17206 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 59 / Monday, March 28, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

prevent structural failure of an elevator, 

which could lead to loss of glider control. 

(f) Compliance 

Comply with this AD within the 

compliance times specified, unless already 

done. 

(g) Actions 

Within 30 days after the effective date of 

this AD and thereafter at intervals not to 

exceed 12 months or 500 flight cycles, 

whichever occurs first, inspect the glue joint 

between elevator rib number 1 and the 

plywood skin for damage by following 

section 3 of Alexander Schleicher GmbH & 

Co. Segelflugzeugbau Appendix 01–2021, 

Flight and Operating Manual, dated March 1, 

2021. For purposes of this AD, a flight cycle 

would be counted anytime the glider 

launches and then lands. If there is any 

damage on the glue joint, repair before 

further flight. 

(h) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, International Validation 

Branch, 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 International Validation 

Branch, send it to the attention of the person 

identified in paragraph (i)(1) of this AD and 

email to: 9-AVS-AIR-730-AMOC@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. 

(i) Related Information 

(1) For more information about this AD, 

contact Jim Rutherford, Aviation Safety 

Engineer, General Aviation & Rotorcraft 

Section, International Validation Branch, 

FAA, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, 

MO 64106; phone: (816) 329–4165; email: 

jim.rutherford@faa.gov. 

(2) Refer to European Union Aviation 

Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2021–0230, dated 

October 14, 2021, for related information. 

You may examine the EASA AD in the AD 

docket at https://www.regulations.gov by 

searching for and locating Docket No. FAA– 

2022–0293. 

(3) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Alexander Schleicher GmbH 

& Co. Segelflugzeugbau, AlexanderSchleicher-Str. 1, Poppenhausen, Germany 

D–36163; phone: +49 (0) 06658 89–0; email: 

info@alexander-schleicher.de; website: 

https://www.alexander-schleicher.de. You 

may view this service information at the 

FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, 

Operational Safety Branch, 901 Locust, 

Kansas City, MO 64106. For information on 

the availability of this material at the FAA, 

call (817) 222–5110. 

Issued on March 22, 2022. 

Lance T. Gant, 

Director, Compliance & Airworthiness 

Division, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–06390 Filed 3–25–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2022–0297; Project 

Identifier MCAI–2021–01099–R] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus 

Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a 

new airworthiness directive (AD) for all 

Airbus Helicopters Model AS350B, 

AS350BA, AS350B1, AS350B2, 

AS350B3, AS350D, EC130B4, and 

EC130T2 helicopters. This proposed AD 

was prompted by the identification of 

certain parts needing maintenance 

actions, including life limits and 

maintenance tasks. This proposed AD 

would require incorporating into 

maintenance records requirements 

(airworthiness limitations), as specified 

in a European Union Aviation Safety 

Agency (EASA) AD, which is proposed 

for incorporation by reference (IBR). The 

FAA is proposing this AD to address the 

unsafe condition on these products. 

DATES: The FAA must receive comments 

on this proposed AD by May 12, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 

11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

https://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: Deliver to Mail 

address above between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

For material that is proposed for IBR 

in this AD, contact EASA, KonradAdenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, 

Germany; telephone +49 221 8999 000; 

email ADs@easa.europa.eu; internet 

www.easa.europa.eu. You may find this 

material on the EASA website at https:// 

ad.easa.europa.eu. You may view this 

material at the FAA, Office of the 

Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 

10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Room 6N–321, 

Fort Worth, TX 76177. For information 

on the availability of this material at the 

FAA, call (817) 222–5110. This material 

is also available at https://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2022– 

0297. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket at 

https://www.regulations.gov by 

searching for and locating Docket No. 

FAA–2022–0297; or in person at Docket 

Operations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. The AD docket contains this 

NPRM, the EASA AD, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for Docket Operations is 

listed above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Andrea Jimenez, Aerospace Engineer, 

COS Program Management Section, 

Operational Safety Branch, Compliance 

& Airworthiness Division, FAA, 1600 

Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY 

11590; telephone (516) 228–7330; email 

andrea.jimenez@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

The FAA invites you to send any 

written relevant data, views, or 

arguments about this proposal. Send 

your comments to an address listed 

under ADDRESSES. Include ‘‘Docket No. 

FAA–2022–0297; Project Identifier 

MCAI–2021–01099–R’’ at the beginning 

of your comments. The most helpful 

comments reference a specific portion of 

the proposal, explain the reason for any 

recommended change, and include 

supporting data. The FAA will consider 

all comments received by the closing 

date and may amend this proposal 

because of those comments. 

Except for Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) as described in the 

following paragraph, and other 

information as described in 14 CFR 

11.35, the FAA will post all comments 

received, without change, to https://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. The 

agency will also post a report 

summarizing each substantive verbal 

contact received about this NPRM. 

Confidential Business Information 

CBI is commercial or financial 

information that is both customarily and 

actually treated as private by its owner. 

Under the Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 59 / Monday, March 28, 2022 / Proposed Rules 17207 

from public disclosure. If your 

comments responsive to this NPRM 

contain commercial or financial 

information that is customarily treated 

as private, that you actually treat as 

private, and that is relevant or 

responsive to this NPRM, it is important 

that you clearly designate the submitted 

comments as CBI. Please mark each 

page of your submission containing CBI 

as ‘‘PROPIN.’’ The FAA will treat such 

marked submissions as confidential 

under the FOIA, and they will not be 

placed in the public docket of this 

NPRM. Submissions containing CBI 

should be sent to Andrea Jimenez, 

Aerospace Engineer, COS Program 

Management Section, Operational 

Safety Branch, Compliance & 

Airworthiness Division, FAA, 1600 

Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY 

11590; telephone (516) 228–7330; email 

andrea.jimenez@faa.gov. Any 

commentary that the FAA receives that 

is not specifically designated as CBI will 

be placed in the public docket for this 

rulemaking. 

Background 

EASA, which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Union, has issued EASA AD 2021– 

0194R1, dated October 8, 2021 (EASA 

AD 2021–0194R1), to correct an unsafe 

condition for all Airbus Helicopters, 

formerly Eurocopter, Eurocopter France, 

and Aerospatiale, Model AS 350 B, AS 

350 BA, AS 350 BB, AS 350 B1, AS 350 

B2, AS 350 B3, AS 350 D, EC 130 B4, 

and EC 130 T2 helicopters. Model AS 

350 BB helicopters are not certificated 

by the FAA and are not included on the 

U.S. type certificate data sheet; this 

proposed AD therefore does not include 

those helicopters in the applicability. 

This proposed AD was prompted by 

the identification of certain parts 

needing maintenance actions, including 

life limits and maintenance tasks. The 

FAA is proposing this AD to address the 

failure of certain parts, which could 

result in the loss of control of the 

helicopter. See EASA AD 2021–0194R1 

for additional background information. 

Relationship Between Proposed AD and 

ADs 2011–22–05 R1 and 2016–25–20 

This NPRM would not propose to 

supersede AD 2011–22–05 R1, 

Amendment 39 17765 (79 FR 14169, 

March 13, 2014) (AD 2011–22–05 R1); 

and AD 2016–25–20, Amendment 39– 

18746 (81 FR 94954, December 27, 

2016) (AD 2016–25–20). Rather, the 

FAA has determined that a stand-alone 

AD would be more appropriate to 

address the changes in the EASA AD. 

This proposed AD would require 

incorporating into maintenance records 

requirements (airworthiness 

limitations). Accomplishment of the 

proposed actions would then terminate 

all of the requirements of AD 2011–22– 

05 for Model AS350B, AS350BA, 

AS350B1, AS350B2, AS350B3, and 

AS350D helicopters only; and all 

requirements of AD 2016–25–20 for 

Model AS350B, AS350BA, AS350B1, 

AS350B2, AS350B3, AS350D, EC130B4, 

and EC130T2 helicopters only. 

Related Service Information Under 1 

CFR Part 51 

EASA AD 2021–0194R1 requires 

certain actions and associated 

thresholds and intervals, including life 

limits and maintenance tasks. 

This material is reasonably available 

because the interested parties have 

access to it through their normal course 

of business or by the means identified 

in the ADDRESSES section. 

FAA’s Determination 

These helicopters have been approved 

by EASA and are approved for operation 

in the United States. Pursuant to the 

FAA’s bilateral agreement with the 

European Union, EASA has notified the 

FAA about the unsafe condition 

described in its AD. The FAA is 

proposing this AD after evaluating all 

known relevant information and 

determining that the unsafe condition 

described previously is likely to exist or 

develop on other helicopters of these 

same type designs. 

Proposed AD Requirements in This 

NPRM 

This proposed AD would require 

incorporating into maintenance records 

requirements (airworthiness 

limitations), which are specified in 

EASA AD 2021–0194R1 described 

previously, except as discussed under 

‘‘Differences Between this Proposed AD 

and the EASA AD.’’ 

ADs Mandating Airworthiness 

Limitations 

The FAA has previously mandated 

airworthiness limitations by mandating 

each airworthiness limitation task (e.g., 

inspections and replacements (life 

limits)) as an AD requirement or issuing 

ADs that require revising the 

airworthiness limitations section (ALS) 

of the existing maintenance manual or 

instructions for continued airworthiness 

to incorporate new or revised 

inspections and life limits. This 

proposed AD, however, would require 

operators to incorporate into 

maintenance records required by 14 

CFR 91.417(a)(2) or 135.439(a)(2), as 

applicable for your rotorcraft, the 

requirements (airworthiness limitations) 

specified in an EASA AD. The FAA 

does not intend this as a substantive 

change. For these ADs, the ALS 

requirements for operators are the same 

but are complied with differently. 

Requiring the incorporation of the new 

ALS requirements into the maintenance 

records, rather than requiring individual 

ALS tasks (e.g., repetitive inspections 

and replacements), requires operators to 

record AD compliance once after 

updating the maintenance records, 

rather than after every time the ALS task 

is completed. 

In addition, paragraph (h) of this 

proposed AD would allow operators to 

incorporate later approved revisions of 

the ALS document as specified in the 

Ref. Publications section of EASA AD 

2021–0194R1 without the need for an 

alternative method of compliance 

(AMOC). 

Differences Between This Proposed AD 

and the EASA AD 

Paragraph (1) of EASA AD 2021– 

0194R1 requires compliance with 

actions and associated thresholds and 

intervals, including life limits and 

maintenance tasks, from September 3, 

2021, the effective date of EASA AD 

2021–0194, dated August 20, 2021 

(EASA AD 2021–0194). Paragraph (3) of 

EASA AD 2021–0194R1 requires 

incorporating the actions and associated 

thresholds and intervals, including life 

limits and maintenance tasks, into the 

approved maintenance program within 

12 months after the effective date of 

EASA AD 2021–0194. This proposed 

AD would require incorporating into 

maintenance records requirements 

(airworthiness limitations) within 30 

days after the effective date of this AD. 

Explanation of Required Compliance 

Information 

In the FAA’s ongoing efforts to 

improve the efficiency of the AD 

process, the FAA developed a process to 

use some civil aviation authority (CAA) 

ADs as the primary source of 

information for compliance with 

requirements for corresponding FAA 

ADs. The FAA has been coordinating 

this process with manufacturers and 

CAAs. As a result, the FAA proposes to 

incorporate EASA AD 2021–0194R1 by 

reference in the FAA final rule. Service 

information referenced in EASA AD 

2021–0194R1 for compliance will be 

available at https://www.regulations.gov 

by searching for and locating Docket No. 

FAA–2022–0297 after the FAA final 

rule is published. 

Costs of Compliance 

The FAA estimates that this AD, if 

adopted as proposed, would affect 1,191 


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helicopters of U.S. Registry. Labor rates 

are estimated at $85 per work-hour. 

Based on these numbers, the FAA 

estimates the following costs to comply 

with this proposed AD. Incorporating 

requirements (airworthiness limitations) 

into maintenance records would require 

about 2 work-hours for a cost of $170 

per helicopter and a cost of $202,470 for 

the U.S. fleet. 

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. 

The FAA is 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 

The FAA 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 above, I 

certify this proposed regulation: 

(1) Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ under Executive Order 12866, 

(2) Would not affect intrastate 

aviation in Alaska, and 

(3) Would not have a significant 

economic impact, positive or negative, 

on a substantial number of small entities 

under the criteria of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. 

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: 

Airbus Helicopters: Docket No. FAA–2022– 

0297; Project Identifier MCAI–2021– 

01099–R. 

(a) Comments Due Date 

The FAA must receive comments on this 

airworthiness directive (AD) by May 12, 

2022. 

(b) Affected ADs 

This AD affects AD 2011–22–05 R1, 

Amendment 39–17765 (79 FR 14169, March 

13, 2014) (AD 2011–22–05 R1); and AD 

2016–25–20, Amendment 39–18746 (81 FR 

94954, December 27, 2016) (AD 2016–25–20). 

(c) Applicability 

This AD applies to all Airbus Helicopters 

Model AS350B, AS350BA, AS350B1, 

AS350B2, AS350B3, AS350D, EC130B4, and 

EC130T2 helicopters, certificated in any 

category. 

(d) Subject 

Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) 

Codes: 2400, Electrical Power System; 2800, 

Aircraft Fuel System; 2900, Hydraulic Power 

System; 5200, Doors; 5300, Fuselage 

Structure; 6200, Main Rotor System; 6300, 

Main Rotor Drive System; 6400, Tail Rotor 

System; 6500, Tail Rotor Drive System; and 

6700, Rotorcraft Flight Control. 

(e) Unsafe Condition 

This AD was prompted by the 

identification of certain parts needing 

maintenance actions, including life limits 

and maintenance tasks. The FAA is issuing 

this AD to address the failure of certain parts, 

which could result in the loss of control of 

the helicopter. 

(f) Compliance 

Comply with this AD within the 

compliance times specified, unless already 

done. 

(g) Required Actions 

Within 30 days after the effective date of 

this AD, incorporate into maintenance 

records required by 14 CFR 91.417(a)(2) or 

135.439(a)(2), as applicable for your 

rotorcraft, the requirements (airworthiness 

limitations) specified in paragraph (1) of 

European Union Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA) AD 2021–0194R1, dated October 8, 

2021 (EASA AD 2021–0194R1). 

(h) Provisions for Alternative Requirements 

(Airworthiness Limitations) 

After the action required by paragraph (g) 

of this AD has been done, no alternative 

requirements (airworthiness limitations) are 

allowed unless they are approved as 

specified in the provisions of the ‘‘Ref. 

Publications’’ section of EASA AD 2021– 

0194R1. 

(i) Terminating Action for ADs 2011–22–05 

R1 and 2016–25–20 

(1) Accomplishing the actions required by 

this AD terminates all requirements of AD 

2011–22–05 R1 for Model AS350B, 

AS350BA, AS350B1, AS350B2, AS350B3, 

and AS350D helicopters only. 

(2) Accomplishing the actions required by 

this AD terminates all requirements of AD 

2016–25–20 for Model AS350B, AS350BA, 

AS350B1, AS350B2, AS350B3, AS350D, 

EC130B4, and EC130T2 helicopters only. 

(j) Special Flight Permit 

Special flight permits, as described in 14 

CFR 21.197 and 21.199, are prohibited. 

(k) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, International Validation 

Branch, 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 International Validation 

Branch, send it to the attention of the person 

identified in paragraph (l)(2) of this AD. 

Information may be emailed to: 9-AVS-AIR730-AMOC@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. 

(l) Related Information 

(1) For EASA AD 2021–0194R1, contact 

EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 

Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999 

000; email ADs@easa.europa.eu; internet 

www.easa.europa.eu. You may find this 

EASA AD on the EASA website at https://

ad.easa.europa.eu. You may view this 

material at the FAA, Office of the Regional 

Counsel, Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood 

Pkwy., Room 6N–321, Fort Worth, TX 76177. 

For information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call (817) 222–5110. 

This material may be found in the AD docket 

at https://www.regulations.gov by searching 

for and locating Docket No. FAA–2022–0297. 

(2) For more information about this AD, 

contact Andrea Jimenez, Aerospace Engineer, 

COS Program Management Section, 

Operational Safety Branch, Compliance & 

Airworthiness Division, FAA, 1600 Stewart 

Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; 

telephone (516) 228–7330; email 

andrea.jimenez@faa.gov. 

Issued on March 22, 2022. 

Lance T. Gant, 

Director, Compliance & Airworthiness 

Division, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–06425 Filed 3–25–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 


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