[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 28, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 68766-68769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-9427]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2006-25926; Directorate Identifier 2000-CE-17-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Short Brothers & Harland Ltd. Models 
SC-7 Series 2 and SC-7 Series 3 Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: We propose to revise Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2003-17-05, 
which applies to all Short Brothers & Harland Ltd. (Shorts) Models SC-7 
Series 2 and SC-7 Series 3 airplanes. AD 2003-17-05 currently 
establishes a technical service life for these airplanes and allows you 
to incorporate modifications, inspections, and replacements of certain 
life limited items to extend the life limits of these airplanes. Since 
we issued AD 2003-17-05, Shorts Service Bulletin SB 51-51 was revised 
to Revision 8, dated July 5, 2006, and the European Aviation Safety 
Agency (EASA), which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of 
the European Community, issued an AD for the European Community to 
correct an unsafe condition for the specified product. AD 2003-17-05 
contains conflicting information on the repetitive visual inspection 
requirement. Consequently, this proposed AD would retain the technical 
service life for these airplanes; would continue to allow 
modifications, inspections, and replacements of certain life limited 
items to extend the life limits of these airplanes; and would clarify 
the repetitive visual inspection requirement between one of the service 
bulletins and the maintenance program if an operator chooses to extend 
the life limit. The actions specified by this proposed AD are intended 
to clarify the inspection information to prevent failure of critical 
structure of the aircraft caused by fatigue.

DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by December 28, 
2006.

ADDRESSES: Use one of the following addresses to comment on this 
proposed AD:
    <bullet> DOT Docket Web site: Go to http://dms.dot.gov and follow 
the instructions for sending your comments electronically.
    <bullet> Government-wide rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending your 
comments electronically.
    <bullet> Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    <bullet> Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    <bullet> Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the 
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    For service information identified in this proposed AD, contact 
Short Brothers PLC, P.O. Box 241, Airport Road, Belfast BT3 9DZ 
Northern Ireland; telephone: +44 (0) 28 9045 8444; facsimile: +44 (0) 
28 9073 3396.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, 
Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 
64106; telephone: (816) 329-4059; facsimile: (816) 329-4090.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    We invite you to send any written relevant data, views, or 
arguments regarding this proposed AD. Send your comments to an address 
listed under the ADDRESSES section. Include the docket number, ``FAA-
2006-25926; Directorate

[[Page 68767]]

Identifier: 2000-CE-17-AD'' at the beginning of your comments. We 
specifically invite comments on the overall regulatory, economic, 
environmental, and energy aspects of the proposed AD. We will consider 
all comments received by the closing date and may amend the proposed AD 
in light of those comments.
    We will post all comments we receive, without change, to http://dms.dot.gov, including any personal information you provide. We will 
also post a report summarizing each substantive verbal contact we 
receive concerning this proposed AD.

Discussion

    Mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the 
airworthiness authority for the United Kingdom on all Shorts Models SC-
7 Series 2 and SC-7 Series 3 airplanes caused us to issue AD 2003-17-
05, Amendment 39-13279 (68 FR 50689, August 22, 2003). AD 2003-17-05 
established a technical service life for these airplanes and allows you 
to incorporate modifications, inspections, and replacements of certain 
life limited items to extend the life limits of these airplanes.
    The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical 
Agent for the Member State of the European Community, notified the FAA 
of the need to revise AD 2003-17-05 to address an unsafe condition that 
may exist or could develop on all Shorts Models SC-7 Series 2 and SC-7 
Series 3 airplanes. This proposed AD results from conflicting 
information on the repetitive inspection requirement between one of the 
service bulletins and the maintenance program if an operator chooses to 
extend the life limit.
    The life limits, if not complied with, could result in failure of 
the primary structural components and possibly result in structural 
failure during flight.

Relevant Service Information

    We received and included the following in AD 2003-17-05 to extend 
the life limit when incorporated:

--Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revision No.: 6, dated: March 14, 
1983;
--Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-52, Revision No.: 4, dated: July 16, 
2002; and
--Shorts Skyvan Maintenance Program, Amendment List No. 22, dated May 
7, 2003 (any future revision to this maintenance program that 
incorporates the language and intent is acceptable to use).

    Since issuance of AD 2003-17-05, we reviewed (and included in this 
NPRM) Shorts Service Bulletin Number 51-51, Revision No: 8, dated July 
5, 2006; and Shorts Skyvan Maintenance Program, Amendment List No. 23, 
dated December 14, 2004.

Foreign Airworthiness Authority Information

    EASA classified Shorts Service Bulletin Number 51-51, Revision No: 
8, dated July 5, 2006, as mandatory and issued EASA AD Number 2006-
0190, dated July 6, 2006, to ensure the continued airworthiness of 
these airplanes in the EU.
    These Shorts Models SC-7 Series 2 and SC-7 Series 3 airplanes are 
manufactured in the United Kingdom and are type-certified for operation 
in the United States under the provisions of section 21.29 of the 
Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 21.29) and the applicable 
bilateral airworthiness agreement.
    Under this bilateral airworthiness agreement, EASA has kept us 
informed of the situation described above.

FAA's Determination and Requirements of the Proposed AD

    We are proposing this AD because we have examined EASA's findings, 
evaluated all information and determined the unsafe condition described 
previously is likely to exist or develop on other products of the same 
type design that are certificated for operation in the United States.
    This proposed AD would revise AD 2003-17-05 with a new AD that 
would retain the technical service life for these airplanes; would 
continue to allow modifications, inspections, and replacements of 
certain life limited items to extend the life limits of these 
airplanes; and would clarify the repetitive visual inspection 
requirement between one of the service bulletins and the maintenance 
program if an operator chooses to extend the life limit. This proposed 
AD would require you to use the service information described 
previously to perform these actions.

Costs of Compliance

    We estimate that this proposed AD would affect 22 airplanes in the 
U.S. registry.
    Since the action of the proposed AD is life-limiting the structural 
airframe, the actual operating cost of this AD is the cost of the 
airplane minus any non-life-limited parts that are salvageable and can 
be sold. There is no cost impact difference in this proposed AD to 
revise AD 2003-17-05 than that originally presented in AD 2003-17-05, 
except for the recalculation of the labor costs using the revised 
figure of $80 per hour instead of $65 per hour.
    The following paragraphs present the costs if you choose to 
incorporate the inspections and modifications necessary to extend the 
life limit.
    We estimate the following costs to do the proposed optional 
aircraft life extension on 16 airplanes (all airplanes that do not have 
serial number SH1845, SH1883, SH1847, SH1889, SH1943, or SH1960) as 
prescribed in Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                 Total cost per   Total cost on
                          Labor cost                              Parts cost        airplane      U.S. operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
350 work-hours x $80 per hour = $28,000......................         $90,000         $118,000       $1,888,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We estimate the following to do the proposed aircraft life 
extension prescribed in Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-52 (which 
includes Service Bulletin 51-51) for serial numbers 1889, 1943, and 
1960:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                 Total cost per   Total cost on
                          Labor cost                              Parts cost        airplane      U.S. operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
470 work-hours x $80 per hour = $37,600......................        $112,000         $149,600         $448,800
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We estimate the following to do the proposed aircraft life 
extension prescribed in Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-52 for serial 
numbers 1845, 1847, and 1883:

[[Page 68768]]



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                                                                                 Total cost per   Total cost on
                          Labor cost                              Parts cost        airplane      U.S. operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
120 work-hours x $80 per hour = $9,600.......................         $22,000          $31,600          $94,800
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 have 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 that the 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.
    We prepared a regulatory evaluation of the estimated costs to 
comply with this proposed AD and placed it in the AD docket.

Examining the AD Docket

    You may examine the AD docket that contains the proposed AD, the 
regulatory evaluation, any comments received, and other information on 
the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov; or in person at the Docket 
Management Facility between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. The Docket Office (telephone (800) 647-5227) 
is located at the street address in the ADDRESSES section. Comments 
will be available in the AD docket shortly after receipt.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, 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.


Sec.  39.13  [Amended]

    2. The FAA amends Sec.  39.13 by removing Airworthiness Directive 
(AD) 2003-17-05, Amendment 39-13279 (68 FR 50689, August 22, 2003), and 
adding the following new AD:

Short Brothers & Harland Ltd.: Docket No. FAA-2006-25926; 
Directorate Identifier 2000-CE-17-AD.

Comments Due Date

    (a) We must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) action by December 28, 2006.

Affected ADs

    (b) This AD revises AD 2003-17-05, Amendment 39-13279.

Applicability

    (c) This AD applies to Models SC-7 Series 2 and SC-7 Series 3 
airplanes, all serial numbers, that are certificated in any 
category.

Unsafe Condition

    (d) This revised AD results from conflicting information of the 
repetitive inspection requirement between one of the service 
bulletins and the maintenance program if an operator chooses to 
extend the life limit. We are issuing this AD to clarify the 
inspection information to prevent failure of critical structure of 
the aircraft caused by fatigue.

Compliance

    (e) Do not operate the airplane upon accumulating the applicable 
life limit or within the next 90 days after September 29, 2003 (the 
effective date of AD 2003-17-05), whichever occurs later. For 
owners/operators that do not have a record of the number of flights 
on the aircraft, assume the number of flights on the basis of two 
per operating hour. The following table presents the life limits:

                     Table 1.--Original Life Limits
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Serial No.                           Life limit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) SH1845 and SH1883..................  10,000 hours time-in-service
                                          (TIS).
(2) SH1847.............................  15,200 hours TIS.
(3) SH1889.............................  13,805 flights.
(4) SH1943.............................  11,306 flights.
(5) SH1960.............................  4,142 flights.
(6) All airplanes that do not have       20,000 flights.
 serial number SH1845, SH1883, SH1847,
 SH1889, SH1943, or SH1960.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (f) For airplanes with serial numbers SH1845, SH1847, or SH1883: 
You can extend the life limits by doing the actions of Shorts 
Service Bulletin No. 51-52, Revision No.: 4, dated: July 16, 2002 
(and all service information or modifications referenced in the 
Planning Information section of the service bulletin), and Shorts 
Skyvan Maintenance Program, Amendment List No. 22, dated May 7, 
2003, or Amendment List No. 23, dated December 14, 2004, or future 
revisions. Any future revisions to this maintenance program shall 
not change the inspection intervals, requirements, or the life 
limits of this AD. The following table presents the extended life 
limit:

     Table 2.--Extended Life Limits After Incorporation of Required
                      Inspections and Modifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) SH1845................................  13,456 hours TIS.

[[Page 68769]]

 
(2) SH1847................................  20,200 hours TIS.
(3) SH1883................................  15,000 hours TIS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (g) For airplanes with serial numbers SH1889, SH1943, or SH1960: 
You can extend the life limits by doing the actions of Shorts 
Service Bulletin No. 51-52, Revision No.: 4, dated: July 16, 2002 
(and all service information or modification referenced in the 
Planning Information section of the service bulletin including 
Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revision No.: 6, dated: March 14, 
1983; or Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revision No.: 8, dated: 
July 5, 2006. You cannot use Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51, 
Revision No.: 7, dated January 2005.), and Shorts Skyvan Maintenance 
Program, Amendment List No. 22, dated May 7, 2003, or Amendment List 
No. 23, dated December 14, 2004, or future revisions. Any future 
revisions to this maintenance program shall not change the 
inspeciton intervals, requirements, or the life limits of this AD. 
The following table presents the extended life limit:

     Table 3.--Extended Life Limits After Incorporation of Required
                      Inspections and Modifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Serial No.                       Extended life limit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) SH1889:...............................  20,094 flights.
(2) SH1943:...............................  17,325 flights.
(3) SH1960:...............................  8,449 flights.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (h) For airplanes that do not encompass either serial number 
SH1845, SH1847, SH1883, SH1889, SH1943, or SH1960: You can extend 
the life limit to 27,000 flights by doing the actions of Shorts 
Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revision No.: 6, dated: March 14, 1983; 
or Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revision No.: 8, dated: July 
5, 2006; and Shorts Skyvan Maintenance Program, Amendment List No. 
22, dated May 7, 2003; or Amendment List No. 23, dated December 14, 
2004; or future revisions. Any future revisions to this mainenance 
program shall not change the inspection intervals, requirements, or 
the life limits of this AD. You cannot use Shorts Service Bulletin 
No. 51-51, Revision No.: 7, dated: January 2005.
    (i) The repetitive visual inspection requirements using Shorts 
Service Bulletin No. 57-59, which is referenced on page 3 of Shorts 
Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revision No.: 6, dated: March 14, 1983, 
paragraph C (Special limitations) are every 2,400 flights and the 
repetitive visual inspeciton program in Skyvan Maintenance Program, 
Maintenance Program Appendix 1, parts A and B (Section 57-00, Item 
3), are every 1,100 flights or 800 hours TIS intervals, whichever 
occurs first. You msut use the repetitive inspection intervals of 
the Skyvan Maintenance Program for the repetitive inspection of the 
wing structure, skin, and skin doublers to be every 1,100 flights or 
800 hours TIS, whichever occurs first and not the 2,400 flights as 
stated in Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revisions No.: 6, 
dated: March 14, 1983.

Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    (j) The Manager, Standards Office, Small Airplane Directorate, 
FAA, ATTN: Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Small Airplane 
Directorate, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; 
telephone: (816) 329-4059; facsimile: (816) 329-4090, has the 
authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested using the 
procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19.
    (k) AMOCs approved for AD 2003-17-05 are approved for this AD.

Related Information

    (1) The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD No.: 2006-
0190, dated July 6, 2006, also addresses the subject of this AD. To 
get copies of the service information referenced in this AD, contact 
Short Brothers PLC, P.O. Box 241, Airport Road, Belfast BT3 9DZ 
Northern Ireland; telephone: +44 (0) 28 9045 8444; facsimile: +44 
(0) 28 9073 3396. To view the AD docket, go to the Docket Management 
Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, 
S.W., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, Washington, DC, or on the 
Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. The docket number is Docket No. FAA-
2006-25926; Directorate Identifier 2000-CE-17-AD.

    Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 20, 2006.
David R. Showers,
Acting Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 06-9427 Filed 11-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M