[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 26, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65831-65833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20508]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2023-1887; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-00543-T]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 
2020-24-12, which applies to certain Airbus SAS Model A350-941 
airplanes. AD 2020-24-12 requires replacing certain center wing box 
(CWB) fasteners with fasteners having improved friction efficiency. 
Since the FAA issued AD 2020-24-12, additional work was introduced to 
ensure the correct application of the fuel vapor barrier structure 
paint on the outside of the CWB. This proposed AD would continue to 
require the actions in AD 2020-24-12 and would require the additional 
work, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) 
AD, which is proposed for incorporation by reference (IBR). The FAA is 
proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: The FAA must receive comments on this proposed AD by November 
13, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, using the procedures found in 14 CFR 
11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Fax: 202-493-2251.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> Hand Delivery: Deliver to Mail address above between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    AD Docket: You may examine the AD docket at regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FAA-2023-1887; or in person at Docket Operations between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD 
docket contains this NPRM, the mandatory continuing airworthiness 
information (MCAI), any comments received, and other information. The 
street address for Docket Operations is listed above.
    Material Incorporated by Reference:
    <bullet> For the EASA AD identified in this NPRM, you may contact 
EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 
8999 000; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7d3c390e3d181c0e1c5318080f120d1c531808"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cb8a8fb88baeaab8aae5aebeb9a4bbaae5aebe">[email protected]</span></a>; website easa.europa.eu. You may 
find this material on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu. It is also 
available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2023-1887.
    <bullet> You may view this service information at the FAA, 
Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South 
216th St., Des Moines, WA. For information on the availability of this 
material at the FAA, call 206-231-3195.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dat Le, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 
1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone (516) 
228-7317; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9df9fce9b3ebb3f1f8ddfbfcfcb3faf2eb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e0848194ce96ce8c85a0868181ce878f96">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites you to send any written relevant data, views, or 
arguments about this proposal. Send your comments to an address listed 
under ADDRESSES. Include ``Docket No. FAA-2023-1887; Project Identifier 
MCAI-2023-00543-T'' at the beginning of your comments. The most helpful 
comments reference a specific portion of the proposal, explain the 
reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data. The FAA 
will consider all comments received by the closing date and may amend 
this proposal because of those comments.
    Except for Confidential Business Information (CBI) as described in 
the following paragraph, and other information as described in 14 CFR 
11.35, the FAA will post all comments received, without change, to 
regulations.gov, including any personal information you provide. The 
agency will also post a report summarizing each substantive verbal 
contact received about this NPRM.

Confidential Business Information

    CBI is commercial or financial information that is both customarily 
and actually treated as private by its owner. Under the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public 
disclosure. If your comments responsive to this NPRM contain commercial 
or financial information that is customarily treated as private, that 
you actually treat as private, and that is relevant or responsive to 
this NPRM, it is important that you clearly designate the submitted 
comments as CBI. Please mark each

[[Page 65832]]

page of your submission containing CBI as ``PROPIN.'' The FAA will 
treat such marked submissions as confidential under the FOIA, and they 
will not be placed in the public docket of this NPRM. Submissions 
containing CBI should be sent to Dat Le, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 
1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone (516) 
228-7317; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f99d988dd78fd7959cb99f9898d79e968f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="721613065c045c1e17321413135c151d04">[email protected]</span></a>. Any commentary that the FAA receives 
which is not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the 
public docket for this rulemaking.

Background

    The FAA issued AD 2020-24-12, Amendment 39-21342 (85 FR 76949, 
December 1, 2020) (AD 2020-24-12), for certain Airbus SAS Model A350-
941 airplanes. AD 2020-24-12 was prompted by an MCAI originated by 
EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the 
European Union. EASA issued AD 2020-0123, dated May 29, 2020 (EASA AD 
2020-0123), to correct an unsafe condition.
    AD 2020-24-12 requires replacing certain CWB fasteners with 
fasteners having improved friction efficiency. The FAA issued AD 2020-
24-12 to address CWB fastener rotation. This condition, if not 
corrected, could lead to cracking of the fastener head sealant cover, 
followed by fuel vapor leakage inside the cabin, possibly resulting in 
injury to airplane occupants.

Actions Since AD 2020-24-12 Was Issued

    Since the FAA issued AD 2020-24-12, EASA superseded AD 2020-0123 
and issued EASA AD 2023-0068, dated March 30, 2023 (EASA AD 2023-0068) 
(also referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition for 
certain Airbus SAS Model A350-941 airplanes. The MCAI states that 
during flight and fatigue testing it was discovered that some fasteners 
can rotate inside their CWB fastener holes. Further investigation 
identified insufficient friction for the application. After EASA issued 
AD 2020-0123, it was determined that additional work is necessary to 
ensure the correct application of the fuel vapor barrier structure 
paint on the outside of the CWB. CWB fastener rotation, if not 
corrected, can lead to a crack of the fastener head sealant cover, 
followed by fuel vapor leakage inside the cabin, possibly resulting in 
injury to airplane occupants.
    The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on 
these products. You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at 
regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2023-1887.

Explanation of Retained Requirements

    Although this proposed AD does not explicitly restate the 
requirements of AD 2020-24-12, this proposed AD would retain all of the 
requirements of AD 2020-24-12. Those requirements are referenced in 
EASA AD 2023-0068, which, in turn, is referenced in paragraph (g) of 
this proposed AD.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    EASA AD 2023-0068 specifies procedures for replacing the affected 
CWB fasteners with fasteners having improved friction efficiency, and 
for doing additional work on previously modified airplanes to ensure 
the correct application of the fuel vapor barrier structure paint from 
outside the CWB. This material is reasonably available because the 
interested parties have access to it through their normal course of 
business or by the means identified in the ADDRESSES section.

FAA's Determination

    This product has been approved by the aviation authority of another 
country and is approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant to 
the FAA's bilateral agreement with this State of Design Authority, it 
has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI 
referenced above. The FAA is issuing this NPRM after determining that 
the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop 
in other products of the same type design.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

    This proposed AD would retain all requirements of AD 2020-24-12. 
This proposed AD would also require accomplishing the applicable 
actions specified in EASA AD 2023-0068 described previously, except for 
any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this 
proposed AD.

Explanation of Required Compliance Information

    In the FAA's ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency of the AD 
process, the FAA developed a process to use some civil aviation 
authority (CAA) ADs as the primary source of information for compliance 
with requirements for corresponding FAA ADs. The FAA has been 
coordinating this process with manufacturers and CAAs. As a result, the 
FAA proposes to incorporate EASA AD 2023-0068 by reference in the FAA 
final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with 
EASA AD 2023-0068 in its entirety through that incorporation, except 
for any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of 
this proposed AD. Using common terms that are the same as the heading 
of a particular section in EASA AD 2023-0068 does not mean that 
operators need comply only with that section. For example, where the AD 
requirement refers to ``all required actions and compliance times,'' 
compliance with this AD requirement is not limited to the section 
titled ``Required Action(s) and Compliance Time(s)'' in EASA AD 2023-
0068. Service information required by EASA AD 2023-0068 for compliance 
will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2023-1887 
after the FAA final rule is published.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would 
affect 13 airplanes of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following 
costs to comply with this proposed AD:

                                      Estimated Costs for Required Actions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Cost per      Cost on U.S.
                Action                         Labor cost           Parts cost        product        operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retained actions from AD 2020-24-12...  307 work-hours x $85 per          $5,900         $31,995        $415,935
                                         hour = $26,095.
New proposed actions..................  174 work-hours x $85 per             900          15,690         203,970
                                         hour = $14,790.
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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.

[[Page 65833]]

    The FAA is 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

    The FAA 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) Would not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, and
    (3) Would 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, 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

0
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]

0
2. The FAA amends Sec.  39.13 by:
0
a. Removing Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2020-24-12, Amendment 39-21342 
(85 FR 76949, December 1, 2020); and
0
b. Adding the following new AD:

Airbus SAS: Docket No. FAA-2023-1887; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-
00543-T.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) by November 13, 2023.

(b) Affected ADs

    This AD replaces AD 2020-24-12, Amendment 39-21342 (85 FR 76949, 
December 1, 2020) (AD 2020-24-12).

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to Airbus SAS Model A350-941 airplanes, 
certificated in any category, as identified in European Union 
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2023-0068, dated March 30, 2023 
(EASA AD 2023-0068).

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 57, Wings.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by reports that certain central wing box 
(CWB) fasteners had rotated inside the fastener holes due to 
insufficient friction for the application, and by the determination 
that additional work is necessary to ensure the correct application 
of the fuel vapor barrier structure paint on the outside of the CWB. 
The FAA is issuing this AD to address CWB fastener rotation. The 
unsafe condition, if not corrected, could lead to cracking of the 
fastener head sealant cover, followed by fuel vapor leakage inside 
the cabin, possibly resulting in injury to airplane occupants.

 (f) Compliance

    Comply with this AD within the compliance times specified, 
unless already done.

(g) Requirements

    Except as specified in paragraph (h) of this AD: Comply with all 
required actions and compliance times specified in, and in 
accordance with, EASA AD 2023-0068.

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2023-0068

    This AD does not adopt the ``Remarks'' section of EASA AD 2023-
0068.

(i) Additional AD Provisions

    The following provisions also apply to this AD:
    (1) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs): The Manager, 
International Validation Branch, FAA, has the authority to approve 
AMOCs for this AD, if requested using the procedures found in 14 CFR 
39.19. In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, send your request to your 
principal inspector or responsible Flight Standards Office, as 
appropriate. If sending information directly to the International 
Validation Branch, send it to the attention of the person identified 
in paragraph (j) of this AD. Information may be emailed to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#87beaac6d1d4aac6ced5aab0b4b7aac6cac8c4c7e1e6e6a9e0e8f1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e4ddc9a5b2b7c9a5adb6c9d3d7d4c9a5a9aba7a4828585ca838b92">[email protected]</span></a>. Before using any approved AMOC, notify your 
appropriate principal inspector, or lacking a principal inspector, 
the manager of the responsible Flight Standards Office.
    (2) Contacting the Manufacturer: For any requirement in this AD 
to obtain instructions from a manufacturer, the instructions must be 
accomplished using a method approved by the Manager, International 
Validation Branch, FAA; or EASA; or Airbus SAS's EASA Design 
Organization Approval (DOA). If approved by the DOA, the approval 
must include the DOA-authorized signature.
    (3) Required for Compliance (RC): Except as required by 
paragraph (i)(2) of this AD, if any service information contains 
procedures or tests that are identified as RC, those procedures and 
tests must be done to comply with this AD; any procedures or tests 
that are not identified as RC are recommended. Those procedures and 
tests that are not identified as RC may be deviated from using 
accepted methods in accordance with the operator's maintenance or 
inspection program without obtaining approval of an AMOC, provided 
the procedures and tests identified as RC can be done and the 
airplane can be put back in an airworthy condition. Any 
substitutions or changes to procedures or tests identified as RC 
require approval of an AMOC.

(j) Additional Information

    For more information about this AD, contact Dat Le, Aviation 
Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 
11590; telephone (516) 228-7317; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c3a7a2b7edb5edafa683a5a2a2eda4acb5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3c585d48124a1250597c5a5d5d125b534a">[email protected]</span></a>.

(k) Material Incorporated by Reference

    (1) The Director of the Federal Register approved the 
incorporation by reference (IBR) of the service information listed 
in this paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
    (2) You must use this service information as applicable to do 
the actions required by this AD, unless this AD specifies otherwise.
    (i) European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2023-0068, 
dated March 30, 2023.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) For EASA AD 2023-0068, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 
50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999 000; email 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4203063102272331236c2737302d32236c2737"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3574714675505446541b5040475a45541b5040">[email protected]</span></a>; website easa.europa.eu. You may find this EASA 
AD on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu.
    (4) You may view this service information at the FAA, 
Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 2200 
South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. For information on the availability 
of this material at the FAA, call 206-231-3195.
    (5) You may view this service information that is incorporated 
by reference at the National Archives and Records Administration 
(NARA). For information on the availability of this material at 
NARA, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dabca8f4b3b4a9aabfb9aeb3b5b49ab4bba8bbf4bdb5ac"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="95f3e7bbfcfbe6e5f0f6e1fcfafbd5fbf4e7f4bbf2fae3">[email protected]</span></a>, or go to: www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.

    Issued on September 18, 2023.
Victor Wicklund,
Deputy Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-20508 Filed 9-25-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P


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