Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 198 / Thursday, October 12, 2000 / Proposed Rules 60593

Modifications

(a) Within 12 months after the effective

date if this AD, for airplanes equipped with

the SPZ 8400: Perform paragraph (a)(1),

(a)(2), or (a)(3) of this AD, as applicable.

(1) If the airplane has the production

equivalent of Aircraft Service Change No.

327, install the new indicator light and the

audible tone, in accordance with Gulfstream

Customer Bulletin No. 102A, dated February

1, 2000; and Modification Instructions A, J

through L, and P of Gulfstream Aircraft

Service Change No. 327B, dated January 26,

2000.

(2) If the operator has performed

Gulfstream Aircraft Service Change No. 327

but not Gulfstream Aircraft Service Change

No. 327A, install the new indicator light and

the audible tone, in accordance with

Gulfstream Customer Bulletin No. 102A,

dated February 1, 2000; Modification

Instructions A through E of Gulfsteam

Aircraft Service Change No. 327B AM1,

dated August 28, 2000; and Modification

Instruction P of Gulfstream Aircraft Service

Change No. 327B, dated January 26, 2000.

Note 2: Modification Instruction E in

Gulfstream Aircraft Service Change No. 327B

AM1 is the same as Modification Instruction

P in Gulfstream Aircraft Service Change No.

327B.

(3) If the operator has performed

Gulfstream Aircraft Service Change No.

327A, ensure that all ground wires from

connectors 95A1P2B and 95A2P2B are

removed or rerouted in accordance with

Gulfstream Customer Bulletin No. 102A,

dated February 1, 2000; and Figure 6 of

Gulfstream Aircraft Service Change No. 327B,

dated January 26, 2000.

(b) Within 12 months after the effective

date if this AD, for airplanes not equipped

with the SPZ 400: Perform paragraph (b)(1),

(b)(2), or (b)(3) of this AD, as applicable.

(1) If the operator has not performed

Gulfstream Aircraft Service Change No. 327,

install the new indicator light and the

audible tone, in accordance with Gulfstream

Customer Bulletin No. 102A, dated February

1, 2000; and Modification Instructions A, B

through I, and P of Gulfstream Aircraft

Service Change No. 327B, dated January 26,

2000.

(2) If the operator has performed

Gulfstream Aircraft Service Change No. 327,

install the new indicator light and the

audible tone, in accordance with Gulfstream

Customer Bulletin No. 102A, dated February

1, 2000; and Modification Instructions A, M

through O, and P of Gulfstream Aircraft

Service Change No. 327B dated January 26,

2000.

(3) If the operator has performed

Gulfstream Aircraft Service Change No. 27A,

ensure that wire P9052C22 is rerouted and is

connected in accordance with Gulfstream

Customer Bulletin No. 102A, dated February

1, 2000; and Figure 7 of Gulfstream Aircraft

Service Change No. 327B, dated January 26,

2000.

Note 3: Page 1 of Gulfstream Aircraft

Service Change No. 327B incorrectly refers to

Figure 5; Figure 7 is the correct figure.

Alternative Methods of Compliance

(c) An alternative method of compliance or

adjustment of the compliance time that

provides an acceptable level of safety may be

used if approved by the Manager, Atlanta

Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), FAA.

Operators shall submit their requests through

an appropriate FAA Principal Maintenance

Inspector, who may add comments and then

send it to the Manager, Atlanta ACO.

Note 4: Information concerning the

existence of approved alternative methods of

compliance with this AD, if any, may be

obtained from the Atlanta ACO.

Special Flight Permits

(d) Special flight permits may be issued in

accordance with §§ 21.197 and 21.199 of the

Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 21.197

and 21.199) to operate the airplane to a

location where the requirements of this AD

can be accomplished.

Issued in Renton, Washington, on October

4, 2000.

Donald L. Riggin,

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 00–26095 Filed 10–11–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 2000–NM–144–AD]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream

Model G–1159A (G–III) Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking

(NPRM).

SUMMARY: This document proposes the

adoption of a new airworthiness

directive (AD) that is applicable to

certain Gulfstream Model G–1159A (G–

III) series airplanes. This proposal

would require modification of the

master caution panel by installing an

additional legend labeled ‘‘BATT ON

BUS’’ and associated wiring to indicate

when the airplane batteries are

powering the direct current (DC)

essential bus. This action is necessary to

ensure that the flight crew is aware that

an electrical system failure has occurred

and that the main airplane batteries are

powering the essential DC bus. If the

flight crew is unaware of this situation,

action to stop the depletion of the

airplane batteries will not be taken and

critical equipment, such as

communications and navigation

equipment, could fail. This action is

intended to address the identified

unsafe condition.

DATES: Comments must be received by

November 27, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in

triplicate to the Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), Transport

Airplane Directorate, ANM–114,

Attention: Rules Docket No. 2000–NM–

144–AD, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW.,

Renton, Washington 98055–4056.

Comments may be inspected at this

location between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00

p.m., Monday through Friday, except

Federal holidays. Comments may be

submitted via fax to (425) 227–1232.

Comments may also be sent via the

Internet using the following address: 9-

anm-nprmcomment@faa.gov. Comments

sent via fax or the Internet must contain

‘‘Docket No. 2000–NM–144–AD’’ in the

subject line and need not be submitted

in triplicate. Comments sent via the

Internet as attached electronic files must

be formatted in Microsoft Word 97 for

Windows or ASCII text.

The service information referenced in

the proposed rule may be obtained from

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, P.O.

Box 2206, M/S D–10, Savannah, Georgia

31402–9980. This information may be

examined at the FAA, Transport

Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind

Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington; or at

the FAA, Atlanta Aircraft Certification

Office, One Crown Center, 1895 Phoenix

Boulevard, suite 450, Atlanta, Georgia.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Neil

Berryman, Aerospace Engineer, Systems

and Flight Test Branch, ACE–116A,

FAA, Atlanta Aircraft Certification

Office, One Crown Center, 1895 Phoenix

Boulevard, suite 450, Atlanta, Georgia

30349; telephone (770) 703–6066; fax

(770) 703–6097.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

Interested persons are invited to

participate in the making of the

proposed rule by submitting such

written data, views, or arguments as

they may desire. Communications shall

identify the Rules Docket number and

be submitted in triplicate to the address

specified above. All communications

received on or before the closing date

for comments, specified above, will be

considered before taking action on the

proposed rule. The proposals contained

in this notice may be changed in light

of the comments received.

Submit comments using the following

format:

• Organize comments issue-by-issue.

For example, discuss a request to

change the compliance time and a

60594 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 198 / Thursday, October 12, 2000 / Proposed Rules

request to change the service bulletin

reference as two separate issues.

• For each issue, state what specific

change to the proposed AD is being

requested.

• Include justification (e.g., reasons or

data) for each request.

Comments are specifically invited on

the overall regulatory, economic,

environmental, and energy aspects of

the proposed rule. All comments

submitted will be available, both before

and after the closing date for comments,

in the Rules Docket for examination by

interested persons. A report

summarizing each FAA-public contact

concerned with the substance of this

proposal will be filed in the Rules

Docket.

Commenters wishing the FAA to

acknowledge receipt of their comments

submitted in response to this notice

must submit a self-addressed, stamped

postcard on which the following

statement is made: ‘‘Comments to

Docket Number 2000–NM–144–AD.’’

The postcard will be date stamped and

returned to the commenter.

Availability of NPRMs

Any person may obtain a copy of this

NPRM by submitting a request to the

FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate,

ANM–114, Attention: Rules Docket No.

2000–NM–144–AD, 1601 Lind Avenue,

SW., Renton, Washington 98055–4056.

Discussion

Power to vital systems (such as

aircraft flight displays, communication

and navigation equipment, and fire

extinguishing systems) is provided

through the direct current (DC) essential

bus. In the event of a problem with the

power supply, the bus will

automatically switch to battery power to

keep these vital systems operating.

Operation on battery power is for a short

time and is intended only to allow time

to land the airplane.

Following a problem with the power

supply to the DC essential bus, the flight

crew may not be aware of the switch to

battery power or the subsequent

depletion of the batteries, because the

relevant caution lights are located on

the overhead instrument panel and are

not in the primary line-of-sight of the

flight crew. The FAA has one report of

a loss of electrical power to the DC

essential bus being undetected by a

Gulfstream G–IV flight crew, because

they did not see the caution light. The

DC essential bus on certain Model G–IV

series airplanes is almost identical to

that on the affected Model G–III series

airplanes. Therefore, those Model G–III

series airplanes may be subject to the

same unsafe condition revealed on the

Model G–IV series airplanes.

If the flight crew could not see the

caution light, the flight crew could be

unaware that an electrical system failure

has occurred and that the airplane main

batteries were powering the essential DC

bus. If the flight crew were unaware of

this situation, action to stop the

depletion of the airplane batteries

would not be taken and critical

equipment, such as communications

and navigation equipment, could fail.

Explanation of Relevant Service

Information

The FAA has reviewed and approved

Gulfstream Customer Bulletin No. 149,

dated March 23, 1999, which describes

procedures for adding an additional

legend to the master caution panel in

the primary view of the flight crew to

inform them when batteries are

powering the DC essential bus. The

customer bulletin also describes

modification of wiring in the pilot’s and

copilot’s junction boxes, the auxiliary

power relay box, and the power

distribution box. Gulfstream Customer

Bulletin No. 149, dated March 23, 1999,

references Gulfstream Aircraft Service

Change No. 294, dated February 3, 1999,

as the appropriate source of service

information for accomplishment of the

modification. Accomplishment of the

actions specified in the customer

bulletin and aircraft service change is

intended to adequately address the

identified unsafe condition.

Explanation of Requirements of

Proposed Rule

Since an unsafe condition has been

identified that is likely to exist or

develop on other products of this same

type design, the proposed AD would

require accomplishment of the actions

specified in the Gulfstream customer

bulletin and aircraft service change

described previously, except as

discussed below.

Differences Between the Proposal and

the Customer Bulletin

Operators should note that, although

Customer Bulletin No. 149 recommends

accomplishing the modification within

24 months after the release of the

customer bulletin, the FAA has

determined that an interval of 24

months would not address the

identified unsafe condition in a timely

manner. In developing an appropriate

compliance time for this proposed AD,

the FAA considered not only the

manufacturer’s recommendation, but

also the degree of urgency associated

with addressing the subject unsafe

condition and the average utilization of

the affected fleet. In light of these

factors, the FAA finds a 12-month

compliance time for initiating the

proposed actions to be warranted, in

that it represents an appropriate interval

of time allowable for affected airplanes

to continue to operate without

compromising safety.

Cost Impact

There are approximately 198

airplanes of the affected design in the

worldwide fleet. The FAA estimates that

144 airplanes of U.S. registry would be

affected by this proposed AD, that it

would take approximately 55 work

hours per airplane to accomplish the

proposed modification, and that the

average labor rate is $60 per work hour.

Required parts would cost

approximately $1,587 per airplane.

Based on these figures, the cost impact

of the proposed AD on U.S. operators is

estimated to be $703,728, or $4,887 per

airplane.

The cost impact figure discussed

above is based on assumptions that no

operator has yet accomplished any of

the proposed requirements of this AD

action, and that no operator would

accomplish those actions in the future if

this proposed AD were not adopted. The

cost impact figures discussed in AD

rulemaking actions represent only the

time necessary to perform the specific

actions actually required by the AD.

These figures typically do not include

incidental costs, such as the time

required to gain access and close up,

planning time, or time necessitated by

other administrative actions.

Regulatory Impact

The regulations proposed herein

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. Therefore,

it is determined that this proposal

would not have federalism implications

under Executive Order 13132.

For the reasons discussed above, I

certify that 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); and (3) if

promulgated, 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. A copy of the draft

regulatory evaluation prepared for this

action is contained in the Rules Docket.

A copy of it may be obtained by

contacting the Rules Docket at the

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 198 / Thursday, October 12, 2000 / Proposed Rules 60595

location provided under the caption

ADDRESSES.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation

safety, Safety.

The Proposed Amendment

Accordingly, pursuant to the

authority delegated to me by the

Administrator, the Federal Aviation

Administration proposes to amend part

39 of the Federal Aviation Regulations

(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. Section 39.13 is amended by

adding the following new airworthiness

directive:

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation: Docket

2000–NM–144–AD.

Applicability: Model G–1159A (G–III)

series airplanes, serial numbers 357 and 402

through 498 inclusive, certificated in any

category.

Note 1: This AD applies to each airplane

identified in the preceding applicability

provision, regardless of whether it has been

modified, altered, or repaired in the area

subject to the requirements of this AD. For

airplanes that have been modified, altered, or

repaired so that the performance of the

requirements of this AD is affected, the

owner/operator must request approval for an

alternative method of compliance in

accordance with paragraph (b) of this AD.

The request should include an assessment of

the effect of the modification, alteration, or

repair on the unsafe condition addressed by

this AD; and, if the unsafe condition has not

been eliminated, the request should include

specific proposed actions to address it.

Compliance: Required as indicated, unless

accomplished previously.

To prevent the flight crew from being

unaware that an electrical system failure has

occurred and that the airplane main batteries

are powering the direct current (DC) essential

bus, accomplish the following:

(a) Within 12 months after the effective

date of this AD, modify the wiring in the

pilot’s and co-pilot’s junction boxes, the

auxiliary power relay box, the power

distribution box, and the master caution

panel, in accordance with Gulfstream

Customer Bulletin No. 149, dated March 23,

1999, and Gulfstream Aircraft Service Change

No. 294, dated February 3, 1999.

Alternative Methods of Compliance

(b) An alternative method of compliance or

adjustment of the compliance time that

provides an acceptable level of safety may be

used if approved by the Manager, Atlanta

Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), FAA.

Operators shall submit their requests through

an appropriate FAA Principal Maintenance

Inspector, who may add comments and then

send it to the Manager, Atlanta ACO.

Note 2: Information concerning the

existence of approved alternative methods of

compliance with this AD, if any, may be

obtained from the Atlanta ACO.

Special Flight Permits

(c) Special flight permits may be issued in

accordance with §§ 21.197 and 21.199 of the

Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 21.197

and 21.199) to operate the airplane to a

location where the requirements of this AD

can be accomplished.

Issued in Renton, Washington, on October

4, 2000.

Donald L. Riggin,

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 00–26094 Filed 10–11–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 2000–NM–181–AD]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Bombardier

Model DHC–7–100, –101, –102, and

–103 Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking

(NPRM).

SUMMARY: This document proposes the

adoption of a new airworthiness

directive (AD) that is applicable to

certain Bombardier Model DHC–7–100,

–101, –102, and –103 series airplanes.

This proposal would require inspecting

the endcaps of the main landing gear

selector valve for leaks of hydraulic oil

and, if leaks are detected, replacing the

leaking endcaps or the entire selector

valve. This proposal would also require

eventual replacement or rework of

certain selector valves, which would

terminate the repetitive inspections.

This action is prompted by a report of

the collapse of the main landing gear

due to an external leak of hydraulic oil

in the landing gear selector valve,

resulting from a fracture of the endcap.

This action is intended to prevent leaks

of hydraulic oil from the main landing

gear selector valve, which could result

in the collapse of the main landing gear.

DATES: Comments must be received by

November 13, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in

triplicate to the Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), Transport

Airplane Directorate, ANM–114,

Attention: Rules Docket No. 2000–NM–

181–AD, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW.,

Renton, Washington 98055–4056.

Comments may be inspected at this

location between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, except Federal

holidays. Comments may be submitted

via fax to (425) 227–1232. Comments

may also be sent via the Internet using

the following address: 9–anm–

nprmcomment@faa.gov. Comments sent

via fax or the Internet must contain

‘‘Docket No. 2000–NM–181–AD’’ in the

subject line and need not be submitted

in triplicate. Comments sent via the

Internet as attached electronic files must

be formatted in Microsoft Word 97 for

Windows or ASCII text.

The service information referenced in

the proposed rule may be obtained from

Bombardier, Inc., Canadair, Aerospace

Group, P.O. Box 6087, Station

Centreville, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3G9,

Canada. This information may be

examined at the FAA, Transport

Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind

Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington; or at

the FAA, New York Aircraft

Certification Office, 10 Fifth Street,

Third Floor, Valley Stream, New York.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James E. Delisio, Aerospace Engineer,

ANE–171, FAA, New York Aircraft

Certification Office, 10 Fifth Street,

Third Floor, Valley Stream, New York

11581; telephone (516) 256–7521; fax

(516) 568–2716.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

Interested persons are invited to

participate in the making of the

proposed rule by submitting such

written data, views, or arguments as

they may desire. Communications shall

identify the Rules Docket number and

be submitted in triplicate to the address

specified above. All communications

received on or before the closing date

for comments, specified above, will be

considered before taking action on the

proposed rule. The proposals contained

in this notice may be changed in light

of the comments received.

Submit comments using the following

format:

• Organize comments issue-by-issue.

For example, discuss a request to

change the compliance time and a

request to change the service bulletin

reference as two separate issues.

• For each issue, state what specific

change to the proposed AD is being

requested.

• Include justification (e.g., reasons or

data) for each request.

Comments are specifically invited on

the overall regulatory, economic,