54596 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 172 / Thursday, September 5, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

AD. Send your proposal to: Robert Grant, 

Aviation Safety Engineer, Safety Management 

Group, FAA, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort 

Worth, Texas 76137; telephone 817–222– 

5110; email robert.grant@faa.gov. 

(2) For operations conducted under a part 

119 operating certificate or under 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. 

(g) Additional Information 

(1) You may review a copy of the service 

information at the FAA, Office of the 

Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 2601 

Meacham Blvd., Room 663, Fort Worth, 

Texas 76137. 

(2) The subject of this AD is addressed in 

European Aviation Safety Agency AD 

No.2007—0256, dated September 19, 2007. 

(h) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 2500 Cabin Equipment/Furnishings. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on August 22, 

2013. 

Kim Smith, 

Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–21570 Filed 9–4–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2013–0751; Directorate 

Identifier 2012–SW–051–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; 

AgustaWestland S.p.A. (Type 

Certificate Formerly Held by Agusta 

S.p.A) (Agusta) Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to supersede an 

existing airworthiness directive (AD) for 

Agusta Model AB139 and AW139 

helicopters. The existing AD currently 

requires establishing a revised life limit 

for each tail rotor blade (blade), 

updating the helicopter’s historical 

records, repetitively inspecting each 

blade for a crack, and replacing certain 

blades. Since we issued that AD, the 

manufacturer has improved the design 

of the blades using different materials 

and established life limits for each 

newly-designed blade. This proposed 

AD would expand the applicability to 

include the newly-designed blades and 

establish their life limits. This proposed 

AD would also retain the requirement to 

inspect each blade for a crack and, if 

there is a crack, replace each blade with 

an airworthy blade. The proposed 

actions are intended to detect a crack in 

a blade to prevent failure of a blade and 

subsequent loss of control of the 

helicopter. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by November 4, 2013. 

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 Agusta 

Westland, Customer Support & Services, 

Via Per Tornavento 15, 21019 Somma 

Lombardo (VA) Italy, ATTN: Giovanni 

Cecchelli; telephone 39–0331–711133; 

fax 39 0331 711180; or at http://

www.agustawestland.com/technicalbullettins. You may review the 

referenced 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: 

Sharon Miles, Aviation Safety Engineer, 

Regulations and Policy Group, 

Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 2601 

Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 

76137; telephone (817) 222–5110; email 

sharon.y.miles@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 August 26, 2011, we issued 

Emergency AD (EAD) 2011–18–52 for 

the Agusta Model AB139 and AW139 

helicopters. We published EAD 2011– 

18–52 as a final rule; request for 

comments in the Federal Register (77 

FR 23109, April 18, 2012). EAD 2011– 

18–52 requires revising the life limits 

for each blade, part number (P/N) 

3G6410A00131 and 4G6410A00131, 

updating the helicopter’s historical 

records, repetitively inspecting each 

blade for a crack, and replacing certain 

blades. That action was prompted by a 

fatal accident involving an Agusta 

Model AW139 helicopter, which may 

have been caused by cracks in a blade. 

The European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Union, notified us of the unsafe 

condition and issued EASA EAD No. 

2011–0156–E, dated August 25, 2011, to 

require repetitive inspections and 

reduce the life limit of the blades. This 

condition, if not detected and corrected, 

could result in failure of a blade and 

subsequent loss of control of the 

helicopter. 

Actions Since Existing AD Was Issued 

Since we issued EAD No. 2011–18– 

52, the manufacturer first developed 

two new blades with an improved 


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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 172 / Thursday, September 5, 2013 / Proposed Rules 54597 

design and specified life limits and 

repetitive inspections for the blades. 

EASA issued AD No. 2012–0030, dated 

February 17, 2012, which superseded 

EASA EAD No. 2011–0156E, to add the 

new blades to the required actions. The 

manufacturer then developed two new 

blades with improved materials and 

specified new life limits and inspections 

for the blades. EASA then issued EASA 

AD No. 2012–0076, dated May 2, 2012, 

revised by EASA AD No. 2012–0076R1, 

dated July 13, 2012, to require the 

repetitive inspections and reduced life 

limits on the additional new blades. 

FAA’s Determination 

These helicopters have been approved 

by the aviation authority of Italy and are 

approved for operation in the United 

States. Pursuant to our bilateral 

agreement with Italy, 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 helicopters of these 

same type designs. 

Related Service Information 

Agusta issued Mandatory Bollettino 

Tecnicos (BTs) No. 139–265, No. 139– 

285, No. 139–286, all Revision A, and 

all dated July 12, 2012, which specify a 

precautionary inspection for a crack, a 

life limit for the affected blades, and a 

‘‘quarantine’’ of blades that have 

exceeded their life limit. The BTs also 

provide instructions for mixed usage of 

the affected blades. The BTs specify 

sending the damaged or cracked blade 

along with certain data to the 

manufacturer. 

Proposed AD Requirements 

This proposed AD would retain the 

inspection requirements for certain partnumbered blades and expand the 

applicability to include the newlydesigned blades and establish life limits 

for those blades. The proposed AD 

would also require replacing any 

cracked blade or a blade that has 

reached its life limit. 

Interim Action 

We consider this proposed AD to be 

an interim action. If a final action is 

later identified, we might consider 

additional rulemaking. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this proposed AD 

would affect 93 helicopters of U.S. 

Registry. We estimate that operators 

may incur the following costs in order 

to comply with this AD. It would take 

1 work hour to inspect each blade for a 

crack at $85 per work hour or $7,905 for 

the fleet. If required, it would take 8 

work hours to replace a blade, and 

required parts would cost $35,680, for 

total cost of $36,360. 

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. The FAA amends § 39.13 by 

removing Amendment 39–17020 (77 FR 

23109, April 18, 2012); Docket No. 

FAA–2012–0409; Directorate Identifier 

2011–SW–055–AD; and by adding the 

following new airworthiness directive 

(AD): 

Agustawestland S.p.A. (Type Certificate 

Formerly Held by Augsta S.p.A) 

(Agusta): Docket No. FAA–2013–0751; 

Directorate Identifier 2012–SW–051–AD. 

(a) Applicability 

This AD applies to Model AB139 and 

AW139 helicopters with tail rotor blade 

(blade), part number (P/N) 3G6410A00131, 

4G6410A00131, 3G6410A00132, 

4G6410A00132, 3G6410A00133, or 

4G6410A00133, installed, certificated in any 

category. 

(b) Unsafe Condition 

This AD defines the unsafe condition as a 

crack in a blade. This condition could result 

in failure of a blade and subsequent loss of 

control of the helicopter. 

(c) Affected ADs 

This AD supersedes AD No. 2011–18–52; 

Amendment 39–17020; Docket No. FAA– 

2012–0409; Directorate Identifier 2011–SW– 

055–AD. 

(d) Comments Due Date 

We must receive comments by November 

4, 2013. 

(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 

(1) Within 5 hours time-in-service (TIS), 

establish a life limit for each blade as follows, 

revise the Airworthiness Limitations section 

of the maintenance manual, and update the 

helicopter’s historical records. If a blade’s 

total number of cycles is unknown, 

determine the blade cycles by multiplying 

the blade’s hours TIS by 4. 

(i) For blade, P/N 3G6410A00131 or P/N 

4G6410A00131: establish a life limit of 600 

hours TIS or 1,500 cycles, whichever occurs 

first. 

(ii) For blade, P/N 3G6410A00132 or P/N 

4G6410A00132: establish a life limit of 1,200 

hours TIS or 3,200 cycles, whichever comes 

first. 


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54598 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 172 / Thursday, September 5, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

(iii) For blade, P/N 3G6410A00133 or P/N 

4G6410A00133: establish a life limit of 

10,000 cycles or 3 years since opening the 

sealed wrap, whichever comes first. 

(2) Within 5 hours TIS, replace each blade 

that has reached or exceeded its life limit 

with an airworthy blade. 

(3) Within 25 hours TIS, and thereafter at 

intervals not to exceed 25 hours TIS, using 

a mirror, a 5× or higher power magnifying 

glass, and a light source, or borescope, 

visually inspect each blade for a crack or 

damage that exceeds the limits of the 

applicable maintenance manual in the 

highlighted area depicted in Figure 1 of 

Agusta Mandatory Bollettino Tecnicos No. 

139–265, Revision A, dated July 12, 2012; 

No. 139–285, Revision A, dated July 12, 

2012; or No. 139–286, Revision A, dated July 

12, 2012. 

(4) If there is a crack, or if there is damage 

that exceeds the limits of the applicable 

maintenance manual, before further flight, 

replace the blade with an airworthy blade. 

(g) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, Safety Management 

Group, FAA, may approve AMOCs for this 

AD. Send your proposal to: Sharon Miles, 

Aviation Safety Engineer, Regulations and 

Policy Group, Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 

2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 

76137; telephone (817) 222–5110; email 

sharon.y.miles@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) AD 

No. 2012–0076R1, dated July 13, 2012, which 

revises EASA AD No. 2012–0076, dated May 

2, 2012, which can be found in the AD 

docket on the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

(i) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 6410 Tail Rotor Blades. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on August 21, 

2013. 

Kim Smith, 

Directorate Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–21587 Filed 9–4–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY 

Internal Revenue Service 

26 CFR Part 1 

[REG–111753–12] 

RIN 1545–BL24 

Debt That Is a Position in Personal 

Property That Is Part of a Straddle 

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

by cross-reference to temporary 

regulations and notice of public 

hearings. 

SUMMARY: This document contains 

proposed regulations relating to the 

application of the straddle rules to a 

debt instrument. The proposed 

regulations clarify that a taxpayer’s 

obligation under a debt instrument can 

be a position in personal property that 

is part of a straddle. The proposed 

regulations primarily affect taxpayers 

that issue debt instruments that provide 

for one or more payments that reference 

the value of personal property or a 

position in personal property. This 

document also provides notice of a 

public hearing on these proposed 

regulations. 

DATES: Written or electronic comments 

must be received by November 4, 2013. 

Requests to speak and outlines of topics 

to be discussed at the public hearing 

scheduled for January 15, 2014, must be 

received by November 4, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Send submissions to: 

CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–111753–12), Room 

5203, Internal Revenue Service, PO Box 

7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, 

DC 20044. Submissions may be handdelivered Monday through Friday 

between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. 

to CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–111753–12), 

Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue 

Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC, or sent electronically 

via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

www.regulations.gov (IRS REG–111753– 

12). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Concerning the proposed regulations, 

Mary Brewer, (202) 622–4695; 

concerning submissions of comments, 

the hearing and/or to be placed on the 

building access list to attend the 

hearing, Oluwafunmilayo Taylor, (202) 

622–7180 (not toll-free numbers). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background and Explanation of 

Provisions 

Temporary regulations in the Rules 

and Regulations section of this issue of 

the Federal Register amend the Income 

Tax Regulations (26 CFR part 1) relating 

to section 1092(d). The temporary 

regulations provide that if a taxpayer is 

the obligor under a debt instrument one 

or more payments on which are linked 

to the value of personal property or a 

position with respect to personal 

property, then the taxpayer’s obligation 

under the debt instrument is a position 

with respect to personal property and 

may be part of a straddle. The temporary 

regulations apply to straddles 

established on or after January 17, 2001. 

The text of the temporary regulations 

also serves as the text of these proposed 

regulations and is identical to the text 

of regulations originally proposed under 

REG–105801–00. 

Special Analyses 

It has been determined that this notice 

of proposed rulemaking is not a 

significant regulatory action as defined 

in Executive Order 12866, as 

supplemented by Executive Order 

13563. Therefore, a regulatory 

assessment is not required. It also has 

been determined that section 553(b) of 

the Administrative Procedure Act (5 

U.S.C. chapter 5) does not apply to these 

regulations, and because the regulation 

does not impose a collection of 

information on small entities, the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 

chapter 6) does not apply. Pursuant to 

section 7805(f) of the Internal Revenue 

Code, this notice of proposed 

rulemaking has been submitted to the 

Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration for comment 

on its impact on small business. 

Comments and Public Hearing 

Before these proposed regulations are 

adopted as final regulations, 

consideration will be given to any 

comments that are submitted timely to 

the IRS as prescribed in the preamble 

under the ADDRESSES heading. The 

Treasury Department and the IRS 

welcome comments on this proposed 

regulation. All comments that are 

submitted by the public will be 

available at for public inspection and 

copying at www.regulations.gov. upon 

request. 

A public hearing has been scheduled 

for January 15, 2014, beginning at 10 

a.m. in the IRS Auditorium, Internal 

Revenue Service Building, 1111 

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC. Due to building security 

procedures, visitors must enter at the 

Constitution Avenue entrance. In 

addition, all visitors must present photo 

identification to enter the building. 

Because of access restrictions, visitors 

will not be admitted beyond the 


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