an EFS supply hose manufactured 

before January 2014 on any helicopter unless 

15436 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 54 / Tuesday, March 23, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

the requirements in paragraph (e)(1) of this 

AD have been completed. 

(f) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, Rotorcraft Standards 

Branch, FAA, may approve AMOCs for this 

AD. Send your proposal to: Daniel E. Moore, 

Aviation Safety Engineer, Denver, ACO 

Branch, Compliance & Airworthiness 

Division, FAA, 26805 East 68th Ave., Denver, 

CO 80249; telephone 303–342–1086; email 9- 

Denver-Aircraft-Cert@faa.gov. 

(2) For operations conducted under a 14 

CFR part 119 operating certificate or under 

14 CFR part 91, subpart K, the FAA suggests 

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 

The subject of this AD is addressed in 

Transport Canada AD No. CF–2020–212R1, 

dated August 19, 2020. You may view the 

Transport Canada AD on the internet at 

https://www.regulations.gov in the AD 

Docket. 

(h) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 2560, Emergency Equipment. 

Issued on January 5, 2021. 

Lance T. Gant, 

Director, Compliance & Airworthiness 

Division, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–04200 Filed 3–22–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2019–0597; Project 

Identifier 2019–NE–05–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; CFM 

International, S.A. Turbofan Engines 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Supplemental notice of 

proposed rulemaking (SNPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA is revising a notice 

of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that 

applied to certain CFM International, 

S.A. (CFM) CFM56–5B, CFM56–5C, and 

CFM56–7B model turbofan engines with 

a certain rotating air high-pressure 

turbine (HPT) front seal. This action 

revises the NPRM by requiring CFM56– 

5B or CFM56–7B model turbofan 

engines with an installed reconfigured 

rotating air HPT front seal, which was 

previously installed and operated in a 

CFM56–5C model turbofan engine, to 

follow the removal requirements for the 

CFM56–5C model turbofan engine. The 

FAA is proposing this airworthiness 

directive (AD) to address the unsafe 

condition on these products. Since these 

actions would impose an additional 

burden over those in the NPRM the 

agency is requesting comments on this 

SNPRM. 

DATES: The FAA must receive comments 

on this SNPRM by May 7, 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 SNPRM, contact CFM International, 

S.A., Aviation Operations Center, 1 

Neumann Way, M/D Room 285, 

Cincinnati, OH 45125; phone: (877) 

432–3272; email: aviation.fleetsupport@

ge.com. You may view this service 

information at the FAA, Airworthiness 

Products Section, Operational Safety 

Branch, 1200 District Avenue, 

Burlington, MA 01803. For information 

on the availability of this material at the 

FAA, call (781) 238–7759. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket at 

https://www.regulations.gov by 

searching for and locating Docket No. 

FAA–2019–0597; or in person at Docket 

Operations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. The AD docket contains the 

NPRM, this SNPRM, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for Docket Operations is 

listed above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christopher McGuire, Aviation Safety 

Engineer, ECO Branch, FAA, 1200 

District Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803; 

phone: (781) 238–7120; fax: (781) 238– 

7199; email: Chris.McGuire@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

The FAA invites you to send any 

written relevant data, views, or 

arguments about this proposal. Send 

your comments to an address listed 

under ADDRESSES. Include ‘‘Docket No. 

FAA–2019–0597; Project Identifier 

2019–NE–05–AD’’ at the beginning of 

your comments. The most helpful 

comments reference a specific portion of 

the proposal, explain the reason for any 

recommended change, and include 

supporting data. The FAA will consider 

all comments received by the closing 

date and may again revise this proposal 

because of those 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, to https://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. The 

agency will also post a report 

summarizing each substantive verbal 

contact received about this proposed 

AD. 

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 SNPRM 

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 SNPRM, 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 SNPRM. Submissions containing 

CBI should be sent to Christopher 

McGuire, Aviation Safety Engineer, ECO 

Branch, FAA, 1200 District Avenue, 

Burlington, MA 01803. Any 

commentary that the FAA receives 

which is not specifically designated as 

CBI will be placed in the public docket 

for this rulemaking. 

Background 

The FAA issued an NPRM to amend 

14 CFR part 39 to supersede AD 2019– 

12–05, Amendment 39–19660 (84 FR 

28717, June 20, 2019), (AD 2019–12– 

05). AD 2019–12–05 applies to all CFM 

CFM56–5B, CFM56–5C, and CFM56–7B 

model turbofan engines with a certain 

rotating air HPT front seal. The NPRM 

published in the Federal Register on 

October 23, 2019 (84 FR 56709). The 

NPRM was prompted by cracks found in 

the rotating air HPT front seal. In the 

NPRM, the FAA proposed to require 

replacement of the affected rotating air