69858 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 220 / Tuesday, November 16, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2010–1125; Directorate 

Identifier 2008–SW–40–AD; Amendment 39– 

16512; AD 2010–23–22] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Eurocopter 

France (Eurocopter) Model AS332L2 

Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for the 

Eurocopter Model AS332L2 helicopters. 

This AD results from a mandatory 

continuing airworthiness information 

(MCAI) AD issued by the European 

Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which 

is the Technical Agent for the Member 

States of the European Community. The 

MCAI AD states that a hard landing 

occurred during in-flight engine failure 

(one engine inoperative (OEI)) training. 

An examination revealed the failure of 

the right-hand main reduction gear 

module (module) freewheel unit due to 

excessive wear on some of its 

components. The MCAI AD prohibits 

engine failure OEI training with 

helicopters on which certain main 

gearbox (MGB) modules with certain 

freewheel shafts are installed and 

mandates the replacement of those 

modules. The actions are intended to 

prevent failure of certain freewheel 

units, loss of power to the main rotor 

system, and subsequent loss of control 

of the helicopter. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective on 

December 1, 2010. 

We must receive comments on this 

AD by January 18, 2011. 

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 your 

comments electronically. 

• 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 20590, 

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

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

You may get the service information 

identified in this AD from American 

Eurocopter Corporation, 2701 Forum 

Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75053–4005, 

telephone (972) 641–3460, fax (972) 

641–3527, or at http:// 

www.eurocopter.com. 

Examining the 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 AD, any 

comments received, and other 

information. The street address for the 

Docket Operations office (telephone 

(800) 647–5527) is stated in the 

ADDRESSES section of this AD. 

Comments will be available in the AD 

docket shortly after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric 

Haight, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 

Rotorcraft Directorate, Regulations and 

Policy Group, Fort Worth, Texas 76193– 

0111, telephone (817) 222–5204, fax 

(817) 222–5961. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

EASA has issued AD No. 2007–0312– 

E, dated December 21, 2007, to correct 

an unsafe condition for the Eurocopter 

Model AS332L2 helicopters. The MCAI 

AD prohibits engine failure OEI training 

for helicopters with MGB modules 

installed with certain freewheel shafts, 

mandates inspection of each freewheel 

shaft at an approved repair station, and 

mandates replacement if necessary. The 

MCAI AD also mandates inserting the 

information prohibiting engine failure 

OEI training into the Limitations section 

of the Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM). 

The MCAI AD was issued following a 

hard landing, which occurred during inflight engine failure OEI training after 

failure of a freewheel unit. In case of a 

freewheel unit failure on one of the two 

MGB inputs, either inadvertently or as 

part of OEI training, the resulting load 

on the remaining MGB freewheel unit 

may result in failure of the second 

freewheel unit. The actions are intended 

to prevent failure of a freewheel unit 

and subsequent loss of control of the 

helicopter. 

You may obtain further information 

by examining the MCAI AD and the 

related service information in the AD 

docket. 

Related Service Information 

Eurocopter has issued Emergency 

Alert Service Bulletin No. 01.00.74, 

dated December 20, 2007, for the Model 

AS332L2 helicopters, which specifies 

the need for prohibiting OEI training in 

certain helicopters with certain 

freewheel shafts installed in certain 

MGB main reduction gear modules until 

those modules with those freewheel 

shafts are replaced. The actions 

described in the MCAI AD are intended 

to correct the same unsafe condition as 

that identified in the service 

information. 

FAA’s Evaluation and Unsafe Condition 

Determination 

The Eurocopter Model AS332L2 

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, their 

technical agent, has notified us of the 

unsafe condition described in the MCAI 

AD. We are issuing this AD because we 

evaluated all information provided by 

EASA and determined the unsafe 

condition exists and is likely to exist or 

develop on other Model AS332L2 

helicopters of the same type design. 

There are no products of this type 

currently registered in the United States. 

However, this rule is necessary to 

ensure that the described unsafe 

condition is addressed if any of these 

products are placed on the U.S. Registry 

in the future. 

Differences Between This AD and the 

MCAI AD 

We refer to flight hours as hours timein-service (TIS). We require replacing 

each MGB module, listed in the 

applicability of this AD, within 40 hours 

TIS rather than using 40 hours TIS for 

some parts and 200 hours TIS for other 

parts. Also, we do not use the dates 

listed in the MCAI AD because the dates 

have passed. 

Costs of Compliance 

There are no costs of compliance 

since there are no helicopters of this 

type design on the U.S. Registry. 

FAA’s Determination of the Effective 

Date 

Since there are currently no affected 

U.S. registered helicopters, we have 

determined that notice and opportunity 

for prior public comment before issuing 

this AD are unnecessary and that good 

cause exists for making this amendment 

effective in less than 30 days. 

Comments Invited 

This AD is a final rule that involves 

requirements affecting flight safety, and 

we did not precede it by notice and 

opportunity for public comment. 

However, we invite you to send us any 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 220 / Tuesday, November 16, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 69859 

written data, views, or arguments 

concerning this AD. Send your 

comments to an address listed under the 

ADDRESSES section of this AD. Include 

‘‘Docket No. FAA–2010–1125; 

Directorate Identifier 2008–SW–40–AD’’ 

at the beginning of your comments. We 

specifically invite comments on the 

overall regulatory, economic, 

environmental, and energy aspects of 

this AD. We will consider all comments 

received by the closing date and may 

amend this AD because of 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 AD. 

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 

product(s) identified in this rulemaking 

action. 

Regulatory Findings 

We determined that 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. 

Therefore, I certify this AD: 

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. 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, 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 AD: 

2010–23–22 Eurocopter France: 

Amendment 39–16512. Docket No. 

FAA–2010–1125; Directorate Identifier 

2008–SW–40–AD. 

Effective Date 

(a) This airworthiness directive (AD) 

becomes effective on December 1, 2010. 

Other Affected ADs 

(b) None. 

Applicability 

(c) This AD applies to Model AS332L2 

helicopters, certificated in any category, with 

a freewheel shaft, part number (P/N) 

332A32–2190–25, with No. 1 and No. 2 serial 

numbered shafts installed on a main gearbox 

(MGB) main reduction gear module (main 

module), with a P/N and serial number 

(S/N), as listed in the following table. 

TABLE—MGB MAIN MODULES, WITH

No. 1 and 

No. 2 

Freewheel 

Shaft S/N 

Installed on main module 

P/N & S/N 

M1608, M945 332A32–3011–03M and 

M2062. 

M1078, M1087 332A32–3011–03M and 

M2088. 

M1272, M1273 332A32–3011–03M and 

M2104. 

M1688, M974 332A32–3011–03M and 

M2016. 

M1231, M937 332A32–3011–03M and 

M2079. 

M1115, M635 332A32–3011–03M and 

M4001. 

M1159, M907 332A32–3011–03M and 

M4004. 

M1124, M486 332A32–3011–01M and 

M2044. 

Reason 

(d) The MCAI AD states that a hard landing 

occurred during in-flight engine failure (one 

engine inoperative (OEI)) training. An 

examination of the main gearbox (MGB) 

revealed the failure of the right-hand 

freewheel unit was due to excessive wear on 

some of its components. The MCAI AD 

prohibits engine failure OEI training with 

helicopters on which certain MGB modules 

with certain freewheel shafts are installed 

and mandates the replacement of those 

modules. The actions are intended to prevent 

failure of certain freewheel units, loss of 

power to the main rotor system, and 

subsequent loss of control of the helicopter. 

Actions and Compliance 

(e) Before further flight, unless already 

accomplished, insert the following limitation 

into the Limitations section of the Rotorcraft 

Flight Manual (RFM): ‘‘Engine failure (oneengine inoperative (OEI)) training is 

prohibited.’’ You may comply with this 

requirement by making pen and ink changes 

to the Limitations section of the RFM or by 

inserting a copy of this AD into the 

Limitations section of the RFM. 

(f) Within 40 hours time-in-service (TIS) or 

if an engine in-flight shut down occurs, 

whichever occurs first, replace the MGB 

main module with an airworthy main 

module that does not have a freewheel shaft 

S/N listed in the applicability of this AD. 

(g) After complying with paragraph (f) of 

this AD, remove the limitation required by 

paragraph (e) of this AD from the RFM. 

Differences Between This AD and the MCAI 

AD 

(h) We refer to flight hours as hours TIS. 

We require replacing each MGB module, 

listed in the applicability of this AD, within 

40 hours TIS rather than using 40 hours TIS 

for some parts and 200 hours TIS for other 

parts. Also, we do not use the dates listed in 

the MCAI AD because those dates have 

passed. 

Other Information 

(i) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, Safety Management 

Group, FAA, ATTN: Eric Haight, Aviation 

Safety Engineer, Rotorcraft Directorate, 

Regulations and Policy Group, Fort Worth, 

Texas 76193–0111, telephone (817) 222– 

5204, fax (817) 222–5961, has the authority 

to approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. 

Related Information 

(j) European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA) MCAI AD No. 2007–0312–E, dated 

December 21, 2007, and Eurocopter 

Emergency Alert Service Bulletin No. 

01.00.74, dated December 20, 2007, contain 

related information. 

Joint Aircraft System/Component (JASC) 

Code 

(k) The JASC Code is 6300: Limitations— 

Main Rotor Drive System. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on November 

1, 2010. 

Kim Smith, 

Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–28452 Filed 11–15–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 


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