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

22816 

Vol. 87, No. 74 

Monday, April 18, 2022 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2022–0464; Project 

Identifier MCAI–2021–01290–T] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS 

Airplanes 

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 SAS Model A350–941 and –1041 

airplanes. This proposed AD was 

prompted by a report of inadvertent 

auto flight system (AFS) altitude 

changes on the flight control unit (FCU). 

This proposed AD would require 

revising the existing airplane flight 

manual (AFM) to include a procedure 

on the use of the AFS control panel ALT 

knob and replacing any affected FCU 

with a serviceable FCU, as specified in 

a European Union Aviation Safety 

Agency (EASA), which is proposed for 

incorporation by reference. This 

proposed AD would also prohibit the 

installation of affected parts. 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 June 2, 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 will be incorporated 

by reference (IBR) in this AD, 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 material on the EASA website 

at https://ad.easa.europa.eu. You may 

view this material at the FAA, 

Airworthiness Products Section, 

Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South 

216th St., Des Moines, WA. For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call 206–231–3195. 

It is also available in the AD docket at 

https://www.regulations.gov by 

searching for and locating Docket No. 

FAA–2022–0464. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket at 

https://www.regulations.gov by 

searching for and locating Docket No. 

FAA–2022–0464; 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 mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information (MCAI), any 

comments received, and other 

information. The street address for 

Docket Operations is listed above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan 

Rodina, Aerospace Engineer, Large 

Aircraft Section, International 

Validation Branch, FAA, 2200 South 

216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; 

telephone and fax 206–231–3225; email 

dan.rodina@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–2022–0464; Project Identifier 

MCAI–2021–01290–T’’ 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 

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 Dan Rodina, 

Aerospace Engineer, Large Aircraft 

Section, International Validation 

Branch, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des 

Moines, WA 98198; telephone and fax 

206–231–3225; email dan.rodina@

faa.gov. Any commentary that the FAA 

receives which 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 2021–0260, 

dated November 18, 2021 (EASA AD 

2021–0260) (also referred to as the 

MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition 

for all Airbus SAS Model A350–941 and 

–1041 airplanes. This proposed AD was 

prompted by a report of inadvertent 

AFS altitude changes on the FCU; an 

investigation revealed that, depending 

on the ring selection, failure of the ALT 

knob on the FCU could change the 

target altitude, by either by 100 or 1,000 

feet. The erroneous altitude shows in 

the AFS cockpit panel display and in 

the primary flight display of the FCU, 

but the flightcrew might not notice. 

Further investigation revealed that the 

cause was an incorrect manufacturing 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 74 / Monday, April 18, 2022 / Proposed Rules 22817 

process of the ALT knob encoder. The 

FAA is proposing this AD to address 

erroneous target altitude during descent, 

climb, or go-around, which could result 

in an unexpected vertical trajectory 

deviation and loss of correct situational 

awareness that could potentially result 

in uncontrolled impact with the ground. 

See the MCAI for additional background 

information. 

Related Service Information Under 1 

CFR Part 51 

EASA AD 2021–0260 describes 

procedures for revising the existing 

AFM to include a procedure on the use 

of the AFS control panel ALT knob and 

replacing any affected FCU having part 

numbers (P/N) C31006AC01 or 

C31006AB01 with a serviceable FCU 

having P/N C31006AD01. 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 

This product has been approved by 

the aviation authority of another 

country and is approved for operation in 

the United States. Pursuant to the FAA’s 

bilateral agreement with the State of 

Design Authority, it has notified the 

FAA of the unsafe condition described 

in the MCAI referenced above. The FAA 

is issuing this NPRM after determining 

that the unsafe condition described 

previously is likely to exist or develop 

in other products of the same type 

design. 

Proposed AD Requirements in This 

NPRM 

This proposed AD would require 

accomplishing the actions specified in 

EASA AD 2021–0260 described 

previously, except for any differences 

identified as exceptions in the 

regulatory text of this proposed AD. 

This proposed AD would also prohibit 

the installation of affected parts. 

EASA AD 2021–0260 requires 

operators to ‘‘inform all flight crews’’ of 

revisions to the AFM, and thereafter to 

‘‘operate the aeroplane accordingly.’’ 

However, this proposed AD would not 

specifically require those actions as 

those actions are already required by 

FAA regulations. FAA regulations 

require operators furnish to pilots any 

changes to the AFM (for example, 14 

CFR 121.137), and to ensure the pilots 

are familiar with the AFM (for example, 

14 CFR 91.505). As with any other 

flightcrew training requirement, training 

on the updated AFM content is tracked 

by the operators and recorded in each 

pilot’s training record, which is 

available for the FAA to review. FAA 

regulations also require pilots to follow 

the procedures in the existing AFM 

including all updates. 14 CFR 91.9 

requires that any person operating a 

civil aircraft must comply with the 

operating limitations specified in the 

AFM. Therefore, including a 

requirement in this proposed AD to 

operate the airplane according to the 

revised AFM would be redundant and 

unnecessary. 

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 2021–0260 by 

reference in the FAA final rule. This 

proposed AD would, therefore, require 

compliance with EASA AD 2021–0260 

in its entirety through that 

incorporation, except for any differences 

identified as exceptions in the 

regulatory text of this proposed AD. 

Using common terms that are the same 

as the heading of a particular section in 

EASA AD 2021–0260 does not mean 

that operators need comply only with 

that section. For example, where the AD 

requirement refers to ‘‘all required 

actions and compliance times,’’ 

compliance with this AD requirement is 

not limited to the section titled 

‘‘Required Action(s) and Compliance 

Time(s)’’ in EASA AD 2021–0260. 

Service information required by EASA 

AD 2021–0260 for compliance will be 

available at https://www.regulations.gov 

by searching for and locating Docket No. 

FAA–2022–0464 after the FAA final 

rule is published. 

Costs of Compliance 

The FAA estimates that this proposed 

AD would affect 27 airplanes of U.S. 

registry. The FAA estimates the 

following costs to comply with this 

proposed AD: 

ESTIMATED COSTS FOR REQUIRED ACTIONS

Labor cost Parts cost Cost per 

product 

Cost on U.S. 

operators 

Up to 6 work-hours × $85 per hour = $510 ................................................................ $27,000 Up to $27,510 ........ Up to $742,770.

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. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
22818 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 74 / Monday, April 18, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

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 SAS: Docket No. FAA–2022–0464; 

Project Identifier MCAI–2021–01290–T. 

(a) Comments Due Date 

The FAA must receive comments on this 

airworthiness directive (AD) by June 2, 2022. 

(b) Affected ADs 

None. 

(c) Applicability 

This AD applies to all Airbus SAS Model 

A350–941 and –1041 airplanes, certificated 

in any category. 

(d) Subject 

Air Transport Association (ATA) of 

America Code 22, Auto Flight. 

(e) Unsafe Condition 

This AD was prompted by a report of 

inadvertent auto flight system (AFS) altitude 

changes on the flight control unit (FCU); an 

investigation revealed that, depending on the 

ring selection, failure of the ALT knob on the 

FCU could change the target altitude. The 

FAA is issuing this AD to address erroneous 

target altitude during descent, climb, or goaround, which could result in an unexpected 

vertical trajectory deviation and loss of 

correct situational awareness that could 

potentially result in uncontrolled impact 

with the ground. 

(f) Compliance 

Comply with this AD within the 

compliance times specified, unless already 

done. 

(g) Requirements 

Except as specified in paragraph (h) of this 

AD: Comply with all required actions and 

compliance times specified in, and in 

accordance with, European Union Aviation 

Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2021–0260, dated 

November 18, 2021 (EASA AD 2021–0260). 

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2021–0260 

(1) Where EASA AD 2021–0260 refers to its 

effective date, this AD requires using the 

effective date of this AD. 

(2) Where paragraph (1) of EASA AD 2021– 

0260 specifies to ‘‘inform all flight crews, and 

thereafter, operate the aeroplane 

accordingly,’’ this AD does not require those 

actions as those actions are already required 

by existing FAA operating regulations. 

(3) The ‘‘Remarks’’ section of EASA AD 

2021–0260 does not apply to this AD. 

(i) Additional AD Provisions 

The following provisions also apply to this 

AD: 

(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, Large Aircraft 

Section, 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 responsible Flight 

Standards Office, as appropriate. If sending 

information directly to the Large Aircraft 

Section, International Validation Branch, 

send it to the attention of the person 

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

Information may be emailed to: 9-AVS-AIR730-AMOC@faa.gov. Before using any 

approved AMOC, notify your appropriate 

principal inspector, or lacking a principal 

inspector, the manager of the responsible 

Flight Standards Office. 

(2) Contacting the Manufacturer: For any 

requirement in this AD to obtain instructions 

from a manufacturer, the instructions must 

be accomplished using a method approved 

by the Manager, Large Aircraft Section, 

International Validation Branch, FAA; or 

EASA; or Airbus SAS’s EASA Design 

Organization Approval (DOA). If approved by 

the DOA, the approval must include the 

DOA-authorized signature. 

(j) Related Information 

(1) For information about EASA AD 2021– 

0260, 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, Airworthiness Products 

Section, Operational Safety Branch, 2200 

South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call 206–231–3195. This 

material may be found in the AD docket on 

the internet at https://www.regulations.gov 

by searching for and locating Docket No. 

FAA–2022–0464. 

(2) For more information about this AD, 

contact Dan Rodina, Aerospace Engineer, 

Large Aircraft Section, FAA, International 

Validation Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des 

Moines, WA 98198; telephone and fax 206– 

231–3225; email dan.rodina@faa.gov. 

Issued on April 11, 2022. 

Lance T. Gant, 

Director, Compliance & Airworthiness 

Division, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–08219 Filed 4–15–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2022–0463; Project 

Identifier MCAI–2021–00895–T] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS 

Airplanes 

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 SAS Model A318, A319, A320, 

and A321 series airplanes. This 

proposed AD was prompted by a report 

that damage (including delamination of 

work deck, and corroded and cracked 

retainer blocks) was found during 

inspection of certain galleys. This 

proposed AD would require repetitive 

inspections of certain galleys for 

corrosion of trolley retainer aluminum 

blocks and delamination of the upper 

panel of the trolley compartment, and 

applicable corrective action, as specified 

in a European Union Aviation Safety 

Agency (EASA) AD, which is proposed 

for incorporation by reference. This 

proposed AD would also limit the 

installation of affected parts under 

certain conditions. 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 June 2, 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 EASA material that will be 

incorporated by reference (IBR) in this 

AD, contact EASA, Konrad-AdenauerUfer 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 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS