43736 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 144 / Thursday, July 26, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0773; Directorate 

Identifier 2009–SW–71–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Eurocopter 

Deutschland GmbH Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for the 

Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH 

(Eurocopter) Model MBB–BK 117 C–2 

helicopters. This proposed AD is 

prompted by the discovery that some 

helicopters have blind rivets installed in 

the place of solid rivets in the long tail 

rotor drive shaft. The proposed actions 

are intended to detect blind rivets 

installed in the long tail rotor drive 

shaft, which could lead to failure of the 

tail rotor drive shaft and subsequent loss 

of control of the helicopter. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by September 24, 

2012. 

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 

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 American 

Eurocopter Corporation, 2701 N. Forum 

Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75052, 

telephone (972) 641–0000 or (800) 232– 

0323, fax (972) 641–3775, or at http:// 

www.eurocopter.com/techpub. 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: Jim 

Grigg, ASW–112, Manager, FAA, 

Rotorcraft Directorate, Safety 

Management Group, 2601 Meacham 

Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76137, 

telephone (817) 222–5126, fax (817) 

222–5961, email jim.grigg@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 

The European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Union, has issued EASA AD No. 2009– 

0119, dated June 4, 2009, to correct an 

unsafe condition for the Eurocopter 

Model MBB–BK 117 C–2 helicopters. 

EASA advises that an error was 

discovered in the Eurocopter aircraft 

maintenance manual (AMM), which 

erroneously specifies replacing the solid 

rivets on the long tail rotor drive shaft 

with blind rivets. All delivered 

helicopters had the long tail rotor drive 

shafts installed during production fitted 

with the correct solid rivets. The long 

tail rotor drive shafts repaired in-service 

in accordance with the AMM may have 

blind rivets installed. This condition, if 

not corrected, could lead to a significant 

reduction of the life of the long tail rotor 

drive shaft, failure of the long tail rotor 

drive shaft, and subsequent loss of 

control of the helicopter. 

FAA’s Determination 

These helicopters have been approved 

by the aviation authority of the Federal 

Republic of Germany and are approved 

for operation in the United States. 

Pursuant to our bilateral agreement with 

Germany, 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 exists and is likely to 

exist or develop on other helicopters of 

these same type designs. 

Related Service Information 

Eurocopter has issued Alert Service 

Bulletin No. MBB BK117 C–2–65A–003, 

dated May 4, 2009 (ASB), which 

specifies inspecting long tail rotor drive 

shafts to determine what type of rivets 

are installed. If one or more blind rivets 

are installed, the ASB specifies 

replacing the long tail rotor drive shaft 

assembly with a serviceable long tail 

rotor drive shaft assembly. EASA 

classified this ASB as mandatory and 

issued EASA AD No. 2009–0119, dated 

June 4, 2009, to ensure the continued 

airworthiness of these helicopters. 

Proposed AD Requirements 

This proposed AD would require, 

within 100 hours time-in-service (TIS), 

inspecting the long tail rotor drive shaft 

assembly for blind rivets. If there are no 

blind rivets installed on the shaft 

assembly, no further action would be 

required by this AD. If there are one or 

more blind rivets installed on the shaft 

assembly, this AD would require 

replacing the shaft assembly of the long 

tail rotor drive shaft with an airworthy 

shaft assembly before further flight. 

Differences Between This Proposed AD 

and the EASA AD 

This proposed AD uses the term 

‘‘TIS’’ instead of ‘‘flight hours.’’ 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this proposed AD 

would affect 88 helicopters of U.S. 

registry. We estimate that operators may 

incur the following costs in order to 

comply with this AD: 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 144 / Thursday, July 26, 2012 / Proposed Rules 43737 

• It would take about 2 work hours to 

inspect and replace the tail rotor at an 

average labor rate of $85 per work hour. 

• Required parts to replace each long 

tail rotor drive shaft assembly cost about 

$4,600 each. 

Based upon these figures, the total 

cost per helicopter would be $4,770. 

The total cost for the entire U.S. fleet 

would be $419,760, assuming that the 

long tail rotor drive shaft assembly 

would be required to be replaced on the 

entire fleet. 

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 adding 

the following new airworthiness 

directive (AD): 

Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH: Docket No. 

FAA–2012–0773; Directorate Identifier 

2009–SW–71–AD. 

(a) Applicability 

This AD applies to Model MBB BK117 C– 

2 helicopters, with long tail rotor drive shaft 

assembly part number (P/N) B651M1002101 

or B651M1002102 installed, certificated in 

any category. 

(b) Unsafe Condition 

This AD defines the unsafe condition as 

the installation of blind rivets instead of solid 

rivets in the long tail rotor drive shaft. This 

condition could result in failure of the long 

tail rotor drive shaft and subsequent loss of 

control of the helicopter. 

(c) 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. 

(d) Actions Required 

Within 100 hours time-in-service (TIS), 

inspect the long tail rotor drive shaft 

assembly for blind rivets as indicated in 

sections A–A and B–B of Figure 1 to 

Paragraph (d) of this AD. 

(1) If there are no blind rivets installed on 

the shaft assembly, no further action is 

required by this AD. 

(2) If there are one or more blind rivets 

installed on the shaft assembly in the areas 

depicted in Figure 1 to Paragraph (d) of this 

AD, before further flight, replace the shaft 

assembly of the long tail rotor drive shaft 

with an airworthy shaft assembly that does 

not have blind rivets installed. 

(3) After the effective date of this AD, do 

not install a tail rotor drive shaft assembly 

that has blind rivets installed. 


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43738 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 144 / Thursday, July 26, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

(e) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOC) 

(1) The Manager, FAA, Safety Management 

Group, may approve AMOCs for this AD. 

Send your proposal to: Jim Grigg, ASW–112, 

Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, Safety 

Management Group, 2601 Meacham Blvd., 

Fort Worth, Texas 76137, telephone (817) 

222–5126, fax (817) 222–5961, email 

jim.grigg@faa.gov. 

(2) For operations conducted under 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. 

(f) Additional Information 

(1) Eurocopter Alert Service Bulletin No. 

MBB BK117 C–2–65A–003, dated May 4, 

2009, which is not incorporated by reference, 

contains additional information about the 

subject of this AD. For service information 

identified in this AD, contact American 

Eurocopter Corporation, 2701 N. Forum 

Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75052, telephone 

(972) 641–0000 or (800) 232–0323, fax (972) 

641–3775, or at http://www.eurocopter.com/ 

techpub. 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. 

(2) The subject of this AD is addressed in 

European Aviation Safety Agency AD No. 

2009–0119, dated June 4, 2009. 

(g) Subject 

Joint Aircraft System/Component (JASC) 

Code 6510: Tail Rotor Drive Shaft. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 18, 

2012. 

Kim Smith, 

Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–18254 Filed 7–25–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0772; Directorate 

Identifier 2007–SW–053–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Eurocopter 

France Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for 

Eurocopter France (Eurocopter) Model 

EC130 B4 helicopters with a cabin 

vibration damper installed. This 

proposed AD is prompted by a crack 

and failure of a cabin vibration damper 


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