This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

20931 

Vol. 75, No. 77 

Thursday, April 22, 2010 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2010–0426; Directorate 

Identifier 2009–SW–34–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Eurocopter 

France (ECF) Model SA–365N1, AS– 

365N2, AS 365 N3, EC 155B, and 

EC155B1 Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for the 

specified ECF model helicopters. This 

proposed AD results from a mandatory 

continuing airworthiness information 

(MCAI) AD issued by the European 

Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which 

is the Technical Agent for the Member 

States of the European Community. The 

MCAI AD reports the separation and 

loss of a stainless steel ring (75 

millimeter (mm) in diameter) from a tail 

rotor blade (blade) sleeve resulting in 

severe, high-frequency vibrations, 

which can lead to damage to the 

fenestron blades, loss of yaw control, 

and subsequent loss of control of the 

helicopter. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by May 24, 2010. 

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. 

You may get the service information 

identified in this proposed AD from 

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. 

Examining the 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 stated in the 

ADDRESSES section of this proposal. 

Comments will be available in the AD 

docket shortly after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

DOT/FAA Southwest Region, Gary 

Roach, ASW–111, Aviation Safety 

Engineer, Rotorcraft Directorate, 

Regulations and Guidance Group, 2601 

Meacham Blvd, Fort Worth, Texas 

76137, telephone (817) 222–5130, fax 

(817) 222–5961. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to send any written 

data, views, or arguments about this 

proposed AD. Send your comments to 

an address listed in the ADDRESSES

section of this proposal. Include ‘‘Docket 

No. FAA–2010–0426; Directorate 

Identifier 2009–SW–34–AD’’ at the 

beginning of your comments. We 

specifically invite comments on the 

overall regulatory, economic, 

environmental, and energy aspects of 

this proposed AD. We will consider all 

comments received by the closing date 

and may amend this proposed AD based 

on those comments. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. We 

will also post a report summarizing each 

substantive verbal contact we receive 

about this proposed AD. 

Discussion 

The EASA, which is the Technical 

Agent for the Member States of the 

European Community, has issued EASA 

AD No. 2006–0099, dated April 24, 

2006, to correct an unsafe condition for 

the specified ECF model helicopters. 

EASA issued an AD following a case of 

separation and loss of a stainless steel 

ring (75 mm in diameter) from a blade 

sleeve resulting in severe, highfrequency vibrations, which can lead to 

damage to the fenestron blades, loss of 

yaw control, and subsequent loss of 

control of the helicopter. 

You may obtain further information 

by examining the MCAI AD and any 

related service information in the AD 

docket. 

Related Service Information 

Eurocopter has issued Alert Service 

Bulletin No. 05A011 for the Model EC 

155B and B1 helicopters and No. 

05.00.49 for the Model SA–365N1, AS– 

365N2, and AS 365 N3 helicopters. Both 

service bulletins are dated March 1, 

2006. The service information specifies 

checking the blade sleeve for slippage of 

the stainless steel ring (75 mm in 

diameter) and replacing the blade if the 

stainless steel ring has slipped. The 

actions described in the MCAI AD are 

intended to correct the unsafe condition 

identified in the service information. 

FAA’s Evaluation and Unsafe Condition 

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, their 

Technical Agent, has notified us of the 

unsafe condition described in the MCAI 

AD. We are proposing 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. This proposed AD 

would require: 

• For the Model SA–365N1, AS– 

365N2, and AS 365 N3 helicopters, 

within 50 hours time-in-service (TIS), 

unless done previously, and thereafter 

at intervals not to exceed 10 hours TIS, 

inspect each blade of the fenestron tail 

rotor to determine whether there has 

been any outward slippage (toward the 

shroud) of the stainless steel ring that is 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
20932 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 77 / Thursday, April 22, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

around the sleeve of each blade where 

the blade enters the fenestron hub. 

• For the Model EC 155B or B1 

helicopters, within 50 hours time-inservice (TIS), unless done previously, 

and thereafter at intervals not to exceed 

15 hours TIS, inspect each blade for 

slippage of the fenestron tail rotor to 

determine whether there has been any 

outward slippage (toward the shroud) of 

the stainless steel ring that is around the 

sleeve of each blade where the blade 

enters the fenestron hub. 

• If the stainless steel ring has slipped 

outward, before further flight, replace 

the blade with an airworthy blade. 

Differences Between This AD and the 

MCAI AD 

We refer to flying hours as hours timein-service. Also, we use ‘‘inspect’’ rather 

than ‘‘check’’ to describe the actions 

required by this AD. We use a different 

initial compliance time. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this proposed AD 

would affect about 33 helicopters of 

U.S. registry. We also estimate that it 

would take about 15 minutes per 

helicopter to inspect for slippage of the 

stainless steel ring of the blade sleeve. 

The average labor rate is $80 per workhour. Based on these figures, we 

estimate the cost of the proposed AD on 

U.S. operators would be $660 assuming 

none of the blades would have to be 

replaced. 

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 

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. 

Therefore, I certify this proposed AD: 

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. 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 AD: 

Eurocopter France: Docket No. FAA–2010– 

0426; Directorate Identifier 2009–SW– 

34–AD. 

Comments Due Date 

(a) We must receive your comments by 

May 24, 2010. 

Other Affected ADs 

(b) None. 

Applicability 

(c) This AD applies to Model SA–365N1, 

AS–365N2, AS 365 N3, EC 155B, and 

EC155B1 helicopters, with a fenestron tail 

rotor blade (blade), part number 365A12– 

0060–01 or 365A12–0070–00, installed, 

certificated in any category. 

Reason 

(d) The mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information (MCAI) AD reports 

the separation and loss of a stainless steel 

ring (75 mm in diameter) from a blade sleeve 

resulting in severe, high-frequency 

vibrations, which can lead to damage to the 

fenestron blades, loss of yaw control, and 

subsequent loss of control of the helicopter. 

Actions and Compliance 

(e) Required as indicated: 

(1) For the Model SA–365N1, AS–365N2, 

and AS 365 N3 helicopters, within 50 hours 

time-in-service (TIS), unless done previously, 

and thereafter at intervals not to exceed 10 

hours TIS, inspect each blade of the fenestron 

tail rotor to determine whether there has 

been any outward slippage (toward the 

shroud) of the stainless steel ring that is 

around the sleeve of each blade where the 

blade enters the fenestron hub as depicted in 

Appendix 1 and by following the 

Accomplishment Instructions, paragraph 

2.B.1., of Eurocopter Alert Service Bulletin 

No. 05.00.49, dated March 1, 2006. 

(2) For the Model EC 155B or B1 

helicopters, within 50 hours time-in-service 

(TIS), unless done previously, and thereafter 

at intervals not to exceed 15 hours TIS, 

inspect each blade of the fenestron tail rotor 

to determine whether there has been any 

outward slippage (toward the shroud) of the 

stainless steel ring that is around the sleeve 

of each blade where the blade enters the 

fenestron hub as depicted in Appendix 1 and 

by following paragraph 2.B.1., of Eurocopter 

Alert Service Bulletin No. 05A011, dated 

March 1, 2006. 

(3) If the stainless steel ring has slipped 

outward, before further flight, replace the 

blade with an airworthy blade. 

Differences Between This AD and the MCAI 

AD 

(f) We refer to flying hours as hours timein-service. Also, we use ‘‘inspect’’ rather than 

‘‘check’’ to describe the action to be taken in 

the AD. We use a different initial compliance 

time. 

Other Information 

(g) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, Rotorcraft 

Directorate, Safety Management Group, Attn: 

DOT/FAA Southwest Region, Gary Roach, 

ASW–111, Aviation Safety Engineer, 

Regulations and Guidance Group, 2601 

Meacham Blvd, Fort Worth, Texas 76137, 

telephone (817) 222–5130, fax (817) 222– 

5961, has the authority to approve AMOCs 

for this AD, if requested using the procedures 

found in 14 CFR 39.19. 

Related Information 

(h) European Aviation Safety Agency 

MCAI Airworthiness Directive No. 2006– 

0099, dated April 24, 2006, contains related 

information. 

Joint Aircraft System/Component (JASC) 

Code 

(i) The JASC Code is 6400: Tail Rotor. 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 14, 

2010. 

Mark R. Schilling, 

Acting Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–9292 Filed 4–21–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS