This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

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new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

857 

Vol. 78, No. 4 

Monday, January 7, 2013 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0774; Directorate 

Identifier 2010–SW–057–AD; Amendment 

39–17302; AD 2012–26–07] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Eurocopter 

France Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for 

Eurocopter France (Eurocopter) Model 

AS350BA helicopters with certain 

AERAZUR emergency flotation gear 

container assemblies installed. This AD 

requires replacing each affected 

emergency flotation gear container 

assembly (container assembly) at 

specified time limits based on the date 

of manufacture. This AD was prompted 

because 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 

actions of this AD are intended to 

prevent failure of the emergency 

container assembly because of age and 

subsequent damage to the helicopter 

and injury to the occupants after an 

emergency water landing. 

DATES: This AD is effective February 11, 

2013. 

ADDRESSES: 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 

the referenced service information at the 

FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, 

Southwest Region, 2601 Meacham 

Blvd., Room 663, Fort Worth, Texas 

76137. 

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 

incorporated-by-reference service 

information, the economic evaluation, 

any comments received, and other 

information. The street address for the 

Docket Operations Office (phone: 800– 

647–5527) is U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations 

Office, M–30, West Building Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

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: 

Discussion 

On July 26, 2012, at 77 FR 43734, the 

Federal Register published our notice of 

proposed rulemaking (NPRM), which 

proposed to amend 14 CFR part 39 to 

include an AD that would apply to 

Eurocopter 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. That NPRM 

proposed to require replacing each 

container assembly at specified time 

limits based on the date of manufacture. 

The proposed requirements were 

intended to prevent failure of the 

emergency container assembly because 

of age and subsequent damage to the 

helicopter and injury to the occupants 

after an emergency water landing. 

The European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Union, issued EASA 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 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.’’ 

Comments 

We gave the public the opportunity to 

participate in developing this AD, but 

we received no comments on the NPRM 

(77 FR 43734, July 26, 2012). 

FAA’s Determination 

These helicopters have been approved 

by the aviation authority of France and 

are approved for operation in the United 

States. Pursuant to our bilateral 

agreement with France, 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 and that air 

safety and the public interest require 

adopting the AD requirements as 

proposed. 

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. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this AD will affect 

85 helicopters of U.S. registry. We 

estimate that operators may incur the 

following costs to comply with this AD. 

• It will 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. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with 
858 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 4 / Monday, January 7, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

• Required parts will 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 AD’s total cost impact 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 

helicopters identified in this rulemaking 

action. 

Regulatory Findings 

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 above, 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): 

2012–26–07 Eurocopter France Helicopters: 

Amendment 39–17302; 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 because of 

age. This condition could result in damage to 

the helicopter and injury to the occupants 

after an emergency water landing. 

(c) Effective Date 

This AD becomes effective February 11, 

2013. 

(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. 

(e) 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. 

(f) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, Aviation Safety Group, 

FAA, may approve AMOCs for this AD. Send 

your proposal to: Gary Roach, Aviation 

Safety Engineer, Regulations and Policy 

Group, Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 2601 

Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76137; 

telephone (817) 222–5110; 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. 

(g) 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 (EASA) AD No. 

2008–0189, dated October 10, 2008. 

(h) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 3212 Emergency Flotation Section. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on December 

20, 2012. 

Kim Smith, 

Directorate Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–31584 Filed 1–4–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING 

COMMISSION 

17 CFR Chapter I 

RIN 3038–AD85 

Final Exemptive Order Regarding 

Compliance With Certain Swap 

Regulations 

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final order. 

SUMMARY: On July 12, 2012, the 

Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’ or 

‘‘CFTC’’) published for public comment, 

pursuant to section 4(c) of the 

Commodity Exchange Act (‘‘CEA’’), a 

proposed order (‘‘Proposed Order’’) that 


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