Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 56 / Friday, March 22, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 17593 

existing fuel filter P/N 52–2145–009, and 

replace those last two digits with ‘‘14’’ to reidentify the fuel filter as P/N 52–2145–014. 

(B) Change the existing fuel control 

assembly part number on the fuel control 

assembly bracket to re-identify it as follows: 

(1) Change fuel control assembly P/N 

S6130–63209–001 to P/N S6130–63209–041. 

(2) Change fuel control assembly P/N 

S6130–63209–002 to P/N S6130–63209–042. 

(3) Change fuel control assembly P/N 

S6130–63209–003 to P/N S6130–63209–043. 

(4) Change fuel control assembly P/N 

S6130–63209–004 to P/N S6130–63209–044. 

(f) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, Boston Aircraft 

Certification Office, FAA, may approve 

AMOCs for this AD. Send your proposal to: 

Kirk Gustafson, Aerospace Engineer, Boston 

Aircraft Certification Office, Engine and 

Propeller Directorate, FAA, 12 New England 

Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803; 

telephone (781) 238–7190; email 

kirk.gustafson@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. 

(g) Additional Information 

Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation Alert Service 

Bulletin No. 61B30–16, dated February 2, 

1010, which is not incorporated by reference, 

contains additional information about the 

subject of this AD. For this service 

information, contact Sikorsky Aircraft 

Corporation, Attn: Manager, Commercial 

Technical Support, mailstop s581a, 6900 

Main St., Stratford, CT; telephone (203) 383– 

4866; email tsslibrary@sikorsky.com, or at 

http://www.sikorsky.com. You may review a 

copy of this service information at the FAA, 

Office of the Regional Counsel, Southwest 

Region, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Room 663, Fort 

Worth, Texas 76137. 

(h) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 2821, Aircraft Fuel Filter/Strainer. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 6, 

2013. 

Lance T. Gant, 

Acting Directorate Manager, Rotorcraft 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–05874 Filed 3–21–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–1016; Directorate 

Identifier 2010–SW–009–AD; Amendment 

39–17386; AD 2013–05–14] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Bell 

Helicopter Textron, Inc. 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for Bell 

Helicopter Textron, Inc. (Bell), Model 

412 and 412EP helicopters. This AD 

requires establishing a lower life limit 

on certain swashplate outer ring 

assemblies (outer ring), revising the 

retirement life on the components’ 

history card or equivalent record, and 

revising the maintenance manual or 

Instructions for Continued 

Airworthiness (ICA). This AD also 

prohibits installing these outer rings on 

any helicopter. This AD was prompted 

by reports of cracking in the outer rings. 

The actions are intended to prevent 

failure of an outer ring because of 

cracking, which could lead to the loss 

of main rotor (M/R) blade pitch control 

and subsequent loss of helicopter 

control. 

DATES: This AD is effective April 26, 

2013. 

ADDRESSES: For service information 

identified in this AD, contact Bell 

Helicopter Textron, Inc., P.O. Box 482, 

Fort Worth, TX 76101; telephone (817) 

280–3391; fax (817) 280–6466; or at 

http://www.bellcustomer.com/files/. 

You may review a copy of the 

referenced service information at the 

FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, 

Southwest Region, 2601 Meacham 

Blvd., Room 663, Fort Worth, Texas 

76137. 

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 AD, any 

incorporated-by-reference service 

information, the economic evaluation, 

any comments received, and other 

information. The street address for the 

Docket Operations Office (phone: 800– 

647–5527) is U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations 

Office, M–30, West Building Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Kohner, Aviation Safety 

Engineer, Rotorcraft Certification Office, 

Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 2601 

Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76137; 

telephone (817) 222–5447; email 7-avsasw-170@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

On September 24, 2012, at 77 FR 

58794, the Federal Register published 

our notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM), which proposed to amend 14 

CFR part 39 to include an AD that 

would apply to Bell Model 412 and 

412EP helicopters, with an outer ring, 

part number (P/N) 412–010–407–105. 

That NPRM proposed to require 

establishing a lower life limit on certain 

outer rings, revising the retirement life 

on the components’ history card or 

equivalent record, and revising the 

maintenance manual or ICA. The 

proposal also proposed prohibiting the 

installation of these outer rings on any 

helicopter. The outer rings had a life 

limit of 10,000 hours TIS, but Bell has 

recommended reducing that limit to 

2,500 hours TIS because of reports of 

cracking in the outer rings. The 

proposed requirements were intended to 

prevent failure of an outer ring, which 

could lead to the loss of M/R blade pitch 

control and subsequent loss of 

helicopter control. 

Comments 

We gave the public the opportunity to 

participate in developing this AD, but 

we received no comments on the NPRM 

(77 FR 58794, September 24, 2012). 

FAA’s Determination 

We have reviewed the relevant 

information and determined that an 

unsafe condition exists and is likely to 

exist or develop on other products of 

these same type designs and that air 

safety and the public interest require 

adopting the AD requirements as 

proposed with minor editorial changes. 

These changes are consistent with the 

intent of the proposals in the NPRM (77 

FR 58794, September 24, 2012) and will 

not increase the economic burden on 

any operator nor increase the scope of 

the AD. 

Related Service Information 

We have reviewed Bell Helicopter 

Alert Service Bulletin No. 412–08–131, 

Revision B, dated October 29, 2009 

(ASB), which describes procedures for 

establishing a new retirement life for the 


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17594 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 56 / Friday, March 22, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

outer ring and replacing the outer ring 

at 2,500 hours TIS. 

Differences Between This AD and the 

Service Information 

The ASB sets a calendar date for 

compliance. This AD does not. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this AD affects 143 

helicopters. We estimate that it takes 

about 1 work-hour to revise the 

component history card or equivalent 

record, as well as the maintenance 

manual or ICA, at an average labor rate 

of $85 per work hour, for a total cost of 

$85 per helicopter and $12,155 for the 

U.S. operator fleet. Replacing an outer 

ring takes 26 work-hours and required 

parts costs an estimated $25,725. Based 

on these figures, we calculate the total 

cost to be $27,935 per helicopter to 

replace an outer ring. 

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 

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. 

For the reasons discussed above, I 

certify that this AD: 

(1) Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ under Executive Order 12866; 

(2) Is not a ‘‘significant rule’’ under 

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 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. 

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 airworthiness 

directive (AD): 

2013–05–14 Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. 

(Bell): Amendment 39–17386; Docket 

No. FAA–2012–1016; Directorate 

Identifier 2010–SW–009–AD. 

(a) Applicability 

This AD applies to Bell Model 412 and 

412EP helicopters, with a swashplate outer 

ring assembly (outer ring), part number (P/N) 

412–010–407–105, certificated in any 

category. 

(b) Unsafe Condition 

This AD defines the unsafe condition as 

cracking in the outer ring, which could result 

in the loss of main rotor (M/R) blade pitch 

control and subsequent loss of helicopter 

control. 

(c) Effective Date 

This AD becomes effective April 26, 2013. 

(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 30 days, establish a retirement 

life of 2,500 hours time-in-service (TIS) for 

any affected outer ring on the component 

history card or equivalent record. Revise the 

helicopter Airworthiness Limitations section 

of the applicable maintenance manual or 

Instructions for Continued Airworthiness 

(ICA) by establishing the new retirement life 

by making pen-and-ink changes or inserting 

a copy of this AD into the maintenance 

manual or the ICAs. 

(2) For any affected outer ring that, on the 

effective date of this AD, has 2,200 or more 

hours TIS, within 300 hours TIS, replace the 

outer ring with an airworthy outer ring. 

(3) Within 12 months, for any affected 

outer ring, regardless of the number of hours 

TIS, replace the outer ring with an airworthy 

outer ring. 

(4) Do not install outer ring, P/N 412–010– 

407–105, on any helicopter. 

(f) Special Flight Permits 

No special flight permits will be issued for 

any helicopter installed with outer ring, P/N 

412–010–407–105, if the outer ring has 2,500 

hours or more TIS. 

(g) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, Safety Management 

Group, FAA, may approve AMOCs for this 

AD. Send your proposal to: Michael Kohner, 

Aviation Safety Engineer, Rotorcraft 

Certification Office, Rotorcraft Directorate, 

FAA, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 

76137; telephone (817) 222–5447; email 7- 

avs-asw-170@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 

Bell Helicopter Alert Service Bulletin No. 

412–08–131, Revision B, dated October 29, 

2009, which is not incorporated by reference, 

contains additional information about the 

subject of this AD. For service information 

identified in this AD, contact Bell Helicopter 

Textron, Inc., P.O. Box 482, Fort Worth, TX 

76101; telephone (817) 280–3391; fax (817) 

280–6466; or at http:// 

www.bellcustomer.com/files/. You may 

review a copy of this service information at 

the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, 

Southwest Region, 2601 Meacham Blvd., 

Room 663, Fort Worth Texas 76137. 

(i) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 6230, Main Rotor Mast/Swashplate. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 6, 

2013. 

Lance T. Gant, 

Acting Directorate Manager, Rotorcraft 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–05875 Filed 3–21–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 


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