Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 19063 

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. 2011–0230, dated 

December 9, 2011, and Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. 

PC–6 Service Bulletin No. 55–001, Rev. No. 

1, dated November 25, 2011, for related 

information. 

(i) Material Incorporated by Reference 

(1) You must use Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. PC– 

6 Service Bulletin No. 55–001, Rev. No. 1, 

dated November 25, 2011, to do the actions 

required by this AD, unless the AD specifies 

otherwise. The Director of the Federal 

Register approved the incorporation by 

reference (IBR) under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 

CFR part 51. 

(2) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact PILATUS AIRCRAFT LTD., 

Customer Liaison Manager, CH–6371 

STANS, Switzerland; telephone: +41 (0) 41 

619 65 80; fax: +41 (0) 41 619 65 76; Internet: 

http://www.pilatus-aircraft.com. 

(3) 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. 

(4) You may also review copies of the 

service information that is incorporated by 

reference at the National Archives and 

Records Administration (NARA). For 

information on the availability of this 

material at an NARA facility, call 202–741– 

6030, or go to http://www.archives.gov/ 

federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ 

ibr_locations.html. 

Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 

19, 2012. 

Earl Lawrence, 

Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6999 Filed 3–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0017; Directorate 

Identifier 2011–CE–039–AD; Amendment 

39–16994; AD 2012–06–13] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; DG 

Flugzeugbau GmbH Gliders 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for DG 

Flugzeugbau GmbH Models DG–500 

Elan Orion, DG–500 Elan Trainer, DG– 

500/20 Elan, DG–500/22 Elan, DG– 

500M, and DG–500MB gliders. This AD 

results from mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information (MCAI) 

issued 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 damage to the bulkhead of 

the glider’s center of gravity (CG) tow 

hook that, if not detected and corrected, 

may lead to failure of the fiberglass 

structure during a winch launch. We are 

issuing this AD to require actions to 

address the unsafe condition on these 

products. 

DATES: This AD is effective May 4, 2012. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of certain publications listed in the AD 

as of May 4, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may examine the AD 

docket on the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in person at 

Document 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 service information identified in 

this AD, contact DG-Flugzeugbau 

GmbH, Otto-Lilienthal-Weg 2, 76646 

Bruchsal, Federal Republic of Germany; 

telephone: +49 (0) 7251 3020140, fax: 

+49 (0) 7251 3020149; email: dirks@dgflugzeugbau.de; Internet: www.dgflugzeugbau.de. You may review copies 

of the referenced service information at 

the FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 

901 Locust St., Kansas City, Missouri 

64106. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, 

call (816) 329–4148. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim 

Rutherford, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, 

Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust 

St., Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 

64106; telephone: (816) 329–4165; fax: 

(816) 329–4090; email: 

jim.rutherford@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

We issued a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR 

part 39 to include an AD that would 

apply to the specified products. That 

NPRM was published in the Federal 

Register on January 17, 2012 (77 FR 

2234). That NPRM proposed to correct 

an unsafe condition for the specified 

products. The MCAI states: 

Occurrence of damage of the bulkhead of 

CG tow hook and its glued joints to fuselage 

shell was reported. 

Investigation concluded that this damage 

may occur after wheel up landing. 

Damage of bulkheads for CG tow hook of 

the sailplane or powered sailplane, if not 

detected and corrected, may lead to failure of 

glass fibre structure during a winch launch. 

DG-Flugzeugbau GmbH developed and 

published Technical Note (TN) No 500/04 

with the associated Working Instruction No. 

1 to detect and correct damaged CG tow hook 

bulkhead and its glued joints. 

For the above-mentioned reasons, this AD 

requires a one-time inspection of the CG tow 

hook and its reinforcement. 

You may obtain further information by 

examining the MCAI in the AD docket. 

Comments 

We gave the public the opportunity to 

participate in developing this AD. We 

received no comments on the NPRM (77 

FR 2234, January 17, 2012) or on the 

determination of the cost to the public. 

Conclusion 

We reviewed the relevant data and 

determined that air safety and the 

public interest require adopting the AD 

as proposed except for minor editorial 

changes. We have determined that these 

minor changes: 

• Are consistent with the intent that 

was proposed in the NPRM (77 FR 2234, 

January 17, 2012) for correcting the 

unsafe condition; and 

• Do not add any additional burden 

upon the public than was already 

proposed in the NPRM (77 FR 2234, 

January 17, 2012). 


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19064 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

The MCAI requires you to inspect the 

CG tow hook bulkhead for damage and 

reinforce the bulkhead. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this AD will affect 

16 products of U.S. registry. We also 

estimate that it will take about 5 workhours per product to comply with the 

basic requirements of this AD. The 

average labor rate is $85 per work-hour. 

Required parts will cost about $1,030 

per product. 

Based on these figures, we estimate 

the cost of the AD on U.S. operators to 

be $23,280, or $1,455 per product. 

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 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 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. 

For the reasons discussed above, I 

certify this AD: 

(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. 

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 the NPRM (77 FR 2234, 

January 17, 2012), 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. 

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 FAA amends § 39.13 by adding 

the following new AD: 

2012–06–13 DG Flugzeugbau GmbH: 

Amendment 39–16994; Docket No. 

FAA–2012–0017; Directorate Identifier 

2011–CE–039–AD. 

(a) Effective Date 

This airworthiness directive (AD) becomes 

effective May 4, 2012. 

(b) Affected ADs 

None. 

(c) Applicability 

This AD applies to DG Flugzeugbau GmbH 

Models DG–500 Elan Orion, DG–500 Elan 

Trainer, DG–500/20 Elan, DG–500/22 Elan, 

DG–500M, and DG–500MB gliders, all serial 

numbers (S/N), certificated in any category. 

(d) Subject 

Air Transport Association of America 

(ATA) Code 53: Fuselage. 

(e) Reason 

This AD was prompted by damage to the 

bulkhead of the glider’s center of gravity (CG) 

tow hook that, if not detected and corrected, 

may lead to failure of the fiberglass structure 

during a winch launch. We are issuing this 

AD to require actions to address the unsafe 

condition on these products. 

(f) Actions and Compliance 

Unless already done, do the following 

actions: 

(1) For all gliders: Within 30 days after May 

4, 2012 (the effective date of this AD), inspect 

the bulkhead of the CG tow hook and the 

bulkhead’s glued joints for damage following 

DG Flugzeugbau GmbH Technical Note No. 

500/04, dated August 30, 2011; and DG 

Flugzeugbau Working Instruction No. 1 for 

TN500/04, dated August 30, 2011. 

(2) For all gliders: If you find damage 

during the inspection required by paragraph 

(f)(1) of this AD, before further flight, 

reinforce the bulkhead of the CG tow hook 

following DG Flugzeugbau GmbH Technical 

Note No. 500/04, dated August 30, 2011; and 

DG Flugzeugbau Working Instruction No. 1 

for TN500/04, dated August 30, 2011. 

(3) For all gliders: Unless already done as 

required by paragraph (f)(2) of this AD, 

within 5 months after May 4, 2012 (the 

effective date of this AD), reinforce the 

bulkhead of the CG tow hook following DG 

Flugzeugbau GmbH Technical Note No. 500/ 

04, dated August 30, 2011; and DG 

Flugzeugbau Working Instruction No. 1 for 

TN500/04, dated August 30, 2011. 

(4) For gliders with S/N 5E1 through S/N 

5E23: While doing the modification required 

by paragraph (f)(2) or (f)(3) of this AD, install 

a new adapted tow hook access cover 

following DG Flugzeugbau GmbH Technical 

Note No. 500/04, dated August 30, 2011; and 

DG Flugzeugbau Working Instruction No. 1 

for TN500/04, dated August 30, 2011. 

(5) For all gliders: Although the European 

Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) MCAI and 

DG Flugzeugbau GmbH Technical Note No. 

500/04, dated August 30, 2011, allow the 

inspection required by paragraph (f)(1) of this 

AD 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. 

(g) Other FAA AD Provisions 

The following provisions also apply to this 

AD: 

(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, Standards Office, 

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: Jim Rutherford, Aerospace Engineer, 

FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, 

Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; 

telephone: (816) 329–4165; fax: (816) 329– 

4090; email: jim.rutherford@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 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 19065 

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 EASA AD No.: 2011–0209, 

dated October 26, 2011; DG Flugzeugbau 

GmbH TN No 500/4, dated August 30, 2011; 

and DG Flugzeugbau Working Instruction No. 

1, dated August 30, 2011, for related 

information. 

(i) Material Incorporated by Reference 

(1) You must use the following service 

information to do the actions required by this 

AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise. The 

Director of the Federal Register approved the 

incorporation by reference (IBR) under 5 

U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51 of the 

following service information: 

(i) DG Flugzeugbau GmbH Technical Note 

No. 500/04, dated August 30, 2011; and 

(ii) DG Flugzeugbau Working Instruction 

No. 1 for TN500/04, dated August 30, 2011. 

(2) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact DG-Flugzeugbau GmbH, 

Otto-Lilienthal-Weg 2, 76646 Bruchsal, 

Federal Republic of Germany; telephone: +49 

(0) 7251 3020140, fax: +49 (0) 7251 3020149; 

email: dirks@dg-flugzeugbau.de; Internet: 

www.dg-flugzeugbau.de. 

(3) You may review copies of the 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. 

(4) You may also review copies of the 

service information that is incorporated by 

reference at the National Archives and 

Records Administration (NARA). For 

information on the availability of this 

material at an NARA facility, call 202–741– 

6030, or go to http://www.archives.gov/ 

federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ 

ibr_locations.html. 

Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 

19, 2012. 

Earl Lawrence, 

Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7002 Filed 3–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0295; Directorate 

Identifier 2011–NM–057–AD; Amendment 

39–16993; AD 2012–06–12] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus 

Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for all 

Airbus Model A340–600 series 

airplanes. This AD requires a detailed 

inspection for abnormalities of the ball 

lock retainer on the off-wing ramp 

slides; for closure of the soft cover; for 

full engagement of the slide release pin; 

for broken, missing, and improper 

placement of the safety tie thread on the 

slide release pin; and for proper 

functioning of the vent valve; and 

replacement of the off-wing ramp slides 

if necessary. This AD was prompted by 

reports of in-flight loss of the blow-out 

panel and the slide unit from a righthand off-wing ramp-slide. We are 

issuing this AD to detect and correct 

abnormalities of the ball lock retainer, if 

the soft cover is open, if the slide pin 

release is not engaged or the safety tie 

thread is missing, broken, or improperly 

placed and the vent valve is not 

functioning properly, which could 

result in in-flight loss of the off-wing 

ramp slide. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective April 

16, 2012. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain publication listed in the AD 

as of April 16, 2012. 

We must receive comments on this 

AD by May 14, 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, 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 AD, the regulatory 

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 FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Vladimir Ulyanov, Aerospace Engineer, 

International Branch, ANM–116, 

Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA 

1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, 

Washington 98057–3356; telephone 

(425) 227–1138; fax (425) 227–1149. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

The European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Community, has issued EASA 

Airworthiness Directive 2011–0017, 

dated February 3, 2011 (referred to after 

this as ‘‘the MCAI’’), to correct an unsafe 

condition for the specified products. 

The MCAI states: 

An A340–600 operator has reported an inflight loss of the blow-out panel and the slide 

unit from a Right Hand (RH) off-wing rampslide. 

Investigation has revealed that the two 

main contributor factors of a potential inflight loss of the slide are the packboard soft 

covers not fully closed and the vent valve not 

activated. 

In flight, the air contained in the inflatable 

assembly could increase in volume due to air 

pressure changes. Consequently, pack growth 

could occur and apply loads on the 

packboard soft covers and the blow-out panel 

attachment hardware. To prevent a pack 

growth, a vent valve is installed and when 

activated can balance pressure inside the 

inflatable assembly with the ambient air 

pressure. 

Analysis indicates that non activation of 

the vent valve, followed by soft cover 

opening, could cause the packboard blow-out 

panel to separate from the slide enclosure, 

resulting in in-flight loss of the off-wing ramp 

slide, which would constitute an unsafe 

condition. 

For the reasons described above, this AD 

requires a one-time inspection [check] of the 

soft cover condition and check of the vent 

valve function on each off-wing ramp slide, 

and accomplishment of the applicable 

corrective actions [replacement of the offwing ramp slide]. 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with RULES