Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2018 / Proposed Rules 42807 

that the average grower price for the 

2018–19 season should be 

approximately $9.50 per 7/10-bushel 

carton or equivalent of oranges and 

grapefruit. Therefore, the estimated 

assessment revenue for the 2018–19 

crop year as a percentage of total grower 

revenue would be about 0.1 percent. 

This proposed rule would decrease 

the assessment obligation imposed on 

handlers. Assessments are applied 

uniformly on all handlers, and some of 

the costs may be passed on to 

producers. However, decreasing the 

assessment rate reduces the burden on 

handlers and may also reduce the 

burden on producers. 

The Committee’s meeting was widely 

publicized throughout the Texas citrus 

industry. All interested persons were 

invited to attend the meeting and 

participate in Committee deliberations 

on all issues. Like all Committee 

meetings, the May 23, 2018, meeting 

was a public meeting, and all entities, 

both large and small, were able to 

express views on this issue. Finally, 

interested persons are invited to submit 

comments on this proposed rule, 

including the regulatory and 

information collection impacts of this 

action on small businesses. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35), the Order’s information 

collection requirements have been 

previously approved by the OMB and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0189, Fruit 

Crops. No changes in those 

requirements would be necessary as a 

result of this proposed rule. Should any 

changes become necessary, they would 

be submitted to OMB for approval. 

This proposed rule would not impose 

any additional reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements on either 

small or large Texas orange and 

grapefruit handlers. As with all Federal 

marketing order programs, reports and 

forms are periodically reviewed to 

reduce information requirements and 

duplication by industry and public 

sector agencies. AMS is committed to 

complying with the E-Government Act, 

to promote the use of the internet and 

other information technologies to 

provide increased opportunities for 

citizen access to Government 

information and services, and for other 

purposes. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this proposed rule. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/ 

rules-regulations/moa/small-businesses. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Richard Lower 

at the previously mentioned address in 

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 906 

Grapefruit, Marketing agreements, 

Oranges, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 906 is proposed to 

be amended as follows: 

PART 906—ORANGES AND 

GRAPEFRUIT GROWN IN LOWER RIO 

GRANDE VALLEY IN TEXAS 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 906 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Section 906.235 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 906.235 Assessment rate. 

On and after August 1, 2018, an 

assessment rate of $0.01 per 7/10-bushel 

carton or equivalent is established for 

oranges and grapefruit grown in the 

Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. 

Dated: August 21, 2018. 

Bruce Summers, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18363 Filed 8–23–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION 

12 CFR Parts 611 and 619 

RIN 3052–AC97 

Organization; Definitions; Eligibility 

Criteria for Outside Directors 

AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Farm Credit 

Administration (FCA, we, or our) is 

proposing to amend its regulations 

affecting the governance of Farm Credit 

System (System) institutions. The 

proposed rule would modify the 

existing outside director eligibility 

criteria by expanding the list of persons 

who would be excluded from 

nomination for an outside director’s seat 

to ensure the independence of outside 

directors. 

DATES: You may send comments on or 

before October 23, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: We offer a variety of 

methods for you to submit your 

comments. For accuracy and efficiency 

reasons, commenters are encouraged to 

submit comments by email or through 

the FCA’s website. As facsimiles (fax) 

are difficult for us to process and 

achieve compliance with section 508 of 

the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as 

amended, we do not accept comments 

submitted by fax. Regardless of the 

method you use, please do not submit 

your comment multiple times via 

different methods. You may submit 

comments by any of the following 

methods: 

• Email: Send us an email at regcomm@fca.gov. 

• FCA website: http://www.fca.gov. 

Select ‘‘Public Commenters,’’ then 

‘‘Public Comments,’’ and follow the 

directions for ‘‘Submitting a Comment.’’ 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Barry F. Mardock, Deputy 

Director, Office of Regulatory Policy, 

Farm Credit Administration, 1501 Farm 

Credit Drive, McLean, VA 22102–5090. 

You may review copies of all comments 

we receive at our office in McLean, 

Virginia, or from our website at http:// 

www.fca.gov. Once you are in the 

website, select ‘‘Public Commenters,’’ 

then ‘‘Public Comments,’’ and follow 

the directions for ‘‘Reading Submitted 

Public Comments.’’ We will show your 

comments as submitted, but for 

technical reasons we may omit items 

such as logos and special characters. 

Identifying information you provide, 

such as phone numbers and addresses, 

will be publicly available. However, we 

will attempt to remove email addresses 

to help reduce internet spam. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Darius Hale, Senior Policy Analyst, 

Office of Regulatory Policy, (703) 883– 

4165, TTY (703) 883–4056, Haled@

fca.gov, or 

Nancy Tunis, Senior Counsel, Office 

of General Counsel, (703) 883–4061, 

TTY (703) 883–4056, Tunisn@fca.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Objectives 

The objectives of this proposed rule 

are to: 

• Amend the eligibility criteria for 

outside director in § 611.220(a); 

• Remove the definition of outside 

director in § 619.9235; 

• Strengthen the safety and 

soundness of System institutions; 

• Strengthen the independence of 

System institution boards; and 

• Incorporate many of the best 

corporate governance practices for 

System institutions. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
42808 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

1Pub. L. 92–181, 85 Stat. 583. 

2Sections 1.4, 2.1, 2.11, 3.2, 3.21(b)(1)(C) and 

7.12(c)(3)(A) of the Act. 

3 Due to the addition of a new Definitions 

paragraph in § 611.220, we will re-designate the 

current § 611.220(a) as § 611.220(b) for Eligibility, 

Number, and Term. 

4An agricultural credit association and its wholly 

owned subsidiary associations are treated as a 

single entity for examination and regulatory 

purposes. Therefore, there is no conflict with a 

director sitting on the board of an ACA and its 

wholly owned subsidiary associations. 

II. Background 

The Farm Credit Act of 1971, as 

amended (Act),1 establishes that System 

banks and associations must elect a 

board of directors with such 

qualifications as may be required by the 

institution’s bylaws. Additionally, the 

Act specifies that at least one member 

must be appointed by the stockholderelected directors and that such member 

must not be a director, officer, 

employee, agent, or stockholder of a 

System institution.2

Outside directors are appointed by 

stockholder-elected directors to provide 

independent perspective and expertise 

in appropriate areas. Outside directors 

achieve this by broadening the board’s 

collective knowledge, enhancing the 

board’s independence, and improving 

the board’s ability to carry out its 

fiduciary duties to the System 

institution, stockholders and investors. 

Current FCA regulations, however, do 

not specify how far removed from the 

statutory prohibited relationships the 

outside director candidate must be to 

adequately fulfill the intended 

independent role of an outside director. 

This proposed rule seeks to clarify the 

eligibility requirements of an outside 

director to achieve the independence 

intended by the statutory requirements. 

III. Section-by-Section Analysis of 

Proposed Regulatory Changes 

A. Definitions [New § 611.220(a)] 

As a result of the proposed changes in 

eligibility criteria for outside directors 

in § 611.220, discussed below, we are 

proposing to add a new definition 

section in § 611.220 that would only 

apply to that section. The newly defined 

terms are meant to provide clarity on 

the meaning of the new outside director 

eligibility criteria. 

The proposed rule would add 

affiliated organizations to the 

definitions in § 611.220. The new term 

affiliated organization is defined to 

mean an entity that is legally distinct 

from any System institution, but is 

organized and operated for the benefit 

of, and in support of, an institution and 

conducts activities that advance the 

mission of an institution. 

The proposed rule would add 

borrowers to the list of persons excluded 

from consideration for an outside 

director position under § 611.220. 

Accordingly, the new term borrower is 

added to the definitions in § 611.220 

and is defined to mean an individual, 

sole proprietorship, partnership, joint 

venture, trust, corporation, or other 

business entity to which an institution 

has made a loan or a commitment to 

make a loan or purchased a loan or 

participation interest in a loan. The new 

term borrower would also include any 

person or entity to whom an institution 

has made a lease or a commitment to 

make a lease, or who guarantees 

repayment of a loan. 

The proposed rule would add 

controlling interest to the definitions in 

§ 611.220. The new term controlling 

interest is defined to mean an individual 

that, directly or indirectly, or acting 

through or in concert with one or more 

persons: 

(1) Owns 5 percent or more of the 

equity in an entity; 

(2) Owns, controls, or has the power 

to vote 5 percent or more of any class 

of voting securities of an entity; or 

(3) Has the power to exercise a 

controlling influence over the 

management of policies of such entity. 

The new term controlling interest is 

consistent with the definition of 

controlled entity found in § 612.2130(c). 

The proposed rule would add the new 

term entity to the definitions in 

§ 611.220. The new term entity means a 

corporation, company, association, firm, 

joint venture, partnership (general or 

limited), society, joint stock company, 

trust (business or otherwise), fund, or 

other organization or institution. This is 

consistent with the definition of entity 

found in § 612.2130(e). 

The proposed rule would add the new 

term immediate family member to the 

definitions in § 611.220. The new term 

immediate family member is defined to 

mean spouse, parent(s), sibling(s), 

children, mother(s)- and father(s)-inlaw, brother(s)- and sister(s)-in-law, and 

son(s)- and daughter(s)-in-law. This is 

consistent with the definition of 

immediate family member found in 

§ 620.1(e). 

As a result of the proposed changes in 

eligibility criteria for an outside director 

in § 611.220, we are proposing to delete 

the definition of outside director in 

§ 619.9235. The current definition in 

§ 619.9235 is not consistent with the 

changes proposed in § 611.220, and it is 

unnecessary to duplicate the same 

language as is proposed in that section. 

Deleting § 619.9235 will provide clarity 

in who may serve as an outside director 

and will avoid redundancy. 

B. Eligibility Criteria of Outside 

Directors [New § 611.220(b)] 

We propose modifying the existing 

outside director eligibility criteria in 

§ 611.220(a) 3 by expanding the list of 

persons who would be excluded from 

nomination for an outside director’s 

seat. The proposed rule would add the 

following to the list of persons excluded 

from consideration for an outside 

director position: 

(1) Borrowers of the institution; 

(2) Immediate family members of any 

director, officer, employee, agent, 

stockholder or borrower of a System 

institution; and 

(3) Anyone who has a controlling 

interest in: 

(i) An entity that borrows from a 

System institution; or 

(ii) An affiliated organization of a 

System institution. 

The purpose of expanding those 

individuals ineligible to serve in the 

outside director’s role is to further 

strengthen the independence 

perspective on each System institution’s 

board. Congress’ intent on establishing 

the outside director role was to ensure 

an independent voice was brought to 

the boards of System institutions. As 

such, outside directors are only 

permitted to serve on the board of 

directors of one System institution or 

affiliated organization at a time.4

To maintain that independent voice, 

current FCA regulations specify that a 

candidate for outside director should 

not be a stockholder of a System 

institution. However, the regulations do 

not specifically exclude a borrower from 

serving as an outside director. 

Borrowers may not necessarily be 

stockholders in a System institution. We 

believe that to be truly independent of 

a System institution when being vetted 

for an outside director’s seat, all 

borrowers should be specifically 

excluded from consideration. This 

addition would capture those 

individuals who have signed a 

promissory note in a joint capacity (i.e., 

co-applicant, guarantor), but do not own 

System stock. 

To further ensure independence from 

System institutions, we propose 

excluding individuals from serving as 

an outside director if they have an 

immediate family member who is a 

director, officer, employee, agent, 

stockholder, or a borrower of a System 

institution. This would provide 

additional clarity to our existing rule as 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2018 / Proposed Rules 42809 

to which individuals would be 

ineligible to serve as an outside director. 

We also propose that a person who 

has a controlling interest in an entity 

that borrows from a System institution 

or an affiliated organization of a System 

institution should not be eligible to 

serve as an outside director. Those 

persons who have a controlling stake in, 

or influence the decisions of, an entity 

should not be considered to serve as an 

outside director if that entity is a 

borrower of a System institution. A 

person who maintains a controlling 

interest in an entity who borrows from 

the System or in an affiliated 

organization does not have the 

independence meant to fill the outside 

director’s role. The proposed rule would 

not limit employees of entity borrowers 

or affiliated organizations from 

consideration as an outside director. 

Instead, it aims to clarify that those 

persons who control or advance the 

financial or policy decisions of an 

entity, borrower, or affiliated 

organization must not be considered as 

an outside director because their 

controlling stake or position in the 

entity or affiliated organization could 

lessen their independence. 

We believe that expanding the list of 

those excluded from outside director 

consideration will further improve the 

board’s ability to carry out its fiduciary 

responsibilities to the System institution 

and its stockholders and investors. We 

do not believe that including additional 

eligibility criteria would adversely affect 

the board’s ability to select a qualified 

candidate for an outside director seat. 

IV. Compliance Date 

System institutions would be required 

to comply with the changes in the 

eligibility criteria of outside directors at 

the next appointment of an outside 

director candidate after the effective 

date of the final rule. We invite your 

specific comments on the compliance 

timeframe if this rule becomes a final 

rule. If a later compliance date is 

suggested, please provide a specific 

burden that would be alleviated with 

any later compliance date. 

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Pursuant to section 605(b) of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 

et seq.), FCA hereby certifies that the 

proposed rule will not have a significant 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. Each of the banks in the Farm 

Credit System, considered together with 

its affiliated associations, has assets and 

annual income in excess of the amounts 

that would qualify them as small 

entities. Therefore, System institutions 

are not ‘‘small entities’’ as defined in the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act. 

List of Subjects 

12 CFR Part 611 

Agriculture, Banks, banking, Conflict 

of interests, Crime, Investigations, Rural 

areas. 

12 CFR Part 619 

Agriculture, Banks, banking, Rural 

areas. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, parts 611 and 619 of chapter 

VI, title 12 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations are proposed to be amended 

as follows: 

PART 611—ORGANIZATION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 611 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Secs. 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.12, 

1.13, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.10, 2.11, 2.12, 3.0, 3.1, 

3.2, 3.3, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.21, 4.3A, 4.12, 4.12A, 

4.15, 4.20, 4.21, 4.25, 4.26, 4.27, 4.28A, 5.9, 

5.17, 5.25, 7.0–7.13, 8.5(e) of the Farm Credit 

Act (12 U.S.C. 2002, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2020, 

2021, 2071, 2072, 2073, 2091, 2092, 2093, 

2121, 2122, 2123, 2124, 2128, 2129, 2130, 

2142, 2154a, 2183, 2184, 2203, 2208, 2209, 

2211, 2212, 2213, 2214, 2243, 2252, 2261, 

2279a–2279f–1, 2279aa–5(e)); secs. 411 and 

412 of Pub. L. 100–233, 101 Stat. 1568, 1638; 

sec. 414 of Pub. L. 100–399, 102 Stat. 989, 

1004. 

■ 2. Section 611.220 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 611.220 Outside directors. 

(a) Definitions. For purposes of this 

section, the following definitions apply: 

(1) Affiliated organization means an 

entity that is legally distinct from any 

Farm Credit System institution, but is 

organized and operated for the benefit 

of, and in support of, an institution and 

conducts activities that advance the 

mission of an institution. 

(2) Borrower means an individual, 

sole proprietorship, partnership, joint 

venture, trust, corporation, or other 

business entity to which an institution 

has made a loan or a commitment to 

make a loan or purchased a loan or 

participation interest in a loan. The term 

borrower also includes any person or 

entity to whom an institution has made 

a lease or a commitment to make a lease, 

or who guarantees repayment of a loan. 

(3) Controlling interest means an 

individual that, directly or indirectly, or 

acting through or in concert with one or 

more persons: 

(i) Owns 5 percent or more of the 

equity in an entity; 

(ii) Owns, controls, or has the power 

to vote 5 percent or more of any class 

of voting securities of an entity; or 

(iii) Has the power to exercise a 

controlling influence over the 

management of policies of such entity. 

(4) Entity means a corporation, 

company, association, firm, joint 

venture, partnership (general or 

limited), society, joint stock company, 

trust (business or otherwise), fund, or 

other organization or institution. 

(5) Immediate family member means 

spouse, parent(s), sibling(s), children, 

mother(s)- and father(s)-in-law, 

brother(s)- and sister(s)-in-law, and 

son(s)- and daughter(s)-in-law. 

(b) Eligibility, number and term—(1) 

Eligibility. Eligibility to serve, and 

continue serving, as an outside director 

requires independence from affiliations 

with the Farm Credit System. Farm 

Credit banks and associations must 

make a reasonable effort to select 

outside directors possessing some or all 

of the desired director qualifications 

identified pursuant to § 611.210(a). 

(i) No candidate for an outside 

director position may be a director, 

officer, employee, agent, stockholder, or 

borrower of an institution in the Farm 

Credit System or be an immediate 

family member of any of the above. An 

outside director candidate or an 

immediate family member of such 

candidate must not have a controlling 

interest in: 

(A) An entity that borrows from a 

System institution; or 

(B) An affiliated organization of a 

System institution. 

(ii) At any given time, an outside 

director is eligible to serve on the board 

of directors of only one Farm Credit 

System institution or affiliated 

organization. 

(2) Number. Stockholder-elected 

directors must constitute at least 60 

percent of the members of each 

institution’s board. 

(i) Each Farm Credit bank must have 

at least two outside directors. 

(ii) Associations with total assets 

exceeding $500 million as of January 1 

of each year must have no fewer than 

two outside directors on the board. 

However, this requirement does not 

apply if it causes the percent of 

stockholder-elected directors to be less 

than 75 percent of the board. 

(iii) Associations with $500 million or 

less in total assets as of January 1 of 

each year must have at least one outside 

director. 

(3) Terms of office. Banks and 

associations may not establish a 

different term of office for outside 

directors than that established for 

stockholder-elected directors. 

(c) Removal. Each institution must 

establish and maintain procedures for 

removal of outside directors. When the 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
42810 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 165 / Friday, August 24, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

removal of an outside director is sought 

before the expiration of the outside 

director’s term, the reason for removal 

must be documented. An institution’s 

director removal procedures must allow 

for removal of an outside director by a 

majority vote of all voting stockholders 

voting, in person or by proxy, or by a 

two-thirds majority vote of the full 

board of directors. The outside director 

subject to the removal action is 

prohibited from voting in his or her own 

removal action. 

PART 619—DEFINITIONS 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 619 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Secs. 1.4, 1.5, 1.7, 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 

2.11, 2.12, 3.1, 3.2, 3.21, 4.9, 5.9, 5.17, 5.19, 

7.0, 7.1, 7.6, 7.8 and 7.12 of the Farm Credit 

Act (12 U.S.C. 2012, 2013, 2015, 2072, 2073, 

2075, 2092, 2093, 2122, 2123, 2142, 2160, 

2243, 2252, 2254, 2279a, 2279a–1, 2279b, 

2279c–1, 2279f); sec. 514 of Pub. L. 102–552, 

106 Stat. 4102. 

§ 619.9235 [Removed] 

■ 4. Remove § 619.9235. 

Dated: August 21, 2018. 

Dale L. Aultman, 

Secretary, Farm Credit Administration Board. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18312 Filed 8–23–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6705–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2018–0760; Product 

Identifier 2018–NM–095–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Dassault 

Aviation Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

Dassault Aviation Model MYSTERE– 

FALCON 50, MYSTERE–FALCON 900, 

and FALCON 900EX airplanes. This 

proposed AD was prompted by reports 

of cracked reinforcing straps (doublers) 

on the ailerons of airplanes equipped 

with blended winglets. This proposed 

AD would require repetitive detailed 

inspections for cracking of the upper 

and lower reinforcing straps on the 

ailerons, and replacement if necessary. 

We are proposing this AD to address the 

unsafe condition on these products. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by October 9, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 

11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• 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. 

• Hand Delivery: Deliver to Mail 

address above between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

For service information identified in 

this NPRM, contact Aviation Partners, 

Inc., 7299 Perimeter Road South, 

Seattle, WA 98108–3812; phone: 206– 

762–1171; email: mwilliams@

winglets.com; internet: http://

www.aviationpartners.com. You may 

view this service information at the 

FAA, Transport Standards Branch, 2200 

South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call 206–231–3195. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the internet at http://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2018– 

0760; 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 

regulatory evaluation, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for Docket Operations 

(phone: 800–647–5527) is in the 

ADDRESSES section. Comments will be 

available in the AD docket shortly after 

receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Bumbaugh, Aerospace 

Engineer, Airframe Section, FAA, 

Seattle ACO Branch, 2200 South 216th 

St., Des Moines, WA 98198; phone and 

fax: 206–231–3522; email: 

Michael.Bumbaugh@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to send any written 

relevant data, views, or arguments about 

this proposal. Send your comments to 

an address listed under the ADDRESSES

section. Include ‘‘Docket No. FAA– 

2018–0760; Product Identifier 2018– 

NM–095–AD’’ at the beginning of your 

comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of this NPRM. We will consider 

all comments received by the closing 

date and may amend this NPRM 

because of those comments. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. We 

will also post a report summarizing each 

substantive verbal contact we receive 

about this NPRM. 

Discussion 

We have received a report indicating 

that cracked reinforcing straps 

(doublers) were found on the ailerons of 

Dassault Aviation airplanes equipped 

with blended winglets installed in 

accordance with Supplemental Type 

Certificate (STC) ST02188SE or STC 

ST02241SE. This condition is the result 

of hydrogen embrittlement in the 

reinforcing strap manufacturing process. 

If not addressed, this condition could 

lead to fatigue cracking of the ailerons 

and subsequent loss of control of the 

airplane. 

Related Service Information Under 1 

CFR Part 51 

We reviewed Aviation Partners, Inc., 

Falcon Service Bulletin SBF9–17–001, 

Revision B, dated December 20, 2017. 

This service information describes 

procedures for detailed inspections for 

any signs of cracking of the external 

upper and lower reinforcing straps on 

the left-hand (LH) and right-hand (RH) 

ailerons. 

We also reviewed Aviation Partners, 

Inc., Falcon Service Bulletin SBF9–17– 

002, Revision A, dated December 20, 

2017. This service information describes 

procedures for replacing the external 

upper and lower reinforcing straps on 

the LH and RH ailerons. 

This service information 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 

We are proposing this AD because we 

evaluated all the relevant information 

and determined the unsafe condition 

described previously is likely to exist or 

develop in other products of the same 

type design. 

Proposed AD Requirements 

This proposed AD would require 

accomplishing the actions specified in 

the service information described 

previously, except as discussed under 

‘‘Differences Between this Proposed AD 

and the Service Information.’’ 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS