14314 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 47 / Friday, March 9, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0250; Directorate 

Identifier 2011–CE–043–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; SOCATA 

Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for 

SOCATA Model TBM 700 airplanes. 

This proposed AD results from 

mandatory continuing airworthiness 

information (MCAI) originated by an 

aviation authority of another country to 

identify and correct an unsafe condition 

on an aviation product. The MCAI 

describes the unsafe condition as 

installation of an incorrect part number 

during overhaul of the nose landing 

gear. We are issuing this proposed AD 

to require actions to address the unsafe 

condition on these products. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by April 23, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments 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: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, 

M–30, West Building Ground Floor, 

Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

For service information identified in 

this proposed AD, contact SOCATA— 

Direction des Services, 65921 Tarbes 

Cedex 9, France; telephone: +33 (0)5 62 

41 73 00; fax: +33 (0)5 62 41 76 54; or 

in the United States contact SOCATA 

North America, Inc., North Perry 

Airport, 7501 South Airport Road, 

Pembroke Pines, Florida 33023; 

telephone: (954) 893–1400; fax: (954) 

964–4141; email: 

mysocata@socata.daher.com; Internet: 

www.socatanorthamerica.com. You may 

review copies of the referenced service 

information at the FAA, Small Airplane 

Directorate, 901 Locust, Kansas City, 

Missouri 64106. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, 

call (816) 329–4148. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; 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 proposed AD, the 

regulatory evaluation, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for the Docket Office 

(telephone (800) 647–5527) is in the 

ADDRESSES section. Comments will be 

available in the AD docket shortly after 

receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Albert Mercado, Aerospace Engineer, 

FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 

Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, 

Missouri 64106; telephone: (816) 329– 

4119; fax: (816) 329–4090; email: 

albert.mercado@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to send any written 

relevant data, views, or arguments about 

this proposed AD. Send your comments 

to an address listed under the 

ADDRESSES section. Include ‘‘Docket No. 

FAA–2012–0250; Directorate Identifier 

2011–CE–043–AD’’ at the beginning of 

your comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of this proposed AD. We will 

consider all comments received by the 

closing date and may amend this 

proposed AD because of those 

comments. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http:// 

regulations.gov, including any personal 

information you provide. We will also 

post a report summarizing each 

substantive verbal contact we receive 

about this proposed AD. 

Discussion 

The European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Community, has issued AD No. 2011– 

0235–E, dated December 13, 2011 

(referred to after this as ‘‘the MCAI’’), to 

correct an unsafe condition for the 

specified products. The MCAI states: 

A TBM 700 operator reported a case of 

rupture of the bolt attaching the actuator 

hinge axle on the NLG of the aeroplane. The 

results of the technical investigations carried 

out by SOCATA revealed that this rupture 

could have been caused by the installation of 

a bolt bearing incorrect Part Number (P/N) 

during overhaul of the NLG. Furthermore, the 

investigations led to identify the NLG part 

numbers identified by S/N which are 

potentially affected after repair or overhaul. 

This condition, if not detected and 

corrected, could lead to partial 

disengagement of the actuator hinge axle on 

the NLG of the aeroplane, resulting in nose 

landing gear collapse, possibly resulting in 

structural damage to the aeroplane. 

To address this condition, SOCATA have 

developed Service Bulletin SB 70–194–32 

which gives instructions for accomplishing 

repetitive checks of the bolt attaching 

actuator hinge axle on NLG and for replacing 

the bolt attaching the actuator hinge axle 

with a correct bolt P/N. 

For the reasons described above, this AD 

requires accomplishment of repetitive checks 

of potentially affected NLGs and replacement 

of the bolt attaching the actuator hinge axle 

with a serviceable bolt. This AD also 

prohibits installation on any aeroplane of a 

potentially affected NLG, unless the bolt 

attaching the actuator hinge axle has been 

replaced with a serviceable bolt and the NLG 

has been marked with a green varnish line. 

Following issuance of EASA AD 2011– 

0225–E, it has been determined that further 

NLG P/Ns and S/Ns are affected by this AD. 

SOCATA have developed an erratum to SB 

70–194–32 amendment 2, which lists the 

new P/Ns and S/Ns as well affected by this 

AD. 

For the above reason, this AD, which 

supersedes EASA AD 2011–0225–E, retaining 

its requirements, extends the list of NLG 

P/Ns and S/Ns affected by the AD 

requirements. 

You may obtain further information by 

examining the MCAI in the AD docket. 

Relevant Service Information 

DAHER–SOCATA has issued 

DAHER–SOCATA TBM Aircraft 

Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 70–194– 

32, Amendment 2, dated November 

2011; and Erratum to DAHER–SOCATA 

TBM Aircraft Mandatory Service 

Bulletin SB 70–194–32, Amendment 2, 

dated December 2011. The actions 

described in this service information are 

intended to correct the unsafe condition 

identified in the MCAI. 

FAA’s Determination and Requirements 

of the Proposed AD 

This product has been approved by 

the aviation authority of another 

country, and is approved for operation 

in the United States. Pursuant to our 

bilateral agreement with this State of 

Design Authority, they have notified us 

of the unsafe condition described in the 

MCAI and service information 

referenced above. We are proposing this 

AD because we evaluated all 

information and determined the unsafe 

condition exists and is likely to exist or 

develop on other products of the same 

type design. 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 47 / Friday, March 9, 2012 / Proposed Rules 14315 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this proposed AD 

will affect 448 products of U.S. registry. 

We also estimate that it would take 

about 1 work-hour per product to 

comply with the basic requirements of 

this proposed AD. The average labor 

rate is $85 per work-hour. Required 

parts would cost about $35 per product. 

Based on these figures, we estimate 

the cost of the proposed AD on U.S. 

operators to be $53,760, or $120 per 

product. 

According to the manufacturer, some 

of the costs of this proposed AD may be 

covered under warranty, thereby 

reducing the cost impact on affected 

individuals. We do not control warranty 

coverage for affected individuals. As a 

result, we have included all costs in our 

cost estimate. 

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 above, 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, 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. 

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 AD: 

SOCATA: Docket No. FAA–2012–0250; 

Directorate Identifier 2011–CE–043–AD. 

(a) Comments Due Date 

We must receive comments by April 23, 

2012. 

(b) Affected ADs 

None. 

(c) Applicability 

This AD applies to SOCATA Model TBM 

700 airplanes, all serial numbers (S/N), 

certificated in any category, equipped with 

one of the following landing gears: 

(1) Part number (P/N) D23766000 or 

D23766000–X, serial numbers (S/N) B001 

through B373; B375; AR1000 through 

AR1023; AR1025 through AR1031; AR1033 

through AR1036; AAB00000A through 

AAB13766Z; AAB00000 through AAB13766; 

and EURXXX; or 

(2) P/N 21130–001–XY or 21130–000–XY, 

all S/N. 

(d) Subject 

Air Transport Association of America 

(ATA) Code 32: Landing Gear. 

(e) Reason 

This proposed AD was prompted by 

mandatory continuing airworthiness 

information (MCAI) originated by an aviation 

authority of another country to identify and 

correct an unsafe condition on an aviation 

product. The MCAI describes the unsafe 

condition as installation of an incorrect part 

number during overhaul of the nose landing 

gear. We are issuing this AD to detect and 

correct installation of incorrect P/N NLG 

bolts, which if not corrected could result in 

NLG collapse with consequent structural 

damage to the airplane. 

(f) Actions and Compliance 

Unless already done, do the following 

actions using the Accomplishment 

Instructions of DAHER–SOCATA TBM 

Aircraft Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 70– 

194–32, Amendment 2, dated November 

2011; and Erratum to DAHER–SOCATA TBM 

Aircraft Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 70– 

194–32, Amendment 2, dated December 

2011: 

(1) Although the EASA MCAI allows the 

inspection of the NLG washer to be done by 

a pilot-owner, the U.S. regulatory system 

requires all actions of this AD to be done by 

a certified mechanic. 

(2) Within 5 flight cycles (FC) after the 

effective date of this AD, inspect the installed 

NLG to determine if it is one of the affected 

P/Ns and S/Ns as listed in paragraph (c) of 

this AD. 

(i) If FC data is not available, the use of a 

one-to-one FC to flight hour conversion must 

be applied (example: 5 FC equal 5 hours 

time-in-service (TIS)). 

(ii) For the purpose of this AD, when an 

NLG P/N reference is followed by –X or –XY, 

the X or XY can be any numerical digit, and 

when an NLG S/N reference is EURXXX, the 

XXX can be any numerical digit. 

(3) If during the inspection required in 

paragraph (f)(2) of this AD, you determine the 

NLG installed is one of the affected P/Ns and 

S/Ns listed in paragraph c of the AD, inspect 

for free rotation the washer of the NLG. 

Repetitively thereafter inspect the washer of 

the NLG for free rotation before every flight 

until the replacement required in paragraph 

(4)(i) or (5) of this AD is done. 

(4) If, during any inspection required by 

paragraph (f)(3) of this AD, the washer of the 

NLG rotates freely, before further flight, do 

the following actions: 

(i) Replace the bolt attaching the actuator 

hinge axle of the NLG with a serviceable bolt 

P/N 5101301111. 

(ii) Mark the landing gear with a green 

varnish line. 

(5) For the NLG P/Ns and S/Ns as listed in 

paragraph c of this AD, within 10 months 

after the effective date of this AD, unless 

already done following a discrepancy 

identified during any inspection as required 

by paragraph (f)(3) of this AD, do the 

following actions: 

(i) Replace the bolt attaching the actuator 

hinge axle of the NLG with a serviceable bolt 

P/N 5101301111 and; 

(ii) Mark the landing gear with a green 

varnish line. 

(6) Replacing of the bolt attaching the 

actuator hinge axle of the NLG with a 

serviceable bolt P/N 5101301111 and 

marking the landing gear with a green 

varnish line terminates the repetitive 

inspections required by paragraph (f)(3) of 

this AD. 

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

not install an NLG with P/N and S/N as listed 

in paragraph c of this AD, unless the bolt 

attaching the actuator hinge axle of the NLG 

has been replaced and the NLG has been 

marked with a green varnish line following 

the requirements of this AD. 

(g) Other FAA AD Provisions 

The following provisions also apply to this 

AD: 

(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, Standards Office, 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
14316 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 47 / Friday, March 9, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

FAA, has the authority to approve AMOCs 

for this AD, if requested using the procedures 

found in 14 CFR 39.19. Send information to 

ATTN: Albert Mercado, Aerospace Engineer, 

FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, 

Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; 

telephone: (816) 329–4119; fax: (816) 329– 

4090; email: albert.mercado@faa.gov. 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. 

(2) Airworthy Product: For any requirement 

in this AD to obtain corrective actions from 

a manufacturer or other source, use these 

actions if they are FAA-approved. Corrective 

actions are considered FAA-approved if they 

are approved by the State of Design Authority 

(or their delegated agent). You are required 

to assure the product is airworthy before it 

is returned to service. 

(3) Reporting Requirements: For any 

reporting requirement in this AD, a federal 

agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 

person is not required to respond to, nor 

shall a person be subject to a penalty for 

failure to comply with a collection of 

information subject to the requirements of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that 

collection of information displays a current 

valid OMB Control Number. The OMB 

Control Number for this information 

collection is 2120–0056. Public reporting for 

this collection of information is estimated to 

be approximately 5 minutes per response, 

including the time for reviewing instructions, 

completing and reviewing the collection of 

information. All responses to this collection 

of information are mandatory. Comments 

concerning the accuracy of this burden and 

suggestions for reducing the burden should 

be directed to the FAA at: 800 Independence 

Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20591, Attn: 

Information Collection Clearance Officer, 

AES–200. 

(h) Related Information 

Refer to MCAI European Aviation Safety 

Agency (EASA) AD No.: 2011–0235–E, dated 

December 13, 2011; DAHER–SOCATA TBM 

Aircraft Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 70– 

194, Amendment 2, dated November 2011; 

and Erratum to DAHER–SOCATA TBM 

Aircraft Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 70 

194–32, Amendment 2, dated December 

2011, for related information. For service 

information related to this AD, contact 

SOCATA—Direction des Services, 65921 

Tarbes Cedex 9, France; telephone: +33 (0)5 

62 41 73 00; fax: +33 (0)5 62 41 7654; or in 

the United States contact SOCATA North 

America, Inc., North Perry Airport, 7501 

South Airport Road, Pembroke Pines, Florida 

33023; telephone: (954) 893–1400; fax: (954) 

964–4141; email: 

mysocata@socata.daher.com; Internet: 

www.socatanorthamerica.com. You may 

review copies of the referenced service 

information at the FAA, Small Airplane 

Directorate, 901 Locust, Kansas City, 

Missouri 64106. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, call 

(816) 329–4148. 

Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 

5, 2012. 

John Colomy, 

Acting Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5794 Filed 3–8–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0251; Directorate 

Identifier 2012–CE–002–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Piper 

Aircraft, Inc. (Type Certificate 

Previously Held by The New Piper 

Aircraft Inc.) Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to supersede an 

existing airworthiness directive (AD) 

that applies to certain Piper Aircraft, 

Inc. (type certificate previously held by 

The New Piper Aircraft Inc.) Models 

PA–31T and PA–31T1 airplanes. The 

existing AD currently requires 

correcting a model identification error 

on the aircraft data plate. Since we 

issued that AD, we have become aware 

that some owner/operators of the 

affected airplanes modified the aircraft 

data plate in error because of confusion 

in the serial number applicability. 

Because of the confusion, the 

manufacturer has issued new service 

information to clarify affected airplane 

serial numbers. This proposed AD 

would require determining the airplane 

model based on the serial number and 

modifying the aircraft data plate to 

properly identify the airplane model. 

This proposed AD would also require 

doing a detailed search for all applicable 

airworthiness related documents that 

apply to any airplane that has an 

incorrectly marked data plate and take 

necessary corrective actions based on 

the search findings. We are proposing 

this AD to correct the unsafe condition 

on these products. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by April 23, 2012. 

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 AD, contact Piper Aircraft, Inc., 926 

Piper Drive, Vero Beach, Florida 32960; 

telephone: (772) 567–4361; Internet: 

www.piper.com. You may review copies 

of the referenced service information at 

the FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 

901 Locust, Kansas City, Missouri 

64106. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, 

call (816) 329–4148. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http://www.regulations.

gov; 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 proposed AD, the 

regulatory evaluation, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for the Docket Office 

(phone: 800–647–5527) is in the 

ADDRESSES section. Comments will be 

available in the AD docket shortly after 

receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gregory ‘‘Keith’’ Noles, Aerospace 

Engineer, FAA, Atlanta Aircraft 

Certification Office, 1701 Columbia 

Avenue, College Park, Georgia 30337; 

phone: (404) 474–5551; fax: (404) 474– 

5606; email: gregory.noles@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to send any written 

relevant data, views, or arguments about 

this proposed AD. Send your comments 

to an address listed under the 

ADDRESSES section. Include ‘‘Docket No. 

FAA–2012–0251; Directorate Identifier 

2012–CE–002–AD’’ at the beginning of 

your comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of this proposed AD. We will 

consider all comments received by the 

closing date and may amend this 

proposed AD 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 proposed AD. 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS