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

5064

Vol. 70, No. 20

Tuesday, February 1, 2005

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2005–20244; Directorate 

Identifier 2004–NM–204–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Saab Model 

SAAB 2000 Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a 

new airworthiness directive (AD) for 

certain Saab Model SAAB 2000 series 

airplanes. This proposed AD would 

require a one-time inspection to detect 

a broken terminal stud on a main relay 

of the electrical power generator, and 

corrective action if necessary. This 

proposed AD is prompted by 

disconnection of an electrical power 

generator during an inspection flight, 

which was caused by a broken terminal 

stud on the main relay. We are 

proposing this AD to prevent a broken 

terminal stud on the main relay of an 

electrical power generator, which could 

reduce the redundancy of electrical 

power systems, result in increased pilot 

workload, and contribute to reduced 

controllability of the airplane.

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by March 3, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Use one of the following 

addresses to submit comments on this 

proposed AD. 

• DOT Docket Web Site: Go to

http://dms.dot.gov and follow the 

instructions for sending your comments 

electronically. 

• Government-wide Rulemaking Web 

Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov

and follow the instructions for sending 

your comments electronically. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street SW., Nassif Building, 

room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590. 

• By Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• Hand Delivery: Room PL–401 on 

the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 

400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

For service information identified in 

this proposed AD, contact Saab Aircraft 

AB, SAAB Aircraft Product Support, S–

581.88, Linko ̈ping, Sweden. 

You can examine the contents of this 

AD docket on the Internet at http://

dms.dot.gov, or in person at the Docket 

Management Facility, U.S. Department 

of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street 

SW., room PL–401, on the plaza level of 

the Nassif Building, Washington, DC. 

This docket number is FAA–2005–

20244; the directorate identifier for this 

docket is 2004–NM–204–AD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan 

Rodina, Aerospace Engineer, 

International Branch, ANM–116, FAA, 

Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 

Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 

98055–4056; telephone (425) 227–2125; 

fax (425) 227–1149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to submit any relevant 

written data, views, or arguments 

regarding this proposed AD. Send your 

comments to an address listed under 

ADDRESSES. Include ‘‘Docket No. FAA–

2005–20244; Directorate Identifier 

2004–NM–204–AD’’ at the beginning of 

your comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of the proposed AD. We will 

consider all comments submitted by the 

closing date and may amend the 

proposed AD in light of those 

comments. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http://

dms.dot.gov, including any personal 

information you provide. We will also 

post a report summarizing each 

substantive verbal contact with FAA 

personnel concerning this proposed AD. 

Using the search function of our docket 

Web site, anyone can find and read the 

comments in any of our dockets, 

including the name of the individual 

who sent the comment (or signed the 

comment on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You can 

review the DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register

published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 

19477–78), or you can visit http://

dms.dot.gov.

Examining the Docket 

You can examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov, or in 

person at the Docket Management 

Facility office between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. The Docket 

Management Facility office (telephone 

(800) 647–5227) is located on the plaza 

level of the Nassif Building at the DOT 

street address stated in the ADDRESSES

section. Comments will be available in 

the AD docket shortly after the DMS 

receives them. 

Discussion 

The Luftfartsverket (LFV), which is 

the airworthiness authority for Sweden, 

notified us that an unsafe condition may 

exist on certain Saab Model SAAB 2000 

series airplanes. The LFV advises that, 

during an inspection flight, when 

electrical loads from one electrical 

power generator were transferred to a 

second generator, the second generator 

disconnected and the airplane was 

temporarily powered by battery only. 

Investigation revealed a broken terminal 

stud on the main generator relay, 

probably caused by excessive torque 

when the relay was installed. This 

condition, if not corrected, could reduce 

the redundancy of electrical power 

systems, result in increased pilot 

workload, and contribute to reduced 

controllability of the airplane. 

Relevant Service Information 

Saab has issued Service Bulletin 

2000–24–017, dated April 3, 2003. The 

service bulletin describes procedures for 

performing a one-time inspection to 

detect a broken terminal stud on a main 

relay of the electrical power generator, 

and corrective action if necessary. The 

procedures include installing the nuts 

and washers on the relay terminals 

using a torque wrench to test the 

strength of the terminals. If any broken 

terminal is found, the corrective action 

is replacing the relay with a new relay. 

Accomplishing the actions specified in 

the service information is intended to 

adequately address the unsafe 

condition. The LFV mandated the 

service information and issued Swedish 

airworthiness directive 1–190, dated 

April 4, 2003, to ensure the continued 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 20 / Tuesday, February 1, 2005 / Proposed Rules 5065

airworthiness of these airplanes in 

Sweden. 

FAA’s Determination and Requirements 

of the Proposed AD 

This airplane model is manufactured 

in Sweden and is type certificated for 

operation in the United States under the 

provisions of § 21.29 of the Federal 

Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 21.29) 

and the applicable bilateral 

airworthiness agreement. Pursuant to 

this bilateral airworthiness agreement, 

the LFV has kept the FAA informed of 

the situation described above. We have 

examined the LFV’s findings, evaluated 

all pertinent information, and 

determined that we need to issue an AD 

for products of this type design that are 

certificated for operation in the United 

States. 

Therefore, we are proposing this AD, 

which would require accomplishing the 

actions specified in the service 

information described previously, 

except as discussed under ‘‘Differences 

Between the Proposed AD and Service 

Information.’’

Differences Between the Proposed AD 

and Service Information 

The Accomplishment Instructions of 

the referenced service information 

describe procedures for submitting 

certain inspection results to the 

manufacturer. This proposed AD would 

not require that action. 

The service bulletin specifies to 

inspect the terminal studs, but does not 

specify what method must be used for 

this inspection. We have determined 

that the procedures in the service 

bulletin should be described as a 

‘‘general visual inspection.’’ Note 1 has 

been included in this AD to define this 

type of inspection. 

Costs of Compliance 

This proposed AD would affect about 

3 airplanes of U.S. registry. The 

proposed actions would take about 5 

work hours per airplane, at an average 

labor rate of $65 per work hour. Based 

on these figures, the estimated cost of 

the proposed AD for U.S. operators is 

$975, or $325 per airplane. 

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 have 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 that the 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. 

We prepared a regulatory evaluation 

of the estimated costs to comply with 

this proposed AD. See the ADDRESSES

section for a location to examine the 

regulatory evaluation.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39 

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation 

safety, 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 (AD):

SAAB Aircraft AB: Docket No. FAA–2005–

20244; Directorate Identifier 2004–NM–

204–AD. 

Comments Due Date 

(a) The Federal Aviation Administration 

must receive comments on this AD action by 

March 3, 2005. 

Affected ADs 

(b) None. 

Applicability: 

(c) This AD applies to Saab Model SAAB 

2000 series airplanes, certificated in any 

category, serial numbers –004 through –063 

inclusive. 

Unsafe Condition 

(d) This AD was prompted by 

disconnection of an electrical power 

generator during an inspection flight, which 

was caused by a broken terminal stud on the 

main relay. We are issuing this AD to prevent 

a broken terminal stud on the main relay of 

an electrical power generator, which could 

reduce the redundancy of electrical power 

systems, result in increased pilot workload, 

and contribute to reduced controllability of 

the airplane. 

Compliance: 

(e) You are responsible for having the 

actions required by this AD performed within 

the compliance times specified, unless the 

actions have already been done. 

Inspection and Corrective Actions 

(f) Within 6 months after the effective date 

of this AD, perform a one-time general visual 

inspection to detect a broken terminal stud 

on a main relay of the electrical power 

generator, and perform corrective actions as 

applicable, by doing all of the actions in the 

Accomplishment Instructions of Saab Service 

Bulletin 2000–24–017, dated April 3, 2003. 

Although the service bulletin specifies to 

submit certain information to the 

manufacturer, this AD does not include that 

requirement.

Note 1: For the purposes of this AD, a 

general visual inspection is: ‘‘A visual 

examination of an interior or exterior area, 

installation, or assembly to detect obvious 

damage, failure, or irregularity. This level of 

inspection is made from within touching 

distance unless otherwise specified. A mirror 

may be necessary to ensure visual access to 

all surfaces in the inspection area. This level 

of inspection is made under normally 

available lighting conditions such as 

daylight, hangar lighting, flashlight, or 

droplight and may require removal or 

opening of access panels or doors. Stands, 

ladders, or platforms may be required to gain 

proximity to the area being checked.’’

Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(g) The Manager, International Branch, 

ANM–116, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

FAA, has the authority to approve AMOCs 

for this AD, if requested in accordance with 

the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. 

Related Information 

(h) Swedish airworthiness directive 1–190, 

dated April 4, 2003, also addresses the 

subject of this AD.

5066 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 20 / Tuesday, February 1, 2005 / Proposed Rules 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on January 

21, 2005. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 05–1793 Filed 1–31–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2005–20243; Directorate 

Identifier 2004–NM–153–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Boeing 

Model 747 Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to 

supersede an existing airworthiness 

directive (AD) that applies to certain 

Boeing Model 747–100, –200, –300, and 

747SP series airplanes. The existing AD 

currently requires certain inspections to 

find missing or alloy-steel taperlock 

fasteners (bolts) in the diagonal brace 

underwing fittings, and corrective 

actions if necessary. For airplanes with 

missing or alloy-steel fasteners, the 

existing AD also mandates replacement 

of certain fasteners with new fasteners, 

which constitutes terminating action for 

certain inspections. This proposed AD 

would expand the applicability to 

include additional airplane models and 

would require a new inspection to 

determine fastener material and to find 

missing or broken fasteners, and related 

investigative/corrective actions if 

necessary. This proposed AD is 

prompted by reports indicating that 

cracked fasteners made of A286 material 

were found on airplanes that had only 

fasteners made of A286 material 

installed in the area common to the 

diagonal brace underwing fittings. We 

are proposing this AD to prevent loss of 

the underwing fitting load path due to 

missing or damaged alloy-steel or A286 

taperlock fasteners, which could result 

in separation of the engine and strut 

from the airplane.

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by March 18, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Use one of the following 

addresses to submit comments on this 

proposed AD. 

• DOT Docket Web Site: Go to

http://dms.dot.gov and follow the 

instructions for sending your comments 

electronically. 

• Government-wide Rulemaking Web 

Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov

and follow the instructions for sending 

your comments electronically. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility; 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street SW., Nassif Building, 

room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• Hand Delivery: Room PL–401 on 

the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 

400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, 

DC, 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, P.O. Box 3707, 

Seattle, Washington 98124–2207. 

You can examine the contents of this 

AD docket on the Internet at http://

dms.dot.gov, or in person at the Docket 

Management Facility, U.S. Department 

of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street 

SW., room PL–401, on the plaza level of 

the Nassif Building, Washington, DC. 

This docket number is FAA–2005–

20243; the directorate identifier for this 

docket is 2004–NM–153–AD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nicholas Kusz, Aerospace Engineer, 

Airframe Branch, ANM–120S, FAA, 

Seattle Aircraft Certification Office, 

1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, 

Washington 98055–4056; telephone 

(425) 917–6432; fax (425) 917–6590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to submit any relevant 

written data, views, or arguments 

regarding this proposed AD. Send your 

comments to an address listed under 

ADDRESSES. Include ‘‘Docket No. FAA–

2005–20243; Directorate Identifier 

2004–NM–153–AD’’ at the beginning of 

your comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of the proposed AD. We will 

consider all comments received by the 

closing date and may amend the 

proposed AD in light of those 

comments. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http://

dms.dot.gov, including any personal 

information you provide. We will also 

post a report summarizing each 

substantive verbal contact with FAA 

personnel concerning this proposed AD. 

Using the search function of our docket 

Web site, anyone can find and read the 

comments in any of our dockets, 

including the name of the individual 

who sent the comment (or signed the 

comment on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You can 

review the DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register

published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 

19477–78), or you can visit http://

dms.dot.gov.

Examining the Docket 

You can examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov, or in 

person at the Docket Management 

Facility office between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. The Docket 

Management Facility office (telephone 

(800) 647–5227) is located on the plaza 

level of the Nassif Building at the DOT 

street address stated in the ADDRESSES

section. Comments will be available in 

the AD docket shortly after the DMS 

receives them. 

Discussion 

On June 19, 2001, we issued AD 

2001–13–06, amendment 39–12286 (66 

FR 34094, June 27, 2001), for certain 

Boeing Model 747–100, –200, –300, and 

747SP series airplanes. That AD 

requires certain inspections to find 

missing or alloy-steel taperlock fasteners 

(bolts) in the diagonal brace underwing 

fittings; and corrective actions, if 

necessary. For airplanes with missing or 

alloy-steel fasteners, that AD also 

mandates replacement of certain 

fasteners with new fasteners, which 

constitutes terminating action for the 

repetitive inspection. That AD was 

prompted by a report indicating that 

broken taperlock fasteners (bolts) were 

found on the diagonal brace underwing 

fittings on the outboard strut at the 

Number 1 and Number 4 engine pylons 

on a Boeing Model 747–200 series 

airplane having titanium underwing 

fittings. We issued that AD to prevent 

loss of the underwing fitting load path 

due to missing or damaged alloy-steel 

taperlock fasteners, which could result 

in separation of the engine and strut 

from the airplane. 

Actions Since Existing AD Was Issued 

Since we issued AD 2001–13–06, we 

have received reports indicating that 

fractured fasteners have been found on 

Model 747–200B series airplanes that 

weren’t included in the applicability of 

the existing AD. The fractured fasteners 

were made of A286 material, and only 

fasteners made of that material were 

installed in the diagonal brace 

underwing fitting. (After this, this 

proposed AD refers to fasteners made of 

A286 material as ‘‘A286 fasteners.’’) 

Previously, cracked or broken A286 

fasteners were found only on airplanes 

that had a combination of alloy-steel 

and A286 fasteners. Thus, these 

previous incidents were attributed to 

overload of the A286 fasteners due to