30232 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 22, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

(2) For operations conducted under 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 Deutschland GmbH Alert 

Service Bulletin MBB–BK117 C–2–24A–010 

Revision 2, dated September 14, 2011, which 

is not incorporated by reference, contains 

additional information about the subject of 

this AD. 

(2) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact American Eurocopter 

Corporation, 2701 N. Forum Drive, Grand 

Prairie, TX 75052, telephone (972) 641–0000 

or (800) 232–0323, fax (972) 641–3775, or at 

http://www.eurocopter.com/techpub. 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. 

(3) The subject of this AD is addressed in 

European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 

No.: 2011–0149R1, dated September 30, 

2011. 

(g) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 2436: DC Generator Control Unit. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 10, 

2012. 

Kim Smith, 

Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–12349 Filed 5–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0530; Directorate 

Identifier 2011–SW–075–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Bell 

Helicopter Textron Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for Bell 

Helicopter Textron (BHT) Model 412, 

412EP, and 412CF helicopters. This 

proposed AD is prompted by a reported 

failure of a collective lever. These 

proposed actions are intended to detect 

a crack in the collective lever, which 

could lead to failure of the collective 

lever and subsequent loss of control of 

the helicopter. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by July 23, 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 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 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 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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Martin Crane, Aerospace Engineer, 

FAA, Rotorcraft Certification Office, 

Rotorcraft Directorate, 2601 Meacham 

Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76137, 

telephone (817) 222–5170, email 

martin.r.crane@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 

BHT has received a report of a 

fractured collective lever part number 

(P/N) 412–010–408–101. Their 

investigation revealed that residual 

stresses induced during manufacturing 

may have contributed to the fatigue 

fracture of the collective lever. This 

condition, if not corrected, could lead to 

failure of the collective lever, and 

subsequent loss of control of the 

helicopter. 

FAA’s Determination 

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 

We reviewed BHT ASB 412–11–148 

and ASB 412CF–11–47, which describe 

procedures for repetitively inspecting 

the collective control with a magnifying 

glass and a strong light source and, if 

necessary, a fluorescent penetrant 

inspection. If there is a crack, the ASBs 

require replacing the collective lever. 

Proposed AD Requirements 

This proposed AD requires, within 25 

hours time-in-service (TIS), cleaning the 

collective lever and inspecting it for 

cracks with a 10X or higher power 

magnifying glass. If there is a crack in 

the collective lever paint finish, this 

proposed AD requires removing the 

collective lever from the swashplate and 

performing a fluorescent penetrant 

inspection. If there is a crack in the 

collective lever, this proposed AD 

requires replacing the collective lever 

with an airworthy collective lever before 

further flight. Additionally, this AD 

requires repeating this inspection every 

100 hours time-in-service (TIS). 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 22, 2012 / Proposed Rules 30233 

Differences Between This Proposed AD 

and the Service Information 

The BHT ASBs require compliance 

within 100 hours of flight time for the 

initial inspection; the proposed AD 

requires compliance within 25 hours 

TIS. If a crack is found, the BHT ASBs 

require reporting the defect to Bell 

Product Support Engineering; the 

proposed AD does not. The BHT ASBs 

allow a portion of the collective lever to 

be inspected by a mirror and light only 

without a magnifying glass; the 

proposed AD does not. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this proposed AD 

will affect 83 helicopters of U.S. 

Registry. We estimate that operators 

may incur the following costs in order 

to comply with this proposed AD. 

Inspecting the collective lever requires 

one work-hour at an average labor rate 

of $85 per hour, for a cost per helicopter 

of $85 and a total cost to the U.S. 

operator fleet of $7,055 per inspection 

cycle. Replacing a cracked collective 

lever requires 10 work-hours at an 

average labor rate of $85 per hour and 

required parts will cost $12,883, for a 

total cost of $13,733 per helicopter. 

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. The FAA amends § 39.13 by adding 

the following new airworthiness 

directive (AD): 

Bell Helicopter Textron: Docket No. FAA– 

2012–0530; Directorate Identifier 2011– 

SW–075–AD. 

(a) Applicability 

This AD applies to Model 412 and 412EP 

helicopters, serial numbers (S/N) 33001 

through 33213, 34001 through 34036, and 

36001 and higher; and Model 412CF 

helicopters, S/N 46400 and higher; with a 

collective lever part number (P/N) 412–010– 

408–101 installed, certificated in any 

category. 

(b) Unsafe Condition 

This AD defines the unsafe condition as a 

cracked collective lever, which could result 

in failure of the collective lever and 

subsequent loss of control of the helicopter. 

(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 

Within 25 hours time-in-service (TIS) or 30 

days, whichever occurs first, and thereafter at 

intervals not to exceed 100 hours TIS: 

(1) Using cleaning compound (C–318) or 

equivalent, thoroughly clean the collective 

lever. 

(2) Using a 10X or higher power 

magnifying glass, inspect the collective lever 

in the areas shown in Figure 1 of Bell 

Helicopter Textron Alert Service Bulletin 

(ASB) 412–11–148, Revision A, dated 

December 12, 2011 or Bell Helicopter 

Textron ASB 412CF–11–47, Revision A, 

dated December 12, 2011, as appropriate for 

your model helicopter. 

(3) If there is a crack in the paint, remove 

the collective lever from the swashplate 

assembly. 

(i) Remove paint and primer from the area 

around the crack. 

(ii) Fluorescent penetrant inspect the area 

of the crack. 

(4) If there is a crack in the collective lever, 

before further flight, replace the collective 

lever with an airworthy collective lever. 

(e) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOC) 

(1) The Manager, Rotorcraft Certification 

Office, FAA, may approve AMOCs for this 

AD. Send your proposal to: Martin Crane, 

Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Rotorcraft 

Certification Office, Rotorcraft Directorate, 

2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 

76137, telephone (817) 222–5170, email 

martin.r.crane@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 

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 a copy of information 

at the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, 

Southwest Region, 2601 Meacham Blvd., 

Room 663, Fort Worth, Texas 76137. 

(g) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 6230: Main Rotor Mast/Swashplate. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 10, 

2012. 

Kim Smith, 

Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–12350 Filed 5–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 


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