6162 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 25 / Monday, February 8, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

(2) To request a different method of 

compliance or a different compliance time 

for this AD, follow the procedures in 14 CFR 

39.19. Before using any approved AMOC on 

any airplane to which the AMOC applies, 

notify your principal maintenance inspector 

(PMI) or principal avionics inspector (PAI), 

as appropriate, or lacking a principal 

inspector, your local Flight Standards District 

Office. The AMOC approval letter must 

specifically reference this AD. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on January 

28, 2010. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–2687 Filed 2–5–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2009–1213; Directorate 

Identifier 2009–NM–097–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell 

Douglas Corporation Model DC–9–81 

(MD–81), DC–9–82 (MD–82), DC–9–83 

(MD–83), DC–9–87 (MD–87), and MD–88 

Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

McDonnell Douglas Corporation Model 

DC–9–81 (MD–81), DC–9–82 (MD–82), 

DC–9–83 (MD–83), DC–9–87 (MD–87), 

and MD–88 airplanes. This proposed 

AD would require repetitive inspections 

for cracking of the lower rear spar caps 

of the wings, and related investigative 

and corrective actions if necessary. This 

AD would also require repetitive 

inspections of certain repaired areas. 

This proposed AD results from reports 

of cracking of the wing rear spar lower 

cap at the outboard flap and inboard 

drive hinge at station Xrs=164.000; the 

cracking is due to material fatigue from 

normal flap operating loads. We are 

proposing this AD to detect and correct 

such fatigue cracking, which could 

result in fuel leaks, damage to the wing 

skin or other structure, and consequent 

reduced structural integrity of the wing. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by March 25, 2010. 

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 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

For service information identified in 

this proposed AD, contact Boeing 

Commercial Airplanes, Attention: Data 

& Services Management, 3855 

Lakewood Boulevard, MC D800–0019, 

Long Beach, California 90846–0001; 

telephone 206–544–5000, extension 2; 

fax 206–766–5683; e-mail 

dse.boecom@boeing.com; Internet 

https://www.myboeingfleet.com. You 

may review copies of the referenced 

service information at the FAA, 

Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 

Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington. 

For information on the availability of 

this material at the FAA, call 425–227– 

1221 or 425–227–1152. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; 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 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: 

Roger Durbin, Aerospace Engineer, 

Airframe Branch, ANM–120L, FAA, Los 

Angeles Aircraft Certification Office, 

3960 Paramount Boulevard, Lakewood, 

California 90712–4137; telephone (562) 

627–5233; fax (562) 627–5210. 

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–2009–1213; Directorate Identifier 

2009–NM–097–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 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 proposed AD. 

Discussion 

We have received reports of an 

inspection for fuel leaks that revealed 

cracking of the wing rear spar lower cap 

at the outboard flap and inboard drive 

hinge at station Xrs=164.000. The 

manufacturer determined that the cracks 

are the result of material fatigue from 

normal flap operating loads. Inspecting 

this area for cracks will prevent crack 

migration and ensure repairs are done 

before further damage occurs. Such 

fatigue cracking, if not detected and 

corrected in a timely manner, could 

result in fuel leaks, damage to the wing 

skin or other structure, and consequent 

reduced structural integrity of the wing. 

Relevant Service Information 

We have reviewed Boeing Alert 

Service Bulletin MD80–57A242, dated 

May 8, 2009. For Group 1, Configuration 

2, and Group 2 airplanes: The service 

bulletin describes procedures for 

repetitive eddy current testing high 

frequency (ETHF) inspections for 

cracking of the lower rear spar caps of 

the wings, and related investigative and 

corrective actions if necessary. The 

related investigative action is an ETHF 

inspection for cracking of the upper rear 

spar cap of the wings. The corrective 

actions include doing a temporary 

repair of the lower rear spar cap, doing 

a temporary repair of the upper and 

lower rear spar cap, and contacting 

Boeing for repair instructions and doing 

the repair. The service bulletin also 

describes procedures for repetitive 

ETHF inspections of any temporary 

repair, and corrective actions if 

necessary. The service bulletin specifies 

that no action is necessary for Group 1, 

Configuration 1, airplanes. 

The recommended compliance time 

for the initial inspection of the lower 

rear spar caps of the wings is before the 

accumulation of 30,000 total flight 

cycles or within 3,360 flight cycles after 

the issue date on the service bulletin, 

whichever occurs later. The 

recommended repetitive inspection 

interval is 2,650 flight cycles for 

airplanes on which no cracking is 

found. The recommended compliance 

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 25 / Monday, February 8, 2010 / Proposed Rules 6163 

time for the initial inspection of a 

temporary repair area is 11,000 flight 

cycles after the repair is done. The 

service bulletin specifies that postrepair inspections be repeated at 

intervals not to exceed 7,000 flight 

cycles. The related investigative and 

corrective actions are done before 

further flight. 

FAA’s Determination and Requirements 

of This Proposed AD 

We are proposing this AD because we 

evaluated all relevant information and 

determined the unsafe condition 

described previously is likely to exist or 

develop in other products of these same 

type designs. This proposed AD would 

require accomplishing the actions 

specified in the service information 

described previously, except as 

discussed under ‘‘Difference Between 

the Proposed AD and Service Bulletin.’’ 

Difference Between the Proposed AD 

and Service Bulletin 

The service bulletin specifies that you 

may contact the manufacturer for repair 

instructions if the crack length is longer 

than 2.0 inches or is located in the rear 

spar cap forward horizontal leg radius. 

In addition, the service bulletin does not 

provide corrective action if any crack is 

found (less than or greater than 2.0 

inches) in a temporary repair during the 

repetitive inspections. This proposed 

AD would require you to repair those 

conditions in one of the following ways: 

• Using a method that we approve; or 

• Using data that meet the 

certification basis of the airplane that 

have been approved by the Boeing 

Commercial Airplanes Organization 

Designation Authorization (ODA) that 

has been authorized by the FAA to make 

those findings. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this proposed AD 

would affect 670 airplanes of U.S. 

registry. We also estimate that it would 

take about 4 work-hours per product to 

comply with this proposed AD. The 

average labor rate is $80 per work-hour. 

Based on these figures, we estimate the 

cost of this proposed AD to the U.S. 

operators to be $214,400, or $320 per 

product, 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 above, 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), 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. 

You can find our regulatory 

evaluation and the estimated costs of 

compliance 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. The FAA amends § 39.13 by adding 

the following new AD: 

McDonnell Douglas Corporation: Docket No. 

FAA–2009–1213; Directorate Identifier 

2009–NM–097–AD. 

Comments Due Date 

(a) We must receive comments by March 

25, 2010. 

Affected ADs 

(b) None. 

Applicability 

(c) This AD applies to McDonnell Douglas 

Corporation Model DC–9–81 (MD–81), DC– 

9–82 (MD–82), DC–9–83 (MD–83), DC–9–87 

(MD–87), and MD–88 airplanes, certificated 

in any category; as identified in Boeing Alert 

Service Bulletin MD80–57A242, dated May 

8, 2009. 

Subject 

(d) Air Transport Association (ATA) of 

America Code 57: Wings. 

Unsafe Condition 

(e) This AD results from reports of cracking 

of the wing rear spar lower cap at the 

outboard flap and inboard drive hinge at 

station Xrs=164.000; the cracking is due to 

material fatigue from normal flap operating 

loads. The Federal Aviation Administration 

is issuing this AD to detect and correct 

fatigue cracking, which could result in fuel 

leaks, damage to the wing skin or other 

structure, and consequent reduced structural 

integrity of the wing. 

Compliance 

(f) You are responsible for having the 

actions required by this AD performed within 

the compliance times specified, unless the 

actions have already been done. 

Repetitive Inspections and Related 

Investigative and Corrective Actions 

(g) At the applicable times specified in 

paragraph 1.E. of Boeing Alert Service 

Bulletin MD80–57A242, dated May 8, 2009, 

do the actions required by paragraphs (g)(1) 

and (g)(2) of this AD, except as required by 

paragraph (h) of this AD. 

(1) Do initial and repetitive eddy current 

testing high frequency (ETHF) inspections for 

cracking of the lower rear spar caps of the 

wings, and do all applicable related 

investigative and corrective actions, by doing 

all the applicable actions specified in the 

Accomplishment Instructions of Boeing Alert 

Service Bulletin MD80–57A242, dated May 

8, 2009, except as required by paragraph (i) 

of this AD. 

(2) Do initial and repetitive ETHF 

inspections for cracking of any temporary 

repairs, and do all applicable related 

investigative and corrective actions, by doing 

all the applicable actions specified in the 

Accomplishment Instructions of Boeing Alert 

Service Bulletin MD80–57A242, dated May 

8, 2009, except as required by paragraph (j) 

of this AD. 

Exceptions to Service Bulletin Specifications 

(h) Where Boeing Alert Service Bulletin 

MD80–57A242, dated May 8, 2009, specifies 

a compliance time after the date of the 

service bulletin, this AD requires compliance 

within the specified compliance time after 

the effective date of this AD. 

(i) If any crack is found during any 

inspection required by this AD and Boeing 

Alert Service Bulletin MD80–57A242, dated 

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6164 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 25 / Monday, February 8, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

May 8, 2009, specifies contacting Boeing for 

repair: Before further flight, repair the crack 

using a method approved in accordance with 

the procedures specified in paragraph (k) of 

this AD. 

(j) If any crack is found during any 

inspection of a temporary repair, before 

further flight, repair using a method 

approved in accordance with the procedures 

specified in paragraph (k) of this AD. 

Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(k)(1) The Manager, Los Angeles Aircraft 

Certification Office (ACO), FAA, has the 

authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if 

requested using the procedures found in 14 

CFR 39.19. Send information to ATTN: Roger 

Durbin, Aerospace Engineer, Airframe 

Branch, ANM–120L, FAA, Los Angeles 

Aircraft Certification Office, 3960 Paramount 

Boulevard, Lakewood, California 90712– 

4137; telephone (562) 627–5233; fax (562) 

627–5210. 

(2) To request a different method of 

compliance or a different compliance time 

for this AD, follow the procedures in 14 CFR 

39.19. Before using any approved AMOC on 

any airplane to which the AMOC applies, 

notify your principal maintenance inspector 

(PMI) or principal avionics inspector (PAI), 

as appropriate, or lacking a principal 

inspector, your local Flight Standards District 

Office. The AMOC approval letter must 

specifically reference this AD. 

(3) An AMOC that provides an acceptable 

level of safety may be used for any repair 

required by this AD, if it is approved by the 

Boeing Commercial Airplanes Organization 

Designation Authorization (ODA) that has 

been authorized by the Manager, Los Angeles 

ACO, to make those findings. For a repair 

method to be approved, the repair must meet 

the certification basis of the airplane. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on January 

28, 2010. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–2688 Filed 2–5–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Parts 61 and 121 

[Docket No. FAA–2010–0100; Notice No. 10– 

02] 

RIN 2120–AJ67 

New Pilot Certification Requirements 

for Air Carrier Operations 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking (ANPRM). 

SUMMARY: This advance notice of 

proposed rulemaking requests public 

comment on possible changes to 

regulations relating to the certification 

of pilots conducting domestic, flag, and 

supplemental operations. The purpose 

of this notice is to gather information on 

whether current eligibility, training, and 

qualification requirements for 

commercial pilot certification are 

adequate for engaging in such 

operations. The FAA may use this 

information to determine the necessity 

of establishing additional pilot 

certification requirements and to 

determine what those new requirements 

might include. 

DATES: Send your comments on or 

before April 9, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments 

identified by Docket Number FAA– 

2010–0100 using any of the following 

methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Send comments to Docket 

Operations, M–30, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., West Building Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC 

20590. 

• Fax: Fax comments to Docket 

Operations at 202–493–2251. 

• Hand Delivery: Bring comments to 

Docket Operations in Room W12–140 of 

the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

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

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

For more information on the rulemaking 

process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this document. 

Privacy: We will post all comments 

we receive, without change, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. 

Using the search function of our docket 

Web site, anyone can find and read the 

comments received into any of our 

dockets, including the name of the 

individual sending the comment (or 

signing the comment for an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 

19477–78) or you may visit http:// 

DocketsInfo.dot.gov. 

Docket: To read background 

documents or comments received, go to 

http://www.regulations.gov at any time 

or to Docket Operations in Room W12– 

140 of the West Building Ground Floor 

at 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Craig Holmes, Certification and General 

Aviation Operations Branch, AFS–810, 

General Aviation and Commercial 

Division, Flight Standards Service, 

Federal Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 

493–5385; e-mail to 

craig.holmes@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

The FAA invites interested persons 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 initiatives in this 

document. The most helpful comments 

reference a specific question number, 

explain the reason for any 

recommended change, and include 

supporting data. To ensure the docket 

does not contain duplicate comments, 

please send only one copy of written 

comments, or if you are filing comments 

electronically, please submit your 

comments only one time. 

We will file in the docket all 

comments we receive, as well as a 

report summarizing each substantive 

public contact with FAA personnel 

concerning this proposed rulemaking. 

Before acting on this initiative, 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 

initiative in light of the comments we 

receive. 

Availability of Rulemaking Documents 

You can get an electronic copy using 

the Internet by: 

(1) Searching the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; 

(2) Visiting the FAA’s Regulations and 

Policies web page at http:// 

www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/; or 

(3) Accessing the Government 

Printing Office’s Web page at http:// 

www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. 

You can also get a copy by sending a 

request to the Federal Aviation 

Administration, Office of Rulemaking, 

ARM–1, 800 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by 

calling (202) 267–9680. Make sure to 

identify the docket number or notice 

number of this rulemaking. 

Authority for This Rulemaking 

The FAA’s authority to issue rules 

regarding aviation safety is found in 

Title 49 of the United States Code. This 

ANPRM is promulgated under the 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS