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

44142 

Vol. 79, No. 146 

Wednesday, July 30, 2014 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2014–0498; Directorate 

Identifier 2013–SW–052–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus 

Helicopters (Previously Eurocopter 

France) Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to supersede 

airworthiness directive (AD) 2010–21– 

07 for Eurocopter France (now Airbus 

Helicopters) Model AS350B3 and 

EC130B4 helicopters. AD 2010–21–07 

currently requires inspecting the pilot’s 

and co-pilot’s throttle twist for proper 

operation of the contactors. This 

proposed AD would retain the 

requirements of AD 2010–21–07, 

include additional inspection 

procedures, and revise the inspection 

interval. These proposed actions are 

intended to prevent unintended 

touchdown during a practice 

autorotation at a flight-idle power 

setting, damage to the helicopter, and 

injury to occupants. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by September 29, 

2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Docket: Go to 

http://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 http://

www.regulations.gov 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 proposed AD, the 

foreign authority’s AD, the economic 

evaluation, any comments received and 

other information. The street address for 

the Docket Operations Office (telephone 

800–647–5527) is in the ADDRESSES

section. Comments will be available in 

the AD docket shortly after receipt. For 

service information identified in this 

proposed AD, contact Airbus 

Helicopters, Inc., 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 service information at 

the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, 

Southwest Region, 2601 Meacham 

Blvd., Room 663, Fort Worth, Texas 

76137. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

George Schwab, Aviation Safety 

Engineer, Safety Management Group, 

Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 2601 

Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 

76137; telephone (817) 222–5110; email 

george.schwab@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to participate in this 

rulemaking by submitting written 

comments, data, or views. We also 

invite comments relating to the 

economic, environmental, energy, or 

federalism impacts that might result 

from adopting the proposals in this 

document. 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 send only one copy 

of written comments, or if comments are 

filed electronically, commenters should 

submit only one time. 

We will file in the docket all 

comments that we receive, as well as a 

report summarizing each substantive 

public contact with FAA personnel 

concerning this proposed rulemaking. 

Before acting on this proposal, we will 

consider all comments we receive on or 

before the closing date for comments. 

We will consider comments filed after 

the comment period has closed if it is 

possible to do so without incurring 

expense or delay. We may change this 

proposal in light of the comments we 

receive. 

Discussion 

On September 29, 2010, we issued AD 

2010–21–07, Amendment 39–16467 (75 

FR 63052, October 14, 2010), for 

Eurocopter France (now Airbus 

Helicopters) Model AS350B3 and 

EC130B4 helicopters with certain 

equipment installed. AD 2010–21–07 

requires repetitively inspecting the 

pilot’s and co-pilot’s throttle twist for 

proper operation of the contactors, 

which provide for changes between the 

‘‘IDLE’’ and ‘‘FLIGHT’ positions of the 

throttle twist grip control, by complying 

with Eurocopter’s service information. 

AD 2010–21–07 was prompted by a 

dormant failure of one of the two 

contactors 53Ka or 53Kb following the 

installation of modification (MOD) 

073254 on Model AS350B3 helicopters 

and the installation of MOD 073773 on 

Model EC130B4 helicopters. Those 

actions were intended to prevent an 

unintended touchdown to the ground 

during a practice autorotation at a flightidle power setting, damage to the 

helicopter, and injury to the occupants. 

Actions Since AD 2010–21–07 Was 

Issued 

Since we issued AD 2010–21–07, 

Amendment 39–16467 (75 FR 63052, 

October 14, 2010), Eurocopter designed 

MOD 074263 to address the unsafe 

condition, and we issued two letters 

approving MOD 074263 as an Alternate 

Method of Compliance for AD 2010–21– 

07. A subsequent accident occurred 

involving power loss in flight of a 

Model AS350B3 helicopter with MOD 

074263 installed. As a result, Eurocopter 

revised its service information and the 

European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Union, issued EASA Emergency AD No. 

2013–0191–E, dated August 22, 2013. 

EASA advises the switches in the 

engine ‘‘IDLE’’ or ‘‘FLIGHT’’ control 

system could be affected by the 

corrosive effects of a salt-laden 

atmosphere, which could lead to engine 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 146 / Wednesday, July 30, 2014 / Proposed Rules 44143 

power loss. EASA states that because 

these corrosive effects are not prevented 

by MOD 074263, it no longer considers 

MOD 074263 terminating action for the 

required repetitive maintenance actions. 

This NPRM would retain the 

repetitive inspections in AD 2010–21– 

07 but would also include the 

additional inspection requirements in 

the Eurocopter service information. 

Also, since we issued AD 2010–21–07, 

Eurocopter France has changed its name 

to Airbus Helicopters. This NPRM 

reflects that change. 

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 its 

AD. We are proposing this AD because 

we evaluated all known relevant 

information and determined that an 

unsafe condition is likely to exist or 

develop on other products of the same 

type design. 

Related Service Information 

We reviewed one co-published 

Eurocopter Emergency Alert Service 

Bulletin (EASB) containing 3 numbers: 

No. 05.00.61, Revision 2, dated August 

13, 2013, for Model AS350B3 

helicopters; No. 05.00.41, Revision 1, 

dated August 13, 2013, for the non-FAA 

type-certificated Model AS550C3 

helicopter; and No. 05A009, Revision 2, 

dated August 13, 2013, for Model 

EC130B4 helicopters. The EASB 

describes procedures for a functional 

check and installation of a protection for 

micro-contacts 53Ka, 53Kb, and 65K 

(IDLE/FLIGHT mode). EASA classified 

this EASB as mandatory and issued 

EASA Emergency AD No. 2013–0191–E, 

dated August 22, 2013, to ensure the 

continued airworthiness of these 

helicopters. 

Proposed AD Requirements 

This proposed AD would retain the 

inspection requirements of AD 2010– 

21–07 (78 FR 63052, October 14, 2010) 

but would also include additional 

requirements to inspect for proper 

operation of contactors 53Ka and 53Kb 

and the pilot and copilot throttle twist 

grip controls for proper functioning. 

This proposed AD would require the 

inspections to be done at intervals not 

to exceed 300 hours time-in-service 

(TIS), compared to the 600-hour TIS 

intervals required by AD 2010–21–07. 

Issuing this proposed AD would also 

invalidate the two letters dated 

December 19, 2012, and July 18, 2013, 

approving AMOCs for AD 2010–21–07. 

Differences Between the Proposed AD 

and the EASA AD 

This AD requires the inspections to be 

done at intervals not to exceed 300 

hours TIS, and the EASA AD applies 

different intervals based on certain 

conditions. 

Interim Action 

We consider this AD interim action. 

The design approval holder is currently 

developing a modification that will 

address the unsafe condition identified 

in this proposed AD. Once this 

modification is developed, approved, 

and available, we might consider 

additional rulemaking. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this proposed AD 

would affect 517 helicopters of U.S. 

Registry. 

We estimate that operators may incur 

the following costs in order to comply 

with this AD. The average labor rate is 

$85 per work hour. It would take about 

4 work hours for the inspections and 

any necessary maintenance, for a total 

cost of $340 per helicopter and $175,780 

for the U.S. fleet per inspection cycle. 

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 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. Is not a ‘‘significant rule’’ under the 

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 proposed 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. 

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. Amend § 39.13 by removing 

Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2010–21– 

07, Amendment 39–16467 (75 FR 

63052, October 14, 2010), and adding 

the following new AD: 

Airbus Helicopters (Previously Eurocopter 

France) Helicopters: Docket No. FAA– 

2014–0498; Directorate Identifier 2013– 

SW–052–AD. 

(a) Applicability 

This AD applies to Model AS350B3 and 

EC130B4 helicopters, certificated in any 

category, with the ARRIEL 2B1 engine with 

the two-channel Full Authority Digital 

Engine Control (FADEC) and with new twist 

grip modification (MOD) 073254 for the 

Model AS350B3 helicopter or MOD 073773 

for the Model EC130B4 helicopter, installed. 

(b) Unsafe Condition 

This AD defines the unsafe condition as 

failure of one of the two contactors, 53Ka or 

53Kb, which can prevent switching from 

‘‘IDLE’’ mode to ‘‘FLIGHT’’ mode during 

autorotation training making it impossible to 

recover from the practice autorotation and 

compelling the pilot to continue the 

autorotation to the ground. This condition 

could result in unintended touchdown to the 


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44144 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 146 / Wednesday, July 30, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

ground at a flight-idle power setting during 

a practice autorotation, damage to the 

helicopter, and injury to occupants. 

(c) Affected ADs 

This AD supersedes AD 2010–21–07, 

Amendment 39–16467 (75 FR 63052, October 

14, 2010). 

(d) Comments Due Date 

We must receive comments by September 

29, 2014. 

(e) 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. 

(f) Required Actions 

Before the next practice autorotation or on 

or before 100 hours time-in-service (TIS), 

whichever occurs first, and thereafter at 

intervals not to exceed 300 hours TIS, inspect 

the wiring, perform an insulation test, 

inspect the pilot and copilot throttle twist 

grip controls, and test the pilot and copilot 

throttle twist grip controls for proper 

functioning by following the 

Accomplishment Instructions, paragraphs 

3.B.1 through 3.B.6, of Eurocopter Emergency 

Alert Service Bulletin (EASB) No. 05.00.61, 

Revision 2, dated August 13, 2013, for Model 

AS350B3 helicopters or EASB No. 05A009, 

Revision 2, dated August 13, 2013, for Model 

EC130B4 helicopters, as appropriate for your 

model helicopter. 

(g) 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, 2601 

Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76137; 

telephone (817) 222–5110; email 

george.schwab@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. 

(h) Additional Information 

The subject of this AD is addressed in 

European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) 

Emergency AD No. 2013–0191–E, dated 

August 22, 2013. You may view the EASA 

AD at http://www.regulations.gov in Docket 

No. FAA–2014–0498. 

(i) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 76 Engine Controls. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 18, 

2014. 

S. Frances Cox, 

Acting Directorate Manager, Rotorcraft 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–17928 Filed 7–29–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2014–0484; Directorate 

Identifier 2013–NM–245–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus 

Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to supersede 

Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2012–09– 

07, for certain Airbus Model A319–111, 

–112, and –132 airplanes; Model A320– 

111, –211, –212, –214 and –232 

airplanes; and Model A321–111, –211, 

–212, and –231 airplanes. AD 2012–09– 

07 currently requires performing an 

electrical bonding test between the 

gravity fill re-fuel adaptor and the top 

skin panels on the left-hand and righthand wings, and if necessary performing 

a general visual inspection for corrosion 

of the component interface and adjacent 

area, and repairing the gravity fuel 

adaptor if any corrosion is found. Since 

we issued AD 2012–09–07, we have 

determined that more airplanes are 

subject to the identified unsafe 

condition due to the installation of an 

incorrect repair intended to address the 

identified unsafe condition. This 

proposed AD would add airplanes to the 

applicability in AD 2012–09–07, and 

would require inspecting those 

airplanes to determine if a repair was 

done, and doing the electrical bonding 

test and corrective action if necessary. 

We are proposing this AD to detect and 

correct corrosion and improper bonding, 

which, in combination with a lightning 

strike in this area, could create a source 

of ignition in a fuel tank, resulting in a 

fire or explosion, and consequent loss of 

the airplane. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by September 15, 

2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://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: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, 

M–30, West Building Ground Floor, 

Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 

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

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Airbus, Airworthiness 

Office—EAS, 1 Rond Point Maurice 

Bellonte, 31707 Blagnac Cedex, France; 

telephone +33 5 61 93 36 96; fax +33 5 

61 93 44 51; email account.airwortheas@airbus.com; Internet http://

www.airbus.com. You may view this 

referenced service information at the 

FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA. 

For information on the availability of 

this material at the FAA, call 425–227– 

1221. 

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–2014– 

0484; or in person at the Docket 

Management Facility between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. The AD docket 

contains this proposed AD, the 

regulatory evaluation, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for the Docket Operations 

office (telephone (800) 647–5527) is in 

the ADDRESSES section. Comments will 

be available in the AD docket shortly 

after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sanjay Ralhan, Aerospace Engineer, 

International Branch, ANM–116, 

Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA, 

1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA 

98057–3356; telephone (425) 227–1405; 

fax (425) 227–1149. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to send any written 

relevant data, views, or arguments about 

this proposed AD. Send your comments 

to an address listed under the 

ADDRESSES section. Include ‘‘Docket No. 

FAA–2014–0484; Directorate Identifier 

2013–NM–245–AD’’ at the beginning of 

your comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of this proposed AD. We will 

consider all comments received by the 

closing date and may amend this 

proposed AD based on those comments. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. We 

will also post a report summarizing each 

substantive verbal contact we receive 

about this proposed AD. 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS