43734 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 144 / Thursday, July 26, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

Appendix A to Subpart B of Part 1730— 

Review Rating Summary, RUS Form 

300 

* * * * * 

13. * * * 

f. Energy Efficiency and Conservation 

Program quality assurance compliance— 

Rating:ll 

* * * * * 

Dated: July 16, 2012. 

Jonathan Adelstein, 

Administrator, Rural Utilities Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–17784 Filed 7–25–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0774; Directorate 

Identifier 2010–SW–057–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Eurocopter 

France Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for 

Eurocopter France (Eurocopter) Model 

AS350BA helicopters with certain 

AERAZUR emergency flotation gear 

container assemblies installed. This 

proposed AD would require replacing 

each affected emergency flotation gear 

container assembly (container assembly) 

at specified time limits based on the 

date of manufacture. This proposed AD 

is prompted by a recognition that 

container assemblies with an intended 

operating limitation of 10 years may not 

have been replaced because the limit is 

no longer recorded in the Maintenance 

Program. The proposed actions are 

intended to prevent failure of the 

emergency container assembly due to 

age and subsequent damage to the 

helicopter and injury to the occupants 

after an emergency water landing. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by September 24, 

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. 

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 proposed 

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 proposed AD, contact American 

Eurocopter Corporation, 2701 Forum 

Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75053–4005, 

telephone (800) 232–0323, fax (972) 

641–3710, or at http:// 

www.eurocopter.com. You may review a 

copy of the 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: Gary 

Roach, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 

Rotorcraft Directorate, Regulations and 

Policy Group, 2601 Meacham Blvd., 

Fort Worth, Texas 76137, telephone 

(817) 222–5130, fax (817) 222–5961, 

email gary.b.roach@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Comments Invited 

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 might result 

from adopting the proposals in this 

document. The most helpful comments 

reference a specific portion of the 

proposal, 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 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 proposed rulemaking. 

Before acting on this proposal, we will 

consider all comments we receive on or 

before the closing date for comments. 

We will consider comments filed after 

the comment period has closed if it is 

possible to do so without incurring 

expense or delay. We may change this 

proposal in light of the comments we 

receive. 

Discussion 

The European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Union, has issued AD No. 2008–0189, 

dated October 10, 2008, to correct an 

unsafe condition for the Eurocopter 

Model AS350BA helicopters with 

certain AERAZUR emergency flotation 

gear installed. EASA advises that the 

container assemblies have an operating 

life limit of 10 years from the date of 

manufacture. The EASA AD states that 

‘‘as of June 2006, this limit is no longer 

recorded in the Maintenance Program; 

therefore, after June 2006, container 

assemblies having already exceeded the 

10-year limit could have not been 

replaced yet.’’ The EASA AD also states 

that ‘‘floating performance of a 

helicopter may prove to be insufficient 

in the event of ditching, in case of 

failure of a container assembly being 

operated beyond its operating time 

limit.’’ 

FAA’s Determination 

This helicopter model is 

manufactured in France and is type 

certificated for operation in the United 

States under the provisions of 14 CFR 

21.29 and the applicable bilateral 

agreement. Pursuant to the applicable 

bilateral agreement, EASA has kept the 

FAA informed of the situation described 

above. 

We are proposing this AD because we 

evaluated all known relevant 

information and determined that an 

unsafe condition is likely to exist or 

develop on other products of the same 

type design. 

Related Service Information 

Eurocopter has issued Alert Service 

Bulletin No. 25.01.02, dated September 

24, 2008 (EASB), which specifies certain 

times measured from the date of 

manufacture to replace the container 

assemblies. EASA classified this EASB 

as mandatory and issued AD No. 2008– 

0189, dated October 10, 2008, to ensure 

the continued airworthiness of these 

helicopters. 

Proposed AD Requirements 

This proposed AD would require 

determining the manufacturing date of 

each part-numbered container assembly, 

and depending on the date, replacing 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 144 / Thursday, July 26, 2012 / Proposed Rules 43735 

the container assembly with an 

airworthy container assembly at 

specified times. 

Differences Between This Proposed AD 

and the EASA AD 

We do not allow return of the 

container assemblies to the 

manufacturer for an inspection and 

extension of the life limit. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this proposed AD 

would affect 85 helicopters of U.S. 

registry. We estimate that operators may 

incur the following costs in order to 

comply with this AD. 

• It would take minimal time to 

determine the manufacturing date of the 

container and about 1⁄2 work hour per 

helicopter to replace the container 

assemblies at an average labor rate of 

$85 per work hour. 

• Required parts would cost about 

$21,775 for the left container assembly 

and $26,690 for the right container 

assembly per helicopter. 

Based on these figures, we estimate 

the total cost impact of the proposed AD 

on U.S. operators to be $485,075, 

assuming 10 helicopters require 

replacement of the right and left 

container assemblies. 

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, 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 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 proposed 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. 

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. Section 39.13 is amended by 

adding the following new airworthiness 

directive (AD): 

Eurocopter France: Docket No. FAA–2012– 

0774; Directorate Identifier 2010–SW– 

057–AD. 

(a) Applicability 

This AD applies to Model AS350BA 

helicopters with AERAZUR left-hand 

emergency flotation gear container assembly 

(container assembly), part number (P/N) 

158170 or 158210–1, or right-hand container 

assembly, P/N 158171 or 158215–1, installed, 

certificated in any category. 

(b) Unsafe Condition 

This AD defines the unsafe condition as 

failure of the container assembly due to age 

and subsequent damage to the helicopter. 

This condition could result in injury to the 

occupants after an emergency water landing. 

(c) 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. 

(d) Required Actions 

(1) Determine the manufacturing date of 

each part-numbered container assembly 

stamped on the cover of the identification 

plate. 

(2) Replace each container assembly with 

an airworthy container assembly as follows: 

(i) For a container assembly with a date of 

manufacture 12 or more years before the 

effective date of this AD, replace within 30 

days. 

(ii) For a container assembly with a date of 

manufacture 10 or more years and less than 

12 years before the effective date of this AD, 

replace within 60 days. 

(iii) For a container assembly with a date 

of manufacture 9 or more years and less than 

10 years before the effective date of this AD, 

replace before reaching 10 years and 60 days. 

(iv) For a container assembly with a date 

of manufacture less than 9 years before the 

effective date of this AD, replace before 

reaching 10 years. 

(e) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, Safety Management 

Group, FAA, may approve AMOCs for this 

AD. Send your proposal to: Gary Roach, 2601 

Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76137; 

telephone: 817–222–5130, fax: 817–222– 

5961, email gary.b.roach@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 

certificate holding district office before 

operating any aircraft complying with this 

AD through an AMOC. 

(f) Additional Information 

(1) Eurocopter Alert Service Bulletin No. 

25.01.02, dated September 24, 2008, which is 

not incorporated by reference, contains 

additional information about the subject of 

this AD. For service information identified in 

this AD, contact American Eurocopter 

Corporation, 2701 Forum Drive, Grand 

Prairie, TX 75053–4005, telephone (800) 

232–0323, fax (972) 641–3710, or at http:// 

www.eurocopter.com. You may review a 

copy of the 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 

European Aviation Safety Agency AD No. 

2008–0189, dated October 10, 2008. 

(g) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 3212 Emergency Flotation Section. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 18, 

2012. 

Kim Smith, 

Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–18253 Filed 7–25–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 


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