70360 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 227 / Monday, November 26, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

(h) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, Seattle Aircraft 

Certification Office (ACO), FAA, has the 

authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if 

requested using the procedures found in 14 

CFR 39.19. In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, 

send your request to your principal inspector 

or local Flight Standards District Office, as 

appropriate. If sending information directly 

to the manager of the ACO, send it to the 

attention of the person identified in the 

Related Information section of this AD. 

Information may be emailed to: 9–ANM– 

Seattle–ACO–AMOC–Requests@faa.gov. 

(2) Before using any approved AMOC, 

notify your appropriate principal inspector, 

or lacking a principal inspector, the manager 

of the local flight standards district office/ 

certificate holding district office. 

(3) AMOCs approved previously in 

accordance with AD 2008–08–24, 

Amendment 39–15478 (73 FR 21242, April 

21, 2008), are not approved as AMOCs with 

this AD. 

(i) Related Information 

For more information about this AD, 

contact Ansel James, Aerospace Engineer, 

Propulsion Branch, ANM–140S, FAA, Seattle 

Aircraft Certification Office, 1601 Lind 

Avenue SW., Renton, WA 98057–3356; 

phone: 425–917–6497; fax: 425–917–6590; 

email: ansel.james@faa.gov. 

(j) 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) Boeing Special Attention Service 

Bulletin 737–54–1043, Revision 2, dated 

November 4, 2011. 

(ii) Reserved. 

(3) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Boeing Commercial 

Airplanes, Attention: Data & Services 

Management, P. O. Box 3707, MC 2H–65, 

Seattle, WA 98124–2207; telephone 206– 

544–5000, extension 1; fax 206–766–5680; 

Internet https://www.myboeingfleet.com. 

(4) You may view this service information 

at FAA, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., 

Renton, WA. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, call 

425–227–1221. 

(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 Renton, Washington, on 

November 9, 2012. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–28029 Filed 11–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0339; Directorate 

Identifier 2011–SW–051–AD; Amendment 

39–17259; AD 2012–23–03] 

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 all 

Eurocopter France (Eurocopter) Model 

SA.315B Alouette III, SE.3160 Alouette 

III, SA.316B Alouette III, SA.316C 

Alouette III, SA.319B Alouette III, SA 

3180–ALOUETTE ASTAZOU, SA 

318B–ALOUETTE ASTAZOU, and SA 

318 C–ALOUETTE ASTAZOU 

helicopters. This AD requires inspecting 

the cage of the free-wheel assembly for 

the correct alignment of the roller drive 

pocket recesses and replacing the freewheel cage with an airworthy freewheel cage if a defect exists. This AD 

was prompted by incorrect positioning 

of the roller drive pocket recesses on the 

tail rotor drive shaft free-wheel cage, 

which caused a pilot to experience a 

heavy jerk in the yaw control during inflight autorotation training. The 

requirements of this AD are intended to 

prevent a loss of tail rotor drive and 

subsequent loss of control of the 

helicopter. 

DATES: This AD is effective December 

31, 2012. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of certain documents listed in this AD 

as of December 31, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: 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 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: Rao 

Edupuganti, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, 

Rotorcraft Directorate, Regulations and 

Policy Group, 2601 Meacham Blvd., 

Fort Worth, Texas 76137, telephone 

(817) 222–5110, email 

rao.edupuganti@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

On March 29, 2012, at 77 FR 18967, 

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 SA.315B Alouette 

III, SE.3160 Alouette III, SA.316B 

Alouette III, SA.316C Alouette III, 

SA.319B Alouette III, SA 3180– 

ALOUETTE ASTAZOU, SA 318B– 

ALOUETTE ASTAZOU, and SA 318C– 

ALOUETTE ASTAZOU helicopters. 

That NPRM proposed to require 

inspecting the cage of the free-wheel 

assembly for the correct alignment of 

the roller drive pocket recesses and 

replacing the free-wheel cage with an 

airworthy free-wheel cage if a defect 

exists. The proposed requirements were 

intended to prevent a loss of tail rotor 

drive and subsequent loss of control of 

the helicopter. 

The European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Union, has issued EASA AD No. 2011– 

0143, dated July 26, 2011 (AD 2011– 

0143), to correct an unsafe condition for 

Eurocopter helicopters. EASA advises 

that during in-flight autorotation 

training, a pilot experienced a heavy 

jerk in the yaw control at the time of 

resynchronization. The free-wheel 

assembly of the helicopter had been 

replaced shortly before this flight. 

Internal inspection of the free-wheel 

assembly revealed incorrect positioning 

of the roller drive pocket recesses on the 

free-wheel cage. The subsequent offmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 227 / Monday, November 26, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 70361 

setting restricts the travel of the roller 

on its ramp and can cause, under high 

torque conditions, free-wheel slippage. 

This condition, if not corrected, could 

result in a temporary loss of rotor drive, 

jeopardizing flight safety, especially in 

phases of flight close to the ground. 

Comments 

We gave the public the opportunity to 

participate in developing this AD, but 

we did not receive any comments on the 

NPRM (77 FR 18967, March 29, 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 the 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. 

Differences Between This AD and the 

EASA AD 

The EASA AD requires compliance 

within 110 flight hours or 5 months, 

whichever occurs first. This AD does 

not impose a calendar time requirement. 

Related Service Information 

Eurocopter has issued Alert Service 

Bulletin (ASB) No. Alouette-65.149, 

Revision 0, dated March 23, 2011, for 

model 3130, 313B, 3180, 318B, 318C, 

3160, 316B, 316C, 319C and 319B 

helicopters; and ASB No. SA315–65.48, 

Revision 0, dated March 23, 2011, for 

model 315B helicopters, which specify 

removing and disassembling the freewheel assembly to check the free-wheel 

cage for correct positioning. EASA 

classified these ASBs as mandatory and 

issued AD 2011–0143 to ensure the 

continued airworthiness of these 

helicopters. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this AD will affect 

63 helicopters of U.S. Registry and that 

operators may incur the following costs 

to comply with this AD. 

• Inspecting the free-wheel cage 

assembly will require 8 work-hours at 

an average labor rate of $85 per hour, 

and required parts will cost $13, for a 

total cost per helicopter of $693, and a 

total cost to the U.S. operator fleet of 

$43,659. 

• Modifying any affected free-wheel 

cage assembly will require 8 work hours 

and required parts will cost $1,986, for 

a total cost per helicopter of $2,666. 

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): 

2012–23–03 Eurocopter France Helicopters: 

Amendment 39–17259; Docket No. 

FAA–2012–0339; Directorate Identifier 

2011–SW–051–AD. 

(a) Applicability 

This AD applies to Model SA.315B 

Alouette III, SE.3160 Alouette III, SA.316B 

Alouette III, SA.316C Alouette III, SA.319B 

Alouette III, SA 3180–ALOUETTE 

ASTAZOU, SA 318B–ALOUETTE 

ASTAZOU, and SA 318 C–ALOUETTE 

ASTAZOU helicopters with a free-wheel 

cage, part number (P/N) 3130S60–10–003 

installed, certificated in any category. 

(b) Unsafe Condition 

This AD defines the unsafe condition as 

incorrect positioning of the roller drive 

pocket recesses on the cage of the tail-rotor 

driveshaft free-wheel assembly. This 

condition could result in loss of tail rotor 

drive and subsequent loss of control of the 

helicopter. 

(c) Effective Date 

This AD becomes effective December 31, 

2012. 

(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 

Within 110 hours time-in-service: 

(1) Remove the free-wheel assembly and 

pull out the free-wheel driven head. 

(2) Inspect the free-wheel cage for correct 

alignment of the roller drive pocket recesses 

in accordance with Figure 2 of Eurocopter 

Alert Service Bulletin (ASB) No. SA315– 

65.48, Revision 0, or Eurocopter ASB No. 

ALOUETTE–65.149, Revision 0, both dated 

March 23, 2011, as appropriate for your 

model helicopter. 

(3) If the right edge of the tab is in line with 

the right edge of the pocket recess, before 

further flight, replace the free-wheel cage 

with an airworthy free-wheel cage. 

(4) Do not install an affected free-wheel 

assembly on any helicopter, unless the cage 

has passed inspection in accordance with 

paragraph (e)(2) through (e)(3) of this AD. 

(f) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, Safety Management 

Group, FAA, may approve AMOCs for this 

AD. Send your proposal to: Rao Edupuganti, 

Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Rotorcraft 

Directorate, Regulations and Policy Group, 

2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 

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70362 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 227 / Monday, November 26, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

76137, telephone (817) 222–5110, email 

rao.edupuganti@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 

The subject of this AD is addressed in 

European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 

No. 2011–0143, dated July 26, 2011. 

(h) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Code: 6700: Tail Rotor Drive System. 

(i) Material Incorporated by Reference 

(1) The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

(IBR) of the following service information 

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) Eurocopter Alert Service Bulletin (ASB) 

No. SA315–65.48, Revision 0, dated March 

23, 2011. 

(ii) Eurocopter ASB No. ALOUETTE–65– 

149, Revision 0, dated March 23, 2011. 

(3) For Eurocopter 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. 

(4) You may view this service information 

at the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, 

Southwest Region, 2601 Meacham Blvd., 

Room 663, Fort Worth, Texas 76137. 

(5) You may also view this service 

information 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/ibr-locations.html. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on November 

5, 2012. 

Kim Smith, 

Directorate Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–28033 Filed 11–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2009–0794; Directorate 

Identifier 2009–NM–035–AD; Amendment 

39–17239; AD 2012–22–03] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing 

Company Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for all The 

Boeing Company Model 747–100, 747– 

100B, 747–100B SUD, 747–200B, 747– 

200C, 747–200F, 747–300, 747–400, 

747–400D, 747–400F, 747SR, and 747SP 

series airplanes. This AD was prompted 

by reports of cracks in the main entry 

door number 1 upper main sill outer 

chord, along the bend radius of the 

chord on several airplanes. This AD 

requires a general visual inspection to 

identify any existing structural repair 

manual (SRM) repairs of the upper main 

sill outer chord of the left and right side 

main entry door number 1, repetitive 

detailed inspections for cracks in the 

upper main sill of the door(s); and 

related investigative and corrective 

actions, if necessary. This AD also 

requires repetitive inspections for 

airplanes on which a certain repair is 

done, and corrective actions if 

necessary, and reduces certain 

compliance times. We are issuing this 

AD to detect and correct cracks in the 

main entry door number 1 upper main 

sill outer chord, along the bend radius 

of the chord, which could result in loss 

of structural integrity of the airplane. 

DATES: This AD is effective December 

31, 2012. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of certain publications listed in the AD 

as of December 31, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: For service information 

identified in this AD, contact Boeing 

Commercial Airplanes, Attention: Data 

& Services Management, P.O. Box 3707, 

MC 2H–65, Seattle, Washington 98124– 

2207; telephone 206–544–5000, 

extension 1; fax 206–766–5680; Internet 

https://www.myboeingfleet.com. You 

may review copies of the referenced 

service information at the FAA, 

Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 

Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington. 

For information on the availability of 

this material at the FAA, call 425–227– 

1221. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http://www.regulations.

gov; or in person at the Docket 

Management Facility between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. The AD docket 

contains this AD, the regulatory 

evaluation, any comments received, and 

other information. The address for the 

Docket Office (phone: 800–647–5527) is 

Document Management Facility, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ivan 

Li, Aerospace Engineer, Airframe 

Branch, ANM–120S, FAA, Seattle 

Aircraft Certification Office, 1601 Lind 

Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 

98057–3356; phone: (425) 917–6437; 

fax: (425) 917–6590; email: ivan.li@faa.

gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

We issued a supplemental notice of 

proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) to 

amend 14 CFR part 39 to include an 

airworthiness directive (AD) that would 

apply to the specified products. That 

supplemental NPRM published in the 

Federal Register on December 29, 2011 

(76 FR 81879). The original NPRM (74 

FR 49351, September 28, 2009) 

proposed to require a general visual 

inspection to identify any existing SRM 

repairs of the upper main sill outer 

chord of the left and right side main 

entry door number 1, as applicable; 

repetitive detailed inspections for cracks 

in the upper main sill of the door(s); and 

related investigative and corrective 

actions, if necessary. The original NPRM 

also proposed to require repetitive 

inspections for airplanes on which a 

certain repair is done, and corrective 

actions if necessary The supplemental 

NPRM proposed to revise the original 

NPRM by reducing certain compliance 

times. 

Comments 

We gave the public the opportunity to 

participate in developing this AD. The 

following presents the comments 

received on the proposal (76 FR 81879, 

December 29, 2011) and the FAA’s 

response to each comment. 

Request To Repair Crack by Using SRM 

Boeing requested that we revise 

paragraph (k) of the supplemental 

NPRM (76 FR 81879, December 29, 

2011) to allow, for repair of any crack 

found during any inspection specified 

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