Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 95 / Thursday, May 17, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 27723 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2005–22288; Directorate 

Identifier 2005–NM–132–AD; Amendment 

39–15050; AD 2007–10–09] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Boeing 

Model 747–400 Series Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

Boeing Model 747–400 series airplanes. 

This AD requires repetitive inspections 

for any crack in the upper deck floor 

beam at station 400, which include 

inspecting the floor beam web and 

chords, certain fastener holes at the 

intersection of the floor beam and frame 

on both sides of the airplane, and 

certain floor panel attachment fastener 

holes at the floor beam upper chords. 

This AD also requires corrective action 

if necessary. This AD results from 

several reports indicating that fatigue 

cracking was found in upper deck floor 

beams made from 7000 series aluminum 

alloy. We are issuing this AD to detect 

and correct cracking in the upper deck 

floor beam at station 400, which could 

extend and sever the floor beam. A 

severed floor beam could result in loss 

of controllability and rapid 

decompression of the airplane. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective June 

1, 2007. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain publication listed in the AD 

as of June 1, 2007. 

We must receive comments on this 

AD by July 16, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Use one of the following 

addresses to submit comments on this 

AD. 

• DOT Docket web site: Go to 

http://dms.dot.gov and follow the 

instructions for sending your comments 

electronically. 

• Government-wide rulemaking web 

site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov 

and follow the instructions for sending 

your comments electronically. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility; 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 

Room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• 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. 

Contact Boeing Commercial 

Airplanes, P.O. Box 3707, Seattle, 

Washington 98124–2207, for service 

information identified in this AD. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ivan 

Li, Aerospace Engineer, Airframe 

Branch, ANM–120S, FAA, Seattle 

Aircraft Certification Office, 1601 Lind 

Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 

98055–4056; telephone (425) 917–6437; 

fax (425) 917–6590. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

The FAA issued a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR 

part 39 to include an AD that would 

apply to certain Boeing Model 747–400 

series airplanes. That NPRM was 

published in the Federal Register on 

September 6, 2005 (70 FR 52943). That 

NPRM proposed to require doing a 

conductivity test of the upper deck floor 

beam at station 400 to identify the floor 

beam material. If the floor beam is 

manufactured from 7050 aluminum 

alloy, that NPRM also proposed to 

require inspecting the upper deck floor 

beam and certain fastener holes at the 

floor beam upper chord for cracking; 

repairing any cracking if necessary; and 

doing a preventative modification. 

Actions Since NPRM Was Issued 

Since we issued the NPRM, Boeing 

has published Alert Service Bulletin 

747–53A2660, dated November 16, 

2006, to replace Boeing Alert Service 

Bulletin 747–53A2509, dated June 9, 

2005. In the NPRM, we referred to 

Boeing Alert Service Bulletin 747–

53A2509 as the appropriate source of 

service information for accomplishing 

the proposed conductivity test, one-time 

inspections of the upper deck floor 

beam and certain fastener holes for 

cracking and repair if necessary, 

reporting requirement, and preventative 

modification. We proposed the 

conductivity test and reporting 

requirement to find the two upper deck 

floor beams that were made from 7050–

T7451 aluminum alloy, which are more 

susceptible to fatigue cracking. After 

several operators accomplished the 

conductivity test specified in Boeing 

Alert Service Bulletin 747–53A2509, the 

discrepant upper deck floor beams were 

found on two airplanes at station 400. 

Therefore, we have revised the 

applicability in paragraph (c) of this AD 

to include only those affected airplanes. 

Since the proposed conductivity test 

and reporting requirement, which were 

specified in paragraphs (f) and (f)(2) of 

the NPRM respectively, are no longer 

required, we have deleted those actions 

from this AD. Further, we have also 

deleted the preventative modification, 

which was specified in paragraph (f)(3) 

of the NPRM. This AD instead requires 

accomplishing new repetitive 

inspections, which are specified in 

paragraphs (f)(1), (f)(2), and (f)(3) of this 

AD. We have determined that the new 

repetitive inspections are sufficient to 

maintain an acceptable level of safety. 

We have described the new repetitive 

inspections under ‘‘Relevant Service 

Information.’’

Relevant Service Information 

We have reviewed Boeing Alert 

Service Bulletin 747–53A2660, dated 

November 16, 2006. Part 1 of the 

Accomplishment Instructions of the 

service bulletin describes procedures for 

doing (1) repetitive detailed inspections 

for any crack in the upper deck floor 

beam at the intersection of the floor 

beam and frame on both sides of the 

airplane, (2) repetitive open hole high 

frequency eddy current (HFEC) 

inspections for any crack in certain 

fastener holes at the intersection of the 

floor beam upper chord and the frame 

inner chord on both sides of the 

airplane, and (3) corrective actions if 

necessary. The corrective actions 

include (1) contacting Boeing for repair 

instructions if any crack is found in the 

floor beam during any detailed 

inspection, (2) oversizing the cracked 

fastener holes at the intersection of the 

floor beam upper chord and frame inner 

chord, and doing open hole HFEC 

inspections of the oversized faster holes, 

if any crack is found in the fastener 

holes during any HFEC inspection, (3) 

installing an oversized fastener, if no 

crack is found in an oversized fastener 

hole and a minimum edge margin of 

1.7D is maintained, and (4) contacting 

Boeing for repair instructions if any 

crack in a fastener hole cannot not be 

removed by oversizing the fastener hole 

and maintaining a minimum edge 

margin of 1.7D. 

Part 2 of the Accomplishment 

Instructions of the service bulletin 

describes procedures for doing 

repetitive open hole HFEC inspections 

for any crack in the upper deck floor 

beam at all floor panel attachment 

fastener holes through the forward and 

aft horizontal flanges of the floor beam 

upper chord, from the left body frame to 

the right body frame; and doing 

corrective actions if necessary. The 

corrective action includes contacting 

Boeing for repair instructions if any 

crack is found at the floor panel 

attachment fastener holes. 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC71 with RULES
27724 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 95 / Thursday, May 17, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

The service bulletin specifies 

accomplishing the initial inspections in 

Parts 1 and 2 of the Accomplishment 

Instructions before the airplane has 

accumulated 18,000 total flight cycles. 

The service bulletin also specifies a 

repetitive interval of 10,000 flight cycles 

for the inspections in Part 1 of the 

Accomplishment Instructions and a 

repetitive interval of 6,000 flight cycles 

for the inspection in Part 2 of the 

Accomplishment Instructions. 

Accomplishing the actions specified 

in the service information is intended to 

adequately address the unsafe 

condition. 

Comments 

We provided the public the 

opportunity to participate in the 

development of this AD. We have 

considered the comments received. 

Request To Clarify the Source of 

Reported Cracking 

Boeing requests that we clarify that 

this AD results from several reports of 

fatigue cracking found in upper deck 

floor beams made from 7000 series 

aluminum alloy, not 7050 aluminum 

alloy. Boeing states that 7050 aluminum 

alloy was not yet an option when 

cracking was found in the upper deck 

floor beams on Model 747 airplanes; 

cracking was found on airplanes with 

7075–T6 upper deck floor beams, which 

prompted issuance of other related 

rulemaking (as identified in the NPRM) 

to address that unsafe condition. The 

commenter also states that the fatigue 

and crack growth in the 7050 beams is 

expected to be marginally better than in 

the 7075 beams. 

We agree with Boeing’s request and 

have revised the ‘‘Summary’’ and 

paragraph (d) of this AD. 

Clarification of Alternative Method of 

Compliance (AMOC) Paragraph 

We have revised this action to clarify 

the appropriate procedure for notifying 

the principal inspector before using any 

approved AMOC on any airplane to 

which the AMOC applies. 

FAA’s Determination and Requirements 

of This AD 

The unsafe condition described 

previously is likely to exist or develop 

on other airplanes of the same type 

design that may be registered in the U.S. 

at some time in the future. Therefore, 

we are issuing this AD to detect and 

correct cracking in the upper deck floor 

beam, which could extend and sever the 

floor beam. A severed floor beam could 

result in loss of controllability and rapid 

decompression of the airplane. This AD 

requires accomplishing the actions 

specified in the service information 

described previously. 

Explanation of Changes to Costs of 

Compliance 

In the NPRM, we estimated that there 

are about 123 airplanes of the affected 

design in the worldwide fleet and about 

17 airplanes of U.S. registry. However, 

since issuance of the NPRM, we have 

determined that only 2 airplanes are 

affected by this AD. Those affected 

airplanes are currently operated by nonU.S. operators under foreign registry. 

Therefore, we have revised the ‘‘Costs of 

Compliance’’ accordingly. 

After the NPRM was issued, we 

reviewed the figures we have used over 

the past several years to calculate AD 

costs to operators. To account for 

various inflationary costs in the airline 

industry, we find it necessary to 

increase the labor rate used in these 

calculations from $65 per work hour to 

$80 per work hour. The cost impact 

information, below, reflects this 

increase in the specified hourly labor 

rate. 

Costs of Compliance 

If an affected airplane is imported and 

placed on the U.S. Register in the future, 

the required inspections would take 

about 5 work hours, at an average labor 

rate of $80 per work hour. Based on 

these figures, we estimate the cost of 

this AD to be $400 per airplane, per 

inspection cycle. 

FAA’s Determination of the Effective 

Date 

No airplane affected by this AD is 

currently on the U.S. Register. 

Therefore, providing notice and 

opportunity for public comment is 

unnecessary before this AD is issued, 

and this AD may be made effective in 

less than 30 days after it is published in 

the Federal Register. 

Comments Invited 

This AD is a final rule that involves 

requirements that affect flight safety. 

The new requirements, which are to be 

done in accordance with Boeing Alert 

Service Bulletin 747–53A2660, dated 

November 16, 2006, were not preceded 

by notice and an opportunity for public 

comment; however, we invite you to 

submit any relevant written data, views, 

or arguments regarding this AD. Send 

your comments to an address listed 

under the ADDRESSES section. Include 

‘‘Docket No. FAA–2005–22288; 

Directorate Identifier 2005–NM–132–

AD’’ at the beginning of your comments. 

We specifically invite comments on the 

overall regulatory, economic, 

environmental, and energy aspects of 

the AD that might suggest a need to 

modify it. 

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 with FAA 

personnel concerning this AD. Using the 

search function of that web site, anyone 

can find and read the comments in any 

of our dockets, including the name of 

the individual who sent the comment 

(or signed the comment on behalf of an 

association, business, labor union, etc.). 

You may review the DOT’s complete 

Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 

Register published on April 11, 2000 

(65 FR 19477–78), or you may visit 

http://dms.dot.gov. 

Examining the Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov, or in 

person at the Docket Management 

Facility office between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. The Docket 

Management Facility office (telephone 

(800) 647–5227) is located on the plaza 

level of the Nassif Building at the DOT 

street address stated in the ADDRESSES

section. Comments will be available in 

the AD docket shortly after the Docket 

Management System receives them. 

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 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 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 95 / Thursday, May 17, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 27725 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. 

For the reasons discussed above, I 

certify that the 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 AD and placed it in the AD docket. 

See the ADDRESSES section for a location 

to examine the regulatory evaluation. 

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 Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) amends § 39.13 

by adding the following new 

airworthiness directive (AD): 

2007–10–09 Boeing: Amendment 39–15050. 

Docket No. FAA–2005–22288; 

Directorate Identifier 2005–NM–132–AD. 

Effective Date 

(a) This AD becomes effective June 1, 2007. 

Affected ADs 

(b) None. 

Applicability 

(c) This AD applies to Boeing Model 747–

400 series airplanes, certificated in any 

category; as identified in Boeing Alert 

Service Bulletin 747–53A2660, dated 

November 16, 2006. 

Unsafe Condition 

(d) This AD results from several reports 

indicating that fatigue cracking was found in 

upper deck floor beams made from 7000 

series aluminum alloy. We are issuing this 

AD to detect and correct cracking in the 

upper deck floor beam at station 400, which 

could extend and sever the floor beam. A 

severed floor beam could result in loss of 

controllability and rapid decompression of 

the airplane. 

Compliance 

(e) You are responsible for having the 

actions required by this AD performed within 

the compliance times specified, unless the 

actions have already been done. 

Repetitive Inspections and Corrective 

Actions 

(f) At the applicable times specified in 

Table 1 of paragraph 1.E. of Boeing Alert 

Service Bulletin 747–53A2660, dated 

November 16, 2006, do the actions specified 

in paragraphs (f)(1), (f)(2), and (f)(3) of this 

AD and do all applicable corrective actions, 

by accomplishing all the applicable actions 

specified in the Accomplishment 

Instructions of Boeing Alert Service Bulletin 

747–53A2660, dated November 16, 2006; 

except where the service bulletin specifies to 

contact Boeing for appropriate action: Before 

further flight, repair the crack using a method 

approved in accordance with paragraph (g) of 

this AD. Do all applicable corrective actions 

before further flight. 

(1) Repetitive detailed inspections for any 

crack in the upper deck floor beam at the 

intersection of the floor beam and frame on 

both sides of the airplane. 

(2) Repetitive open hole high frequency 

eddy current (HFEC) inspections for any 

crack in certain fastener holes at the 

intersection of the floor beam upper chord 

and the frame inner chord on both sides of 

the airplane. 

(3) Repetitive open hole HFEC inspections 

for any crack in the upper deck floor beam 

at all floor panel attachment fastener holes 

through the forward and aft horizontal 

flanges of the floor beam upper chord, from 

the left body frame to the right body frame. 

Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(g)(1) The Manager, Seattle Aircraft 

Certification Office (ACO), FAA, has the 

authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if 

requested in accordance with the procedures 

found in 14 CFR 39.19. 

(2) To request a different method of 

compliance or a different compliance time 

for this AD, follow the procedures in 14 CFR 

39.19. Before using any approved AMOC on 

any airplane to which the AMOC applies, 

notify your appropriate principal inspector 

(PI) in the FAA Flight Standards District 

Office (FSDO), or lacking a PI, your local 

FSDO. 

(3) An AMOC that provides an acceptable 

level of safety may be used for any repair 

required by this AD, if it is approved by an 

Authorized Representative for the Boeing 

Commercial Airplanes Delegation Option 

Authorization Organization who has been 

authorized by the Manager, Seattle ACO, to 

make those findings. For a repair method to 

be approved, the repair must meet the 

certification basis of the airplane, and the 

approval must specifically refer to this AD. 

Material Incorporated by Reference 

(h) You must use Boeing Alert Service 

Bulletin 747–53A2660, dated November 16, 

2006, to perform the actions that are required 

by this AD, unless the AD specifies 

otherwise. The Director of the Federal 

Register approved the incorporation by 

reference of this document in accordance 

with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. 

Contact Boeing Commercial Airplanes, P.O. 

Box 3707, Seattle, Washington 98124–2207, 

for a copy of this service information. You 

may review copies at the FAA, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue, 

S.W., Renton, Washington; or at the National 

Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA). For information on the availability 

of this material at NARA, call 202–741–6030, 

or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federalregister/cfr/ibr-locations.html. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on May 7, 

2007. 

Stephen P. Boyd, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–9396 Filed 5–16–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2006–26498; Directorate 

Identifier 2006–CE–83–AD; Amendment 39–

15056; AD 2007–10–15] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Cessna 

Aircraft Company Models 208 and 

208B Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) to 

supersede AD 2006–06–06, which 

applies to certain Cessna Aircraft 

Company (Cessna) Models 208 and 

208B airplanes. AD 2006–06–06 

currently requires you to incorporate 

information into the applicable section 

of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) 

and Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH) 

and requires you to install placards. 

Since we issued AD 2006–06–06, 

Cessna issued new S1 Known Icing 

Equipment AFM supplements and 

developed a low airspeed awareness 

system. Consequently, this AD requires 

you to incorporate the applicable AFM 

supplement revision and temporarily 

retain the requirements of AD 2006–06–

06 until the above revisions are 

incorporated. One of the AFM 

requirements is the installation of a 

functional low airspeed awareness 

system to operate the airplane in known 

icing conditions. We are issuing this AD 

to assure that the pilot has enough 

information and the necessary 

equipment to prevent loss of control of 

the airplane while in-flight during icing 

conditions. 


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