20518 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 66 / Thursday, April 5, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0355; Directorate 

Identifier 2011–SW–013–AD; Amendment 

39–17007; AD 2012–07–01] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Agusta 

S.p.A. Helicopters 

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 Agusta 

S.p.A. (Agusta) Model AB412 

helicopters with certain tail rotor blades 

(blades) installed. This AD requires, 

before further flight, removing and 

replacing each affected blade with an 

airworthy blade. This AD is prompted 

by incidents where a blade tip weight 

separated from a blade in flight on other 

model helicopters with common partnumbered blades. It has been 

determined that this unsafe condition 

may also exist on the specified Agusta 

model helicopters. The actions specified 

in this AD are intended to prevent loss 

of the blade tip weight, loss of a blade, 

and subsequent loss of control of the 

helicopter. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective April 

20, 2012. 

We must receive comments on this 

AD by June 4, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Docket: Go to 

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

online instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• Mail: Send comments to the U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: Deliver to the 

‘‘Mail’’ address 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, 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 service information identified in 

this AD, contact Agusta Westland, 

Customer Support & Services, Via Per 

Tornavento 15, 21019 Somma Lombardo 

(VA) Italy, ATTN: Giovanni Cecchelli; 

telephone 39–0331–711133; fax 39 0331 

711180; or at http:// 

www.agustawestland.com/technicalbullettins. You may review a copy of the 

referenced service information at the 

FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, 

Southwest Region, 2601 Meacham 

Boulevard, Room 663, Fort Worth, 

Texas 76137. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sharon Miles, Aviation Safety Engineer, 

Regulations and Policy Group, 

Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 2601 

Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76137; 

telephone (817) 222–5110; email 

sharon.y.miles@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

This AD is a final rule that involves 

requirements affecting flight safety, and 

we did not provide you with notice and 

an opportunity to provide your 

comments prior to it becoming effective. 

However, we invite you to participate in 

this rulemaking by submitting written 

comments, data, or views. We also 

invite comments relating to the 

economic, environmental, energy, or 

federalism impacts that resulted from 

adopting this AD. The most helpful 

comments reference a specific portion of 

the AD, explain the reason for any 

recommended change, and include 

supporting data. To ensure the docket 

does not contain duplicate comments, 

commenters should send only one copy 

of written comments, or if comments are 

filed electronically, commenters should 

submit them only one time. We will file 

in the docket all comments that we 

receive, as well as a report summarizing 

each substantive public contact with 

FAA personnel concerning this 

rulemaking during the comment period. 

We will consider all the comments we 

receive and may conduct additional 

rulemaking based on those comments. 

Discussion 

The European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Union, has issued EASA Emergency AD 

No.: 2010–0272–E, dated December 22, 

2010 (EAD 2010–0272–E), to correct an 

unsafe condition for the Agusta Model 

AB204B, AB205A–1, AB206A, AB206B, 

AB212, AB412 and AB412EP 

helicopters. EASA advises that Rotor 

Blades Inc. (RBI) informed Bell 

Helicopter Textron Inc. (BHTI) about 

four incidents of a blade tip weight 

separating from a blade in flight, and the 

subsequent investigation showed that 

these occurrences were caused by 

improper repair actions by RBI. EASA 

states that to address this safety 

concern, BHTI issued several alert 

service bulletins (ASBs) applicable to 

U.S. and Canada manufactured Bell type 

designs. In response to these ASBs, 

Transport Canada issued Emergency AD 

CF–2007–21R1 (dated November 30, 

2010), and the FAA issued Emergency 

AD 2010–26–52 (dated December 10, 

2010). EASA states that although the 

unsafe condition has been detected only 

on parts manufactured by BHTI and 

installed on BHTI helicopters, the 

possibility exists, due to part number 

commonality between the rotor blade 

type designs, that the affected parts may 

be installed on corresponding Agusta 

helicopter types, among others, for 

helicopter models not type certificated 

in the U.S. Agusta has issued Bollettino 

Tecnico (BT) 412–130, dated December 

20, 2010 (BT 412–130), to inform 

affected owners and operators of this 

unsafe condition, and EASA issued EAD 

2010–0272–E in response to the BT to 

address this unsafe condition. 

FAA’s Determination 

These helicopters have been approved 

by the aviation authority of Italy and are 

approved for operation in the United 

States. Pursuant to our bilateral 

agreement with Italy, EASA, its 

technical representative, has notified us 

of the unsafe condition described in the 

EASA AD. We are issuing this AD 

because we evaluated all information 

provided by EASA and determined the 

unsafe condition exists and is likely to 

exist or develop on other helicopters of 

these same type designs. 

Related Service Information 

We reviewed BT 412–130, which 

references Bell Helicopter ASB No. 412– 

07–123 Revision B, dated November 22, 

2010, and specifies removing any 

affected tail rotor blade, returning the 

removed blade to Agusta, and replacing 

it with an airworthy blade. EASA 

classified this BT as mandatory and 

issued EAD 2010–0272–E to ensure the 

continued airworthiness of these 

helicopters. 

AD Requirements 

This AD requires, before further flight, 

unless already accomplished, replacing 

any affected blade with an airworthy 

blade. An airworthy blade is one that 

has a part number and a serial number 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 66 / Thursday, April 5, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 20519 

not included in the Applicability 

section of this AD. Affected blades are 

those having a part number and serial 

number as follows: 

Part No. Serial No. 

212–010–750–105 .......................... A–11923. 

212–010–750–105FM ..................... A–10090, A–10836, A–10857, A–11207, A–11332, A–11617, A–11828, A–12043, or A–12091. 

212–010–750–113 .......................... A–14953, A–15090, or CS–12702. 

212–010–750–113FM ..................... A–12240, A–12286, A–12296, A–12398, A–12640, A–12670, A–12789, A–13033, A–13088 A–13096, A– 

13106 A–13134, A–13199, A–13264, A–13366, or A–13539. 

212–010–750–133 .......................... A–15602. 

No helicopters of this type are 

registered in the United States. 

However, this rule is necessary to 

ensure that the described unsafe 

condition is addressed if any of these 

products are placed on the U.S. Registry 

in the future. 

Differences Between This AD and the 

EASA AD 

EASA AD 2010–0272–E applies to 

Agusta S.p.A. Model AB204B, AB205A– 

1, AB206A, AB212, AB412, and 

AB412EP helicopters. This AD only 

applies to the U.S. type certificated 

Agusta Model AB412 helicopters. 

Costs of Compliance 

There are no costs of compliance 

because no helicopters of this type 

design are on the U.S. Registry. 

FAA’s Justification and Determination 

of the Effective Date 

Since there are currently no affected 

helicopters on the U.S. Registry, we 

believe it is unlikely that we would 

receive any adverse comments or useful 

information about this AD from U.S. 

Operators. Since an unsafe condition 

exists that requires the immediate 

adoption of this AD, we have 

determined that notice and opportunity 

for prior public comment before issuing 

this AD are unnecessary and that good 

cause exists for making this amendment 

effective in less than 30 days. 

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, I certify 

that this AD: 

1. Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ under Executive Order 12866; 

2. Is not a ‘‘significant rule’’ under 

DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures 

(44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979); 

3. Will not affect intrastate aviation in 

Alaska to the extent that it justifies 

making a regulatory distinction; 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. 

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 Airworthiness 

Directive (AD): 

2012–07–01 Agusta S.p.A.: Amendment 39– 

17007; Docket No. FAA–2012–0355; 

Directorate Identifier 2011–SW–013–AD. 

(a) Applicability 

This AD applies to Agusta S.p.A. Model 

AB412 helicopters with the following tail 

rotor blades installed: 

Part No. Serial No. 

212–010–750–105 .......................... A–11923. 

212–010–750–105FM ..................... A–10090, A–10836, A–10857, A–11207, A–11332, A–11617, A–11828, A–12043, or A–12091. 

212–010–750–113 .......................... A–14953, A–15090, or CS–12702. 

212–010–750–113FM ..................... A–12240, A–12286, A–12296, A–12398, A–12640, A–12670, A–12789, A–13033, A–13088, A–13096, A– 

13106, A–13134, A–13199, A–13264, A–13366, or A–13539. 

212–010–750–133 .......................... A–15602. 

(b) Unsafe Condition 

This AD defines the unsafe condition as 

separation of the tail rotor blade (blade) tip 

weight from a blade in flight, causing 

vibration. This condition could result in loss 

of a tail rotor blade and subsequent loss of 

control of the helicopter. 

(c) Effective Date 

This airworthiness directive (AD) becomes 

effective April 20, 2012. 

(d) Compliance 

You are responsible for performing each 

action required by this AD within the 

specified compliance time unless it has 

already been accomplished prior to that time. 


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20520 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 66 / Thursday, April 5, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

(e) Required Actions 

Before further flight, replace any affected 

blade with an airworthy blade, defined as 

one that has a part number and a serial 

number not listed in the Applicability 

section of this AD. 

(f) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, Safety Management 

Group, FAA, may approve AMOCs for this 

AD. Send your proposal to: Sharon Miles, 

Aviation Safety Engineer, Regulations and 

Policy Group, Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 

2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76137; 

telephone (817) 222–5110; email 

sharon.y.miles@faa.gov. 

(2) For operations conducted under a Part 

119 operating certificate or under Part 91, 

Subpart K, we suggest that you notify your 

principal inspector, or lacking a principal 

inspector, the manager of the local flight 

standards district office or certificate holding 

district office, before operating any aircraft 

complying with this AD through an AMOC. 

(g) Additional Information 

(1) Agusta Bollettino Tecnico 412–130, 

dated December 20, 2010, which is not 

incorporated by reference, contains 

additional information about the subject of 

this AD. For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Agusta Westland, Customer 

Support & Services, Via Per Tornavento 15, 

21019 Somma Lombardo (VA) Italy, ATTN: 

Giovanni Cecchelli; telephone 39–0331– 

711133; fax 39 0331 711180; or at http:// 

www.agustawestland.com/technicalbullettins. You may review a copy of the 

referenced service information at the FAA, 

Office of the Regional Counsel, Southwest 

Region, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Room 663, Fort 

Worth, Texas 76137. 

(2) The subject of this AD is addressed in 

the European Aviation Safety Agency 

Emergency AD No.: 2010–0272–E, dated 

December 22, 2010. 

(h) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 6410, tail rotor blades. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 26, 

2012. 

Scott A. Horn, 

Acting Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8058 Filed 4–4–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2011–1064; Directorate 

Identifier 2011–NM–075–AD; Amendment 

39–16984; AD 2012–06–03] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Bombardier, 

Inc. Model BD–100–1A10 (Challenger 

300) Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for all 

Bombardier, Inc. Model BD–100–1A10 

(Challenger 300) airplanes. This AD was 

prompted by reports that the horizontal 

stabilizer trim actuator (HSTA) no-back 

and the number 1 motor brake assembly 

(MBA) can both fail dormant. This AD 

requires revising the airplane 

maintenance schedule to include new 

functional tests of the HSTA no-back 

and HSTA brake system. We are issuing 

this AD to prevent dormant failure of 

the HSTA no-back and the number 1 

MBA, which along with additional 

component failure could result in an 

uncontrollable horizontal stabilizer 

surface runaway without the ability to 

retrim, and consequent loss of the 

airplane. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective May 

10, 2012. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain publication listed in this AD 

as of May 10, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may examine the AD 

docket on the Internet at http://www.

regulations.gov or in person at the U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cesar Gomez, Aerospace Engineer, 

Airframe and Mechanical Systems 

Branch, ANE–171, FAA, New York 

Aircraft Certification Office, 1600 

Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, 

New York 11590; telephone (516) 228– 

7318; fax (516) 794–5531. 

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 October 11, 2011 (76 FR 

62669), and proposed to correct an 

unsafe condition for the specified 

products. The MCAI states: 

It was discovered that the Horizontal 

Stabilizer Trim Actuator (HSTA) No Back 

and the Number 1 Motor Brake Assembly 

(MBA) can both fail dormant. A failure of the 

HSTA No Back and the Brake System along 

with additional component failure could 

result in an uncontrollable horizontal 

stabilizer surface runaway without the ability 

to retrim. This condition, if not corrected, 

could lead to the loss of the aeroplane. 

As a result, new Airworthiness Limitation 

Tasks, consisting of a functional test of the 

HSTA No Back and a functional test of the 

HSTA Brake System, have been introduced to 

ensure that a dormant failure of either 

component is detected and corrected. 

This [TCCA] directive mandates the 

revision of the approved maintenance 

schedule to include these new tasks, 

including phase-in schedules. 

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 

have considered the single comment 

received. 

Request To Revise Number of U.S.- 

Registered Airplanes 

The commenter, Matthew B. Mitchell, 

stated that the number of U.S.-registered 

Model BD–100–1A10 airplanes exceeds 

the 76 airplanes shown in the Costs of 

Compliance section of this AD, and 

should be 238 airplanes, to agree with 

Aircraft Geometric Height Measurement 

Element (AGHME) figures. 

We agree to revise the number of U.S.- 

registered airplanes used to determine 

the cost estimate in this AD. We have 

confirmed with Bombardier, Inc., that 

217 Model BD–100–1A10 airplanes are 

registered in the U.S. We have changed 

the figures in the ‘‘Costs of Compliance’’ 

section of this AD accordingly. 

Additional Changes Made to This AD 

We have redesignated Note 1 of the 

NPRM (76 FR 62669, October 11, 2011) 

as paragraph (c)(2) of this AD, paragraph 

(c) of the NPRM as paragraph (c)(1) of 

this AD, and Note 2 of the NPRM as 

Note 1 to paragraphs (g) and (h) of this 

AD. We have also relocated Note 1 of 

this AD to follow paragraph (g) of this 

AD. 

Conclusion 

We reviewed the available data, 

including the comment received, and 

determined that air safety and the 

public interest require adopting the AD 


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