33204 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 107 / Tuesday, June 4, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2013–0470; Directorate 

Identifier 2013–SW–008–AD; Amendment 

39–17465; AD 2013–11–05] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Bell 

Helicopter Textron, Inc. (Bell) 

Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for Bell 

Model 214B, 214B–1, and 214ST 

helicopters with a certain tail rotor 

hanger bearing (bearing) installed. This 

AD requires inspecting the bearing to 

determine whether an incorrectly 

manufactured seal material is installed 

on the bearing. This AD is prompted by 

a report that certain bearings were 

manufactured with an incorrect seal 

material that does not meet Bell 

specifications. The actions specified by 

this AD are intended to prevent loss of 

bearing grease, failure of the bearing, 

and subsequent loss of control of the 

helicopter. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective June 

19, 2013. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of certain documents listed in this AD 

as of June 19, 2013. 

We must receive comments on this 

AD by August 5, 2013. 

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, the economic 

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 service information identified in 

this AD, contact Bell Helicopter 

Textron, Inc., P.O. Box 482, Fort Worth, 

TX 76101; telephone (817) 280–3391; 

fax (817) 280–6466; or at http:// 

www.bellcustomer.com/files/. You may 

review the referenced service 

information at the FAA, Office of the 

Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 

2601 Meacham Blvd., Room 663, Fort 

Worth, Texas 76137. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Blyn, Aviation Safety Engineer, 

Rotorcraft Certification Office, 

Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 2601 

Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 

76137; telephone (817) 222–5762; email 

7-AVS-ASW-170@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 

We are adopting a new AD for Bell 

Model 214B, 214B–1, and 214ST 

helicopters with certain bearings 

installed. Bell was notified by a supplier 

that all part number 214–040–606–005 

and 214–040–606–101 bearings 

delivered between May 2011 and June 

2012 were manufactured with incorrect 

seal material. The incorrect seal material 

does not meet Bell’s operating and 

environmental temperature 

specifications and under extreme heat 

could result in seal failure and grease 

loss from the bearing. The incorrect seal 

material is black in color; the correctly 

manufactured bearings have a red/ 

orange to brown colored seal. 

FAA’s Determination 

We are issuing this AD because we 

evaluated all the relevant information 

and determined the unsafe condition 

described previously is likely to exist or 

develop in other helicopters of these 

same type designs. 

Related Service Information 

Bell has issued Alert Service Bulletin 

(ASB) 214–13–74, Revision A, dated 

March 25, 2013, for Model 214B and 

214B–1 helicopters, serial number (S/N) 

28001 through 28070, and ASB 214ST– 

13–90, Revision A, dated March 25, 

2013, for Model 214ST helicopters, S/N 

28101 through 28200. Both ASBs 

describe procedures for determining 

whether any bearing with incorrect seal 

material is installed on the helicopter 

and for inspecting any installed bearing 

with incorrect seal material every 10 

hours time-in-service (TIS). Both ASBs 

also specify replacing any bearing with 

incorrect seal material that is leaking 

grease or damaged. Finally, the ASBs 

specify replacing any bearing with 

incorrect seal material within 500 hours 

TIS or by December 31, 2013. 

AD Requirements 

This AD requires: 

• Inspecting each bearing within 10 

hours TIS to determine whether the 

bearing has correct seal material. 

• If a bearing has incorrect seal 

material, inspecting the bearing at 

intervals not to exceed 10 hours TIS for 

leakage, slung grease, or damage. 

• If there is leakage, slung grease, or 

damage, before further flight, replacing 

the bearing with an airworthy bearing 

that does not have a black seal, which 

would be terminating action for the 

requirements of this AD. 

Differences Between This AD and the 

Service Information 

The Bell ASBs specify 25 hours TIS 

for the initial inspection, while this AD 

requires inspecting within 10 hours TIS. 

The ASBs specify replacing any bearing 

with black seal material within 500 

hours TIS or by December 31, 2013. 

This AD requires repetitive inspections 

of the bearing until the bearing is 

replaced with an airworthy bearing that 

does not have a black seal. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 107 / Tuesday, June 4, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 33205 

Interim Action 

We consider this AD to be an interim 

action. We are currently considering 

requiring the replacement of the 

defective bearings, which will constitute 

terminating action for the repetitive 

inspections required by this AD action. 

However, the planned compliance time 

for the replacement of the bearing 

would allow enough time to provide 

notice and opportunity for prior public 

comment on the merits of the 

replacement. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this AD will affect 

26 helicopters of U.S. Registry. We 

estimate that operators may incur the 

following costs in order to comply with 

this AD. At an average labor cost of $85 

per hour, inspecting the bearings would 

require about 2.5 work hours, for a cost 

per helicopter of $213 and a cost of 

$5,538 for the fleet. Replacing a 

defective bearing would require about 3 

work hours, and required parts would 

cost $1,372 per bearing, for a cost per 

helicopter of $1,627. 

According to Bell’s service 

information some of the costs of this AD 

may be covered under warranty, thereby 

reducing the cost impact on affected 

individuals. We do not control warranty 

coverage by Bell. Accordingly, we have 

included all costs in our cost estimate. 

FAA’s Justification and Determination 

of the Effective Date 

Providing an opportunity for public 

comments prior to adopting these AD 

requirements would delay 

implementing the safety actions needed 

to correct this known unsafe condition. 

Therefore, we find that the risk to the 

flying public justifies waiving notice 

and comment prior to the adoption of 

this rule because the required corrective 

actions must be accomplished within 10 

hours TIS, a very short time period 

based on the average flight hour 

utilization rate of these helicopters. 

Since an unsafe condition exists that 

requires the immediate adoption of this 

AD, we determined that notice and 

opportunity for public comment before 

issuing this AD are impracticable 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. 

We prepared an economic evaluation 

of the estimated costs to comply with 

this AD and placed it in the AD docket. 

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): 

2013–11–05 Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. 

(Bell): Amendment 39–17465; Docket 

No. FAA–2013–0470; Directorate 

Identifier 2013–SW–008–AD. 

(a) Applicability 

This AD applies to Bell Model 214B 

helicopters, serial number (S/N) 28001 

through 28070, Model 214B–1 helicopters, 

S/N 28001 through 28070, and Model 214ST 

helicopters, S/N 28101 through 28200, with 

a tail rotor hanger bearing (bearing), part 

number (P/N) 214–040–606–005 or 214–040– 

606–101 installed, certificated in any 

category. 

(b) Unsafe Condition 

This AD defines the unsafe condition as a 

bearing with incorrect seal material, which 

could fail under extreme temperature or 

environmental conditions, resulting in loss of 

tail rotor control and subsequent loss of 

control of the helicopter. 

(c) Effective Date 

This AD becomes effective June 19, 2013. 

(d) Compliance 

You are responsible for performing each 

action required by this AD within the 

specified compliance time. 

(e) Required Actions 

(1) Within 10 hours time in service (TIS): 

(i) Inspect each bearing to determine 

whether the seal material is correct, as 

described in the Accomplishment 

Instructions, Part 1—Inspection, paragraphs 

1.a. through 2. and Figure 1 of Bell Alert 

Service Bulletin (ASB) 214–13–74, Revision 

A, dated March 25, 2013, for Model 214B and 

214B–1 helicopters and ASB 214ST–13–90, 

Revision A, dated March 25, 2013, for Model 

214ST helicopters. 

(ii) For each bearing with black seal 

material, before further flight and thereafter 

at intervals not to exceed 10 hours TIS, 

inspect the bearing for leakage, slung grease, 

or damage. If there is any leakage, slung 

grease, or damage, before further flight, 

replace the bearing with an airworthy bearing 

with red/orange to brown color seal material. 

(2) Replacing a bearing with an airworthy 

bearing with the correct red/orange to brown 

color seal material terminates the inspection 

requirements of this AD. 

(3) Do not install bearing P/N 214–040– 

606–005 or 214–040–606–101 with black seal 

material on any helicopter. 

(f) Special Flight Permits 

Special flight permits are prohibited. 

(g) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, Rotorcraft Certification 

Office, FAA, may approve AMOCs for this 

AD. Send your proposal to: James Blyn, 

Aviation Safety Engineer, Rotorcraft 

Certification Office, Rotorcraft Directorate, 

FAA, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, 

Texas 76137; telephone (817) 222–5762; 

email 7-AVS-ASW-170@faa.gov. 

(2) For operations conducted under a 14 

CFR part 119 operating certificate or under 

14 CFR 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 


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33206 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 107 / Tuesday, June 4, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

certificate holding district office before 

operating any aircraft complying with this 

AD through an AMOC. 

(h) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 6500: Tail Rotor Drive Bearing. 

(i) Material Incorporated by Reference 

(1) The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

(IBR) of the service information listed in this 

paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR 

part 51. 

(2) You must use this service information 

as applicable to do the actions required by 

this AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise. 

(i) Bell Alert Service Bulletin No. 214–13– 

74, Revision A, dated March 25, 2013. 

(ii) Bell Alert Service Bulletin No. 214ST– 

13–90, Revision A, dated March 25, 2013. 

(3) For Bell service information identified 

in this AD, contact Bell Helicopter Textron, 

Inc., P.O. Box 482, Fort Worth, TX 76101; 

telephone (817) 280–3391; fax (817) 280– 

6466; or at http://www.bellcustomer.com/ 

files/. 

(4) You may view this service information 

at FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, 

Southwest Region, 2601 Meacham Blvd., 

Room 663, Fort Worth, Texas 76137. For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call (817) 222–5110. 

(5) You may view this service information 

that is incorporated by reference at the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). For information on 

the availability of this material at NARA, call 

(202) 741–6030, or go to: http:// 

www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibrlocations.html. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 17, 

2013. 

Kim Smith, 

Directorate Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–12720 Filed 6–3–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0930; Directorate 

Identifier 2011–NM–251–AD; Amendment 

39–17472; AD 2013–11–12] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Bombardier, 

Inc. Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

Bombardier, Inc. Model BD–100–1A10 

(Challenger 300) airplanes. This AD was 

prompted by reports of failure of a 

screw cap or end cap of the hydraulic 

system accumulator while on the 

ground, which resulted in loss of use of 

that hydraulic system and high-energy 

impact damage to adjacent systems and 

structures. This AD would require 

inspecting for the correct serial number 

of a certain hydraulic system 

accumulator, and replacing affected 

hydraulic system accumulators with 

new or serviceable accumulators. We 

are issuing this AD to prevent failure of 

a screw cap or end cap and loss of the 

related hydraulic system, which could 

result in damage to airplane structure 

and consequent reduced controllability 

of the airplane. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective July 

9, 2013. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain publication listed in this AD 

as of July 9, 2013. 

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 (ACO), 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 September 6, 2012 (77 FR 

54846). That NPRM proposed to correct 

an unsafe condition for the specified 

products. The Mandatory Continuing 

Airworthiness Information (MCAI) 

states: 

Seven cases of on-ground hydraulic 

accumulator screw cap/end cap failure have 

been experienced on CL–600–2B19 

aeroplanes, resulting in loss of the associated 

hydraulic system and high-energy impact 

damage to adjacent systems and structure. To 

date, the lowest number of flight cycles 

accumulated at the time of failure has been 

6991. 

Although there have been no failures to 

date on any BD–100–1A10 aeroplanes, 

accumulators similar to those installed on the 

CL–600–2B19 are installed on them. The 

affected part numbers (P/Ns) of the 

accumulators installed on BD–100–1A10 are 

900095–1 (Auxiliary Hydraulic System 

accumulator), 08–60219–001 (Inboard Brake 

accumulator), and 08–60218–001 (Outboard 

Brake accumulator). 

A detailed analysis of the calculated line 

of trajectory of a failed screw cap/end cap for 

the accumulator has been conducted, 

resulting in the identification of areas where 

systems and/or structural components could 

potentially be damaged. Although all of the 

failures to date have occurred on the ground, 

an in-flight failure affecting such components 

could potentially have an adverse effect on 

the controllability of the aeroplane. 

This [TCCA] directive provides the initial 

action by mandating the replacement of the 

Auxiliary Hydraulic System accumulators 

that are not identified by the letter ‘‘E’’ after 

the serial number on the identification plate. 

Further corrective actions are anticipated to 

rectify similar safety concerns with the 

Inboard and Outboard Brake accumulators. 

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 

considered the comments received. 

Request To Change Precipitating Event 

Language 

Bombardier asked that the language 

specifying that the NPRM (77 FR 54846, 

September 6, 2012) was prompted by 

‘‘auxiliary hydraulic accumulator failure 

due to end cap or screw cap’’ be 

changed. Bombardier stated that there is 

no record of such auxiliary hydraulic 

accumulator failure and added that the 

failures occurred on accumulators 

having a similar design. Bombardier 

asked that the word ‘‘auxiliary’’ be 

removed from the NPRM. 

We agree with the commenter for the 

reason provided. We have removed the 

word ‘‘auxiliary’’ from the Summary 

section and paragraph (e) of this AD. 

Request for Clarification of Effective 

Date of AD 

Bombardier asked if the compliance 

time in paragraphs (g)(1) and (g)(3) of 

the NPRM (77 FR 54846, September 6, 

2012) should refer to the date of 

Bombardier Service Bulletin 100–29–14, 

dated December 16, 2010, instead of the 

effective date of the AD. Bombardier 

stated that there is a significant 

difference between the release date of 

that service information and the 

effective date of the AD. 

We acknowledge the commenter’s 

concern and provide the following 

clarification. We do not agree that the 

compliance time should correspond to 

the release date of Bombardier Service 

Bulletin 100–29–14, dated December 16, 

2010. We do not intend to ground 

airplanes, but that could occur if the 

release date of this service information 

is used. Therefore, we must provide a 


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