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

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

25361 

Vol. 78, No. 84 

Wednesday, May 1, 2013 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0773; Directorate 

Identifier 2009–SW–71–AD; Amendment 39– 

17352; AD 2013–03–18] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Eurocopter 

Deutschland GmbH Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for 

Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH 

(Eurocopter) Model MBB–BK 117 C–2 

helicopters. This AD requires inspecting 

the long tail rotor drive shaft assembly 

for blind rivets, and if any blind rivets 

are installed, replacing that shaft 

assembly. This AD was prompted by the 

discovery that some helicopters have 

blind rivets installed in the place of 

solid rivets in the long tail rotor drive 

shaft. The actions of this AD are 

intended to detect blind rivets installed 

in the long tail rotor drive shaft, which 

could lead to failure of the tail rotor 

drive shaft and subsequent loss of 

control of the helicopter. 

DATES: This AD is effective June 5, 2013. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain document listed in this AD 

as of June 5, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: For service information 

identified in this AD, contact American 

Eurocopter Corporation, 2701 N. Forum 

Drive, Grand Prairie, Texas 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: Jim 

Grigg, Manager, Safety Management 

Group, Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 

2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 

76137; telephone (817) 222–5110; email 

jim.grigg@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

On July 26, 2012, at 77 FR 43736, 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 MBB–BK 117 C–2 

helicopters. That NPRM proposed to 

require, within 100 hours time-inservice (TIS), inspecting the long tail 

rotor drive shaft assembly for blind 

rivets. If there are no blind rivets 

installed on the shaft assembly, no 

further action would be required by the 

AD. If there are one or more blind rivets 

installed on the shaft assembly, the 

NPRM proposed to require replacing the 

shaft assembly of the long tail rotor 

drive with an airworthy shaft assembly 

before further flight. The proposed 

requirements were intended to prevent 

failure of the tail rotor drive shaft 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, issued EASA AD No. 2009–0119, 

dated June 4, 2009, to correct an unsafe 

condition for the Eurocopter Model 

MBB–BK 117 C–2 helicopters. EASA 

advises that an error was discovered in 

the Eurocopter aircraft maintenance 

manual (AMM), which erroneously 

specifies replacing the solid rivets on 

the long tail rotor drive shaft with blind 

rivets. All delivered helicopters had the 

long tail rotor drive shafts installed 

during production fitted with the 

correct solid rivets. The long tail rotor 

drive shafts repaired in-service in 

accordance with the AMM may have 

blind rivets installed. This condition, if 

not corrected, could lead to a significant 

reduction of the life of the long tail rotor 

drive shaft, failure of the long tail rotor 

drive shaft, and subsequent loss of 

control of the helicopter. 

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 43736, July 26, 2012). 

FAA’s Determination 

This helicopter has been approved by 

the aviation authority of Germany and is 

approved for operation in the United 

States. Pursuant to our bilateral 

agreement with Germany, 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 

the same type design and that air safety 

and the public interest require adopting 

the AD requirements as proposed except 

we are incorporating a figure by 

reference instead of including it in our 

AD to meet current publication 

requirements. This change is consistent 

with the intent of the proposals in the 

NPRM (77 FR 43736, July 26, 2012) and 

will not increase the economic burden 

on any operator nor increase the scope 

of the AD. 

Differences Between This AD and the 

EASA AD 

This AD uses the term ‘‘TIS’’ instead 

of ‘‘flight hours.’’ 

Related Service Information 

Eurocopter has issued Alert Service 

Bulletin No. MBB BK117 C–2–65A–003, 

dated May 4, 2009 (ASB), which 

specifies inspecting long tail rotor drive 

shafts to determine what type of rivets 

are installed. If one or more blind rivets 

are installed, the ASB specifies 

replacing the long tail rotor drive shaft 

assembly with a serviceable long tail 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
25362 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 84 / Wednesday, May 1, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

rotor drive shaft assembly. EASA 

classified this ASB as mandatory and 

issued EASA AD No. 2009–0119, dated 

June 4, 2009, to ensure the continued 

airworthiness of these helicopters. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this AD will affect 

88 helicopters of U.S. registry. We 

estimate that operators may incur the 

following costs in order to comply with 

this AD: 

• It will take about 2 work hours to 

inspect and replace the long tail rotor 

drive shaft at an average labor rate of 

$85 per work hour. 

• Required parts to replace each long 

tail rotor drive shaft assembly cost about 

$4,600 each. 

Based upon these figures, the total 

cost per helicopter would be $4,770. 

The total cost for the entire U.S. fleet 

would be $419,760, assuming that the 

long tail rotor drive shaft assembly is 

required to be replaced on the entire 

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. 

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): 

2013–03–18 Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH 

(Eurocopter): Amendment 39–17352; 

Docket No. FAA–2012–0773; Directorate 

Identifier 2009–SW–71–AD. 

(a) Applicability 

This AD applies to Model MBB–BK 117 C– 

2 helicopters, with long tail rotor drive shaft 

assembly part number B651M1002101 or 

B651M1002102 installed, certificated in any 

category. 

(b) Unsafe Condition 

This AD defines the unsafe condition as 

the installation of blind rivets instead of solid 

rivets in the long tail rotor drive shaft. This 

condition could result in failure of the long 

tail rotor drive shaft and subsequent loss of 

control of the helicopter. 

(c) Effective Date 

This AD becomes effective June 5, 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 

Within 100 hours time-in-service, inspect 

the long tail rotor drive shaft assembly for 

blind rivets as indicated in sections A–A and 

B–B of Figure 1 of Eurocopter Alert Service 

Bulletin No. MBB BK117 C–2–65A–003, 

dated May 4, 2009 (ASB). 

(1) If there are no blind rivets installed on 

the shaft assembly, no further action is 

required by this AD. 

(2) If there is one or more blind rivets 

installed on the shaft assembly in the areas 

depicted in Figure 1 of the ASB, before 

further flight, replace the shaft assembly of 

the long tail rotor drive shaft with an 

airworthy shaft assembly that does not have 

blind rivets installed. 

(3) After the effective date of this AD, do 

not install a tail rotor drive shaft assembly 

that has blind rivets installed. 

(f) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, Safety Management 

Group, FAA, may approve AMOCs for this 

AD. Send your proposal to: Jim Grigg, 

Manager, Safety Management Group, 

Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 2601 Meacham 

Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76137; telephone 

(817) 222–5110; email jim.grigg@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 AD No. 

2009–0119, dated June 4, 2009. 

(h) Subject 

Joint Aircraft System/Component (JASC) 

Code: 6510, Tail Rotor Drive Shaft. 

(i) 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) Eurocopter Alert Service Bulletin No. 

MBB BK117 C–2–65A–003, dated May 4, 

2009. 

(ii) Reserved. 

(3) For Eurocopter service information 

identified in this AD, contact American 

Eurocopter Corporation, 2701 N. Forum 

Drive, Grand Prairie, Texas 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 FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, 

Southwest Region, 2601 Meacham Blvd., 

Room 663, Fort Worth, Texas 76137. For 

information on the availability of this 

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

(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. 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 84 / Wednesday, May 1, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 25363 

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 12, 

2013. 

Lance T. Gant, 

Acting Directorate Manager, Rotorcraft 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–09433 Filed 4–30–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2013–0348; Directorate 

Identifier 2013–CE–005–AD; Amendment 

39–17439; AD 2013–08–21] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Diamond 

Aircraft Industries Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for 

Diamond Aircraft Industries Model DA 

40 NG airplanes. This AD results from 

mandatory continuing airworthiness 

information (MCAI) issued by the 

aviation authority of another country to 

identify and correct an unsafe condition 

on an aviation product. The MCAI 

describes the unsafe condition as 

chafing between the charge air tubing 

and the engine firewall that may cause 

a hole in the charge air tubing, which 

could result in loss of charged air 

pressure with consequent loss of engine 

power and loss of control. We are 

issuing this AD to require actions to 

address the unsafe condition on these 

products. 

DATES: This AD is effective May 21, 

2013. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of certain publications listed in the AD 

as of May 21, 2013. 

We must receive comments on this 

AD by June 17, 2013. 

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. 

For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Diamond Aircraft 

Industries GmbH, N.A. Otto-Str.5, 

A–2700 Wiener Neustadt, Austria; 

telephone: +43 2622 26700; fax: +43 

2622 26780; email: office@diamondair.at; Internet: http:// 

www.diamondaircraft.com/contact/ 

technical.php. You may review copies 

of the referenced service information at 

the FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 

901 Locust, Kansas City, Missouri 

64106. For information on the 

availability of this material at the FAA, 

call (816) 329–4148. 

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 street address for 

the Docket Office (telephone (800) 647– 

5527) is in the ADDRESSES section. 

Comments will be available in the AD 

docket shortly after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mike Kiesov, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, 

Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, 

Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; 

telephone: (816) 329–4144; fax: (816) 

329–4090; email: mike.kiesov@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

The European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Community, has issued EASA AD 2013– 

0018, dated January 21, 2013 (referred to 

after this as ‘‘the MCAI’’), to correct an 

unsafe condition for the specified 

products. The MCAI states: 

An occurrence of loss of engine charge air 

pressure was reported, which prompted an 

in-flight Engine Control Unit warning. The 

investigation results identified that chafing 

caused a hole in the charge air tubing where 

it touched the engine firewall. Further 

investigation results identified other DA 40 

NG aeroplanes with chafing marks in this 

area. 

To prevent chafing between the charged air 

tube and engine firewall, DAI issued 

Recommended SB 40NG–011 to replace the 

charged air elbow hose between the 

turbocharger and intercooler with an 

aluminium tube to improve the durability of 

the charged air system. 

After issuance of SB 40NG–011, an 

additional occurrence of a hole in a charge 

air tube was reported, apparently caused by 

chafing. The results of the subsequent 

investigation revealed that the improved 

design cannot assure the necessary clearance 

between the charged air tubing and 

surrounding parts. 

This condition, if not corrected, could lead 

to loss of charged air pressure, possibly 

resulting in loss of engine power and reduced 

control of the aeroplane. 

To address this unsafe condition, DAI 

issued Mandatory SB 40NG–18, providing 

instructions to inspect the charged air tubing 

from the turbocharger to the intercooler and 

replacement of affected parts with an 

improved design. 

For the reasons described above, this AD 

requires repetitive inspections of charged air 

tubing for the presence of the chafing marks 

and, depending on findings, replacement of 

damaged tubing, or installation of improved 

design tubing. 

You may obtain further information by 

examining the MCAI in the AD docket. 

Relevant Service Information 

Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH 

has issued Mandatory Service Bulletin 

40NG–018/1, dated November 20, 2012. 

The actions described in this service 

information are intended to correct the 

unsafe condition identified in the 

MCAI. 

FAA’s Determination and Requirements 

of the AD 

This product has been approved by 

the aviation authority of another 

country, and is approved for operation 

in the United States. Pursuant to our 

bilateral agreement with this State of 

Design Authority, they have notified us 

of the unsafe condition described in the 

MCAI and service information 

referenced above. We are issuing this 

AD because we evaluated all 

information provided by the State of 

Design Authority and determined the 

unsafe condition exists and is likely to 

exist or develop on other products of the 

same type design. 

FAA’s Determination of the Effective 

Date 

An unsafe condition exists that 

requires the immediate adoption of this 

AD. The FAA has found that the risk to 

the flying public justifies waiving notice 

and comment prior to adoption of this 

rule because there is only one airplane 

on the U.S. registry affected by this 

unsafe condition, and the required 

modification has been completed on the 

specific airplane. Therefore, we 

determined that notice and opportunity 

for public comment before issuing this 

AD are unnecessary and that good cause 

exists for making this amendment 

effective in fewer than 30 days. 


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