10202 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 10, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

before the effective date of this AD, but no 

later than 72 months since the installation of 

a new bogie beam in-service before the 

effective date of this AD. 

(iii) Not before 54 months since the last 

overhaul of a bogie beam before the effective 

date of this AD, but no later than 72 months 

since the last overhaul of a bogie beam before 

the effective date of this AD. 

(3) For airplanes with more than 54 months 

time-in-service since the date of issuance of 

the original French airworthiness certificate 

or the date of issuance of the original French 

export certificate of airworthiness as of the 

effective date of this AD: At the applicable 

time specified in paragraph (f)(3)(i), (f)(3)(ii), 

(f)(3)(iii), (f)(3)(iv), or (f)(3)(v) of this AD, do 

the actions required by paragraph (f)(1) of 

this AD. 

(i) For airplanes on which the bogie beam 

has not been replaced or overhauled since 

the date of issuance of the original French 

airworthiness certificate or the date of 

issuance of the original French export 

certificate of airworthiness as of the effective 

date of this AD: Within 18 months after the 

effective date of this AD. 

(ii) For airplanes on which the bogie beam 

has been replaced in-service with a new 

bogie beam and the new bogie beam has more 

than 54 months time-in-service as of the 

effective date of this AD: Within 18 months 

after the effective date of this AD. 

(iii) For airplanes on which the bogie beam 

has been replaced in-service with a new 

bogie beam and the new bogie beam has 54 

months or less time-in-service as of the 

effective date of this AD: Not before 54 

months since the installation of a new bogie 

beam in-service before the effective date of 

this AD, but no later than 72 months since 

the installation of a new bogie beam inservice before the effective date of this AD. 

(iv) For airplanes on which the bogie beam 

has been overhauled and the overhauled 

bogie beam has more than 54 months timein-service as of the effective date of this AD: 

Within 18 months after the effective date of 

this AD, or at the next scheduled bogie beam 

overhaul, whichever occurs first. 

(v) For airplanes on which the bogie beam 

has been overhauled and the overhauled 

bogie beam has 54 months or less time-inservice as of the effective date of this AD: Not 

before 54 months since the last overhaul of 

a bogie beam before the effective date of this 

AD, but no later than 72 months since the 

last overhaul of a bogie beam before the 

effective date of this AD. 

(4) Within 30 days after accomplishment of 

the inspection required by paragraph (f)(1) of 

this AD or within 30 days after the effective 

date of this AD, whichever occurs later, 

report the results, including no findings, to 

Airbus, 1 Rond Point Maurice Bellonte, 

31707 Blagnac Cedex, France; e-mail 

airworthiness.A330-A340@airbus.com. 

(5) Actions accomplished in accordance 

with Messier-Dowty Service Bulletin A33/ 

34–32–271, including Appendix A, dated 

September 13, 2007, are considered 

acceptable for compliance with the 

corresponding requirements of this AD. 

FAA AD Differences 

Note 1: This AD differs from the MCAI 

and/or service information as follows: The 

MCAI specifies repair and corrective actions 

in accordance with Airbus Mandatory 

Service Bulletin A330–32–3225 or A340–32– 

4268, both dated November 21, 2007; 

however, the Airbus service bulletins do not 

describe those actions. Paragraphs (f)(1)(i) 

and (f)(1)(ii) of this AD specify repair and 

corrective actions in accordance with 

Messier-Dowty Service Bulletin A33/34–32– 

272, including Appendixes A, B, C, and D, 

dated November 16, 2007. 

Other FAA AD Provisions 

(g) The following provisions also apply to 

this AD: 

(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, International 

Branch, ANM–116, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, FAA, has the authority to 

approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. 

Send information to ATTN: Vladimir 

Ulyanov, Aerospace Engineer, International 

Branch, ANM–116, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, FAA, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., 

Renton, Washington 98057–3356; telephone 

(425) 227–1138; fax (425) 227–1149. Before 

using any approved AMOC on any airplane 

to which the AMOC applies, notify your 

principal maintenance inspector (PMI) or 

principal avionics inspector (PAI), as 

appropriate, or lacking a principal inspector, 

your local Flight Standards District Office. 

(2) Airworthy Product: For any requirement 

in this AD to obtain corrective actions from 

a manufacturer or other source, use these 

actions if they are FAA-approved. Corrective 

actions are considered FAA-approved if they 

are approved by the State of Design Authority 

(or their delegated agent). You are required 

to assure the product is airworthy before it 

is returned to service. 

(3) Reporting Requirements: For any 

reporting requirement in this AD, under the 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 

the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

has approved the information collection 

requirements and has assigned OMB Control 

Number 2120–0056. 

Related Information 

(h) Refer to European Aviation Safety 

Agency (EASA) Airworthiness Directive 

2008–0093, dated May 20, 2008, and the 

service bulletins specified in Table 1 of this 

AD, for related information. 

TABLE 1—SERVICE INFORMATION

Service Bulletin Date 

Airbus Mandatory Service Bulletin A330–32–3225, including Appendix 01 ............................................................................ November 21, 2007. 

Airbus Mandatory Service Bulletin A340–32–4268, including Appendix 01 ............................................................................ November 21, 2007. 

Messier-Dowty Service Bulletin A33/34–32–271, including Appendix A .................................................................................. September 13, 2007. 

Messier-Dowty Service Bulletin A33/34–32–272, including Appendixes A, B, C, and D ........................................................ November 16, 2007. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on February 

24, 2009. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–5062 Filed 3–9–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2009–0213; Directorate 

Identifier 2008–NM–224–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; McDonnell 

Douglas Model MD–90–30 Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

McDonnell Douglas Model MD–90–30 

airplanes. This proposed AD would 

require installing fuses and wire 

protection in certain wing and fuel tank 

spars. This proposed AD results from 

fuel system reviews conducted by the 

manufacturer. We are proposing this AD 

to prevent possible damage to the fuel 

level float or pressure switch wires. 

Such damage could become a potential 

ignition source inside the fuel tank, and, 

combined with flammable fuel vapors, 

could result in a fuel tank explosion and 

consequent loss of the airplane. 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 10, 2009 / Proposed Rules 10203 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by April 24, 2009. 

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 proposed AD, contact Boeing 

Commercial Airplanes, Attention: Data 

& Services Management, 3855 

Lakewood Boulevard, MC D800–0019, 

Long Beach, California 90846–0001; 

telephone 206–544–5000, extension 2; 

fax 206–766–5683; e-mail 

dse.boecom@boeing.com; 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 or 425–227–1152. 

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 proposed 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: 

Samuel Lee, Aerospace Engineer, 

Propulsion Branch, ANM–140L, FAA, 

Los Angeles Aircraft Certification 

Office, 3960 Paramount Boulevard, 

Lakewood, California 90712–4137; 

telephone (562) 627–5262; fax (562) 

627–5210. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to send any written 

relevant data, views, or arguments about 

this proposed AD. Send your comments 

to an address listed under the 

ADDRESSES section. Include ‘‘Docket No. 

FAA–2009–0213; Directorate Identifier 

2008–NM–224–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 because of 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 FAA has examined the 

underlying safety issues involved in fuel 

tank explosions on several large 

transport airplanes, including the 

adequacy of existing regulations, the 

service history of airplanes subject to 

those regulations, and existing 

maintenance practices for fuel tank 

systems. As a result of those findings, 

we issued a regulation titled ‘‘Transport 

Airplane Fuel Tank System Design 

Review, Flammability Reduction and 

Maintenance and Inspection 

Requirements’’ (67 FR 23086, May 7, 

2001). In addition to new airworthiness 

standards for transport airplanes and 

new maintenance requirements, this 

rule included Special Federal Aviation 

Regulation No. 88 (‘‘SFAR 88,’’ 

Amendment 21–78, and subsequent 

Amendments 21–82 and 21–83). 

Among other actions, SFAR 88 

requires certain type design (i.e., type 

certificate (TC) and supplemental type 

certificate (STC)) holders to substantiate 

that their fuel tank systems can prevent 

ignition sources in the fuel tanks. This 

requirement applies to type design 

holders for large turbine-powered 

transport airplanes and for subsequent 

modifications to those airplanes. It 

requires them to perform design reviews 

and to develop design changes and 

maintenance procedures if their designs 

do not meet the new fuel tank safety 

standards. As explained in the preamble 

to the rule, we intended to adopt 

airworthiness directives to mandate any 

changes found necessary to address 

unsafe conditions identified as a result 

of these reviews. 

In evaluating these design reviews, we 

have established four criteria intended 

to define the unsafe conditions 

associated with fuel tank systems that 

require corrective actions. The 

percentage of operating time during 

which fuel tanks are exposed to 

flammable conditions is one of these 

criteria. The other three criteria address 

the failure types under evaluation: 

single failures, single failures in 

combination with another latent 

condition(s), and in-service failure 

experience. For all four criteria, the 

evaluations included consideration of 

previous actions taken that may mitigate 

the need for further action. 

We have determined that the actions 

identified in this AD are necessary to 

reduce the potential of ignition sources 

inside fuel tanks, which, in combination 

with flammable fuel vapors, could result 

in a fuel tank explosion and consequent 

loss of the airplane. 

We have received a report that fuel 

level float switch wires located on the 

left and right wing forward spar, center 

fuel tank forward spar and forward 

auxiliary fuel tank, and pressure switch 

wires located on the center fuel tank 

forward spar are routed in the same 

bundles as power wires. If a short 

circuit between a fuel level float or 

pressure switch wire and a power wire 

occurs, an over current can cause 

excessive temperatures in the fuel level 

float or pressure switch wires, resulting 

in damage and becoming a potential 

ignition source. This condition, if not 

corrected, could result in possible 

damage to the fuel level float or pressure 

switch wires, and become a potential 

ignition source for the fuel tank. 

Relevant Service Information 

We have reviewed Boeing Service 

Bulletin MD90–28–012, dated 

November 19, 2008. The service bulletin 

describes procedures for installing fuses 

and wire protection in certain wing and 

fuel tank spars. For Group 1, the service 

bulletin describes procedures for 

installing fuel level float switch in-line 

fuses and wire protection in the left and 

right wing forward spars and center fuel 

tank forward spar, right side. For Group 

2, the service bulletin describes 

procedures for installing fuel level float 

switch in-line fuses and wire protection 

in the left and right wing forward spars, 

center fuel tank forward spar, right side, 

and forward auxiliary fuel tank, right 

side; and installing a fuel pressure 

switch in-line fuse and wire protection 

in the center fuel tank forward spar, left 

side. 

FAA’s Determination and Requirements 

of This Proposed AD 

We are proposing this AD because we 

evaluated all relevant information and 

determined the unsafe condition 

described previously is likely to exist or 

develop in other products of the(se) 

same type design(s). This proposed AD 

would require accomplishing the 

10204 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 10, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

actions specified in the service 

information described previously. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this proposed AD 

would affect 15 airplanes of U.S. 

registry. The following table provides 

the estimated costs for U.S. operators to 

comply with this proposed AD. 

TABLE—ESTIMATED COSTS

Action Work hours Average labor 

rate per hour Parts Cost per product 

Number of 

U.S.-registered 

airplanes 

Fleet cost 

Installation, depending on Group.20 or 26 ................. $80 $1,132 or $1,822 ... $2,732 or $3,902 ... 15 $40,980 to $58,530. 

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 

products 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. 

For the reasons discussed above, I 

certify this proposed regulation: 

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. 

You can find our regulatory 

evaluation and the estimated costs of 

compliance 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: 

McDonnell Douglas: Docket No. FAA–2009– 

0213; Directorate Identifier 2008–NM– 

224–AD. 

Comments Due Date 

(a) We must receive comments by April 24, 

2009. 

Affected ADs 

(b) None. 

Applicability 

(c) This AD applies to McDonnell Douglas 

Model MD–90–30 airplanes, certificated in 

any category, excluding fuselage number 

2159. 

Subject 

(d) Air Transport Association (ATA) of 

America Code 28: Fuel. 

Unsafe Condition 

(e) This AD results from fuel system 

reviews conducted by the manufacturer. We 

are issuing this AD to prevent possible 

damage to the fuel level float or pressure 

switch wires. Such damage could become a 

potential ignition source inside the fuel tank, 

and, when combined with flammable fuel 

vapors, could result in a fuel tank explosion 

and consequent loss of the airplane. 

Compliance 

(f) You are responsible for having the 

actions required by this AD performed within 

the compliance times specified, unless the 

actions have already been done. 

Installation 

(g) Within 5 years after the effective date 

of this AD, do the actions specified in 

paragraph (g)(1) or (g)(2) of this AD, as 

applicable, in accordance with the 

Accomplishment Instructions of Boeing 

Service Bulletin MD90–28–012, dated 

November 19, 2008 (‘‘the service bulletin’’). 

(1) For Group 1 airplanes identified in the 

service bulletin, install fuel level float switch 

in-line fuses and wire protection in the left 

and right wing forward spars and center fuel 

tank forward spar, right side. 

(2) For Group 2 airplanes identified in the 

service bulletin, install fuel level float switch 

in-line fuses and wire protection in the left 

and right wing forward spars, center fuel tank 

forward spar, right side, and forward 

auxiliary fuel tank, right side; and install a 

fuel pressure switch in-line fuse and wire 

protection in the center fuel tank forward 

spar, left side. 

Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(h)(1) The Manager, Los Angeles 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. Send information to Attn: Samuel 

Lee, Aerospace Engineer, Propulsion Branch, 

ANM–140L, FAA, Los Angeles Aircraft 

Certification Office, 3960 Paramount 

Boulevard, Lakewood, California 90712– 

4137; telephone (562) 627–5262; fax (562) 

627–5210. 

(2) To request a different method of 

compliance or a different compliance time 

for this AD, follow the procedures in 14 CFR 

39.19. Before using any approved AMOC on 

any airplane to which the AMOC applies, 

notify your principal maintenance inspector 

(PMI) or principal avionics inspector (PAI), 

as appropriate, or lacking a principal 

inspector, your local Flight Standards District 

Office. The AMOC approval letter must 

specifically reference this AD. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on February 

27, 2009. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–5014 Filed 3–9–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P