Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 37 / Thursday, February 25, 2016 / Proposed Rules 9367 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on February 

16, 2016. 

Dionne Palermo, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2016–03996 Filed 2–24–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2011–0254; Directorate 

Identifier 2010–NM–180–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing 

Company Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal. 

SUMMARY: The FAA withdraws a notice 

of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that 

proposed a new airworthiness directive 

(AD), which would have applied to 

certain The Boeing Company Model 

737–600, –700, –700C, –800, –900, and 

–900ER series airplanes. For certain 

airplanes, the NPRM would have 

required a one-time inspection for 

damage of the hydraulic actuator rod 

ends and actuator attach fittings on the 

thrust reversers, and repair or 

replacement if necessary. For all 

airplanes, the NPRM would have 

required repetitive inspections for 

damage of the hydraulic actuator rod 

ends, attach bolts, and nuts; repetitive 

inspections for damage of fitting 

assemblies, wear spacers, and actuator 

attach fittings on the thrust reverser; 

repetitive measurements of the wear 

spacer; and corrective actions if 

necessary. Since the NPRM was issued, 

the manufacturer notified us that an 

assumption regarding a failure mode of 

the rod ends or attachment fittings for 

the thrust reverser actuator used in the 

original safety assessment was incorrect. 

A new safety analysis was conducted 

and we determined that this issue is no 

longer a safety concern. Accordingly, 

the NPRM is withdrawn. 

DATES: As of February 25, 2016, the 

proposed rule, which was published in 

the Federal Register on March 22, 2011 

(76 FR 15864), is withdrawn. 

ADDRESSES: You may examine the AD 

docket on the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2011– 

0254; or in person at the Docket 

Management Facility between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. The AD docket 

contains this AD action, the NPRM (76 

FR 15864, March 22, 2011), the 

regulatory evaluation, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

address for the Docket Office (telephone 

800–647–5527) is the Docket 

Management Facility, U.S. Department 

of Transportation, Docket Operations, 

M–30, West Building Ground Floor, 

Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tak 

Kobayashi, Aerospace Engineer, 

Propulsion Branch, ANM–140S, FAA, 

Seattle Aircraft Certification Office, 

1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA 

98057–3356; phone: 425–917–6499; fax: 

425–917–6590; email: 

Takahisa.Kobayashi@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

We proposed to amend part 39 of the 

Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 

part 39) with a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) for a new AD for 

certain The Boeing Company Model 

737–600, –700, –700C, –800, –900, and 

–900ER series airplanes. The NPRM 

published in the Federal Register on 

March 22, 2011 (76 FR 15864) (‘‘the 

NPRM’’). For certain airplanes, the 

NPRM would have required a one-time 

inspection for damage of the hydraulic 

actuator rod ends and actuator attach 

fittings on the thrust reversers, and 

repair or replacement if necessary. For 

all airplanes, the NPRM would have 

required repetitive inspections for 

damage of the hydraulic actuator rod 

ends, attach bolts, and nuts; repetitive 

inspections for damage of fitting 

assemblies, wear spacers, and actuator 

attach fittings on the thrust reverser; 

repetitive measurements of the wear 

spacer; and corrective actions if 

necessary. 

The NPRM was prompted by reports 

of in-service damage of the attachment 

fittings for the thrust reverser actuator. 

The proposed actions were intended to 

detect and correct such damage, which 

could result in actuator attach fitting 

failure, loss of the thrust reverser auto 

restow function, and consequent loss of 

control of the airplane. 

Actions Since NPRM Was Issued 

Since we issued the NPRM, the 

manufacturer has notified us that an 

assumption regarding a failure mode of 

the attachment fittings for the thrust 

reverser actuator used in the original 

safety assessment was incorrect. It was 

originally assumed that all hydraulic 

actuators attached to the thrust reverser 

have the failure mode (failure of the 

hydraulic actuator rod end or attach 

fitting due to severe wear-out) addressed 

in the NPRM. Based on field reports and 

design review, the manufacturer found 

that certain hydraulic actuators do not 

have this failure mode. Based on this 

new manufacturer finding, a new safety 

analysis was conducted and we 

determined that this issue is no longer 

a safety concern. 

FAA’s Conclusions 

Upon further consideration, we have 

determined that the safety concern 

identified in the NPRM does not affect 

The Boeing Company Model 737–600, 

–700, –700C, –800, –900, and –900ER 

series airplanes identified in the NPRM. 

Accordingly, the NPRM is withdrawn. 

Withdrawal of the NPRM does not 

preclude the FAA from issuing another 

related action or commit the FAA to any 

course of action in the future. 

Regulatory Impact 

Since this action only withdraws an 

NPRM, it is neither a proposed nor a 

final rule and therefore is not covered 

under Executive Order 12866, the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, or DOT 

Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 

FR 11034, February 26, 1979). 

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39 

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation 

safety, Incorporation by reference, 

Safety. 

The Withdrawal 

Accordingly, we withdraw the NPRM, 

Docket No. FAA–2011–0254, Directorate 

Identifier 2010–NM–180–AD, which 

was published in the Federal Register 

on March 22, 2011 (76 FR 15864). 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on February 

15, 2016. 

Michael Kaszycki, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2016–03693 Filed 2–24–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2016–3703; Directorate 

Identifier 2015–NM–115–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing 

Company Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 


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