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

58352 

Vol. 70, No. 193 

Thursday, October 6, 2005 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2005–22630; Directorate 

Identifier 2001–NM–323–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Model 

A300 B4–600, B4–600R, and F4–600R 

Series Airplanes, and Model C4–605R 

Variant F Airplanes (Collectively Called 

A300–600 Series Airplanes); and 

Airbus Model A310–200 and –300 

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 all 

Airbus Model A300 B4–600, B4–600R, 

and F4–600R series airplanes, and 

Model C4–605R Variant F airplanes 

(collectively called A300–600 series 

airplanes); and A310–200 and –300 

series airplanes. This proposed AD 

would require a one-time inspection of 

the trimmable horizontal stabilizer 

actuator (THSA), corrective actions if 

necessary, and follow-on repetitive 

tasks. This proposed AD is prompted by 

reports of THSAs that have reached 

their design operational life. This 

operational life can be extended 

provided an initial inspection and 

follow-on repetitive tasks are 

accomplished. We are proposing this 

AD to extend the operational life of the 

THSA to prevent a possible failure of 

high-time units, which could result in 

reduced controllability of the airplane. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by November 7, 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 Airbus, 1 

Rond Point Maurice Bellonte, 31707 

Blagnac Cedex, France. 

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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim 

Backman, Aerospace Engineer, 

International Branch, ANM–116, FAA, 

Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 

Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 

98055–4056; telephone (425) 227–2797; 

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– 

2005–22630; Directorate Identifier 

2001–NM–323–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 Direction Ge ́ne ́rale de l’Aviation 

Civile (DGAC), which is the 

airworthiness authority for France, 

notified the FAA that an unsafe 

condition may exist on all Airbus Model 

A300 B4–600, B4–600R, and F4–600R 

series airplanes, and Model C4–605R 

Variant F airplanes (collectively called 

A300–600 series airplanes); and Airbus 

Model A310–200 and –300 series 

airplanes. The trimmable horizontal 

stabilizer actuator (THSA) on those 

airplanes was designed for an 

operational life of 47,000 total flight 

hours. The DGAC advises that some 

THSAs installed on those airplanes have 

reached this operational limit. The 

DGAC has mandated an inspection and 

maintenance program to maintain the 

THSA’s design reliability objective 

beyond its original 47,000-total-flighthour operational life. The inspection 

and scheduled maintenance program of 

certain THSA components will allow an 

increase of the THSA’s operational life 

limit, from 47,000 total flight hours to 

65,000 total flight hours/40,000 total 

flight cycles. Failure of the THSA, if not 

corrected, could result in reduced 

controllability of the airplane. 

Relevant Service Information 

Airbus has issued Service Bulletins 

A300–27–6044, Revision 04, dated 

September 10, 2001 (for Model A300– 

600 series airplanes); and A310–27– 

2089, Revision 02, dated June 28, 2001 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 193 / Thursday, October 6, 2005 / Proposed Rules 58353 

(for Model A310–200 and –300 series 

airplanes). These service bulletins 

describe procedures for inspecting the 

THSA, and performing corrective 

actions and follow-on repetitive tasks as 

necessary. The procedures involve: 

• A detailed inspection of the THSA 

screw shaft thread surface for chrome 

plate wear and corrosion, and 

replacement of a worn or corroded unit 

with a new or serviceable (refurbished) 

unit. 

• A detailed inspection of the THSA 

lower claw stop for debonding between 

the rubber and the inner/outer ring; 

measurement of the relative 

displacement of the inner and outer 

claw stop rings; and replacement, with 

a new stop, of any stop that has 

exceeded specified limits. 

• A detailed inspection of the THSA 

fail-safe tie bar for corrosion, and 

replacement of any corroded fail-safe tie 

bar with a new or serviceable 

(refurbished) unit. 

The repetitive tasks include: 

REPETITIVE ACTIONS

Action 

Repetitive 

interval 

(flight hours) 

Checking for external oil leakage ........................................ 1,200 

Lubricating the ball screw nut .. 600 

Checking the magnetic chip detector ..................................... 2,400 

Inspecting the upper and lower 

attachments and ball screw .. 2,000 

Checking certain oil pumps and 

static torque .......................... 7,000 

After a THSA is replaced with a new 

or serviceable THSA, there is no need to 

do the repetitive tasks until 47,000 flight 

hours after the replacement. 

Accomplishment of the actions 

specified in the Airbus service bulletins 

is intended to adequately address the 

identified unsafe condition. The DGAC 

classified these service bulletins as 

mandatory and issued French 

airworthiness directive 2001–242(B), 

dated June 27, 2001, to ensure the 

continued airworthiness of these 

airplanes in France. 

The Airbus service bulletins refer to 

‘‘Lucas Service Bulletin 47142–27–11’’

as an additional source of service 

information for the inspections. This 

document is actually identified as 

Goodrich Actuation Systems Service 

Bulletin 47142–27–11 (currently at 

Revision 3, dated April 25, 2005). 

FAA’s Determination and Requirements 

of the Proposed AD 

These airplane models are 

manufactured in France and are type 

certificated for operation in the United 

States under the provisions of section 

21.29 of the Federal Aviation 

Regulations (14 CFR 21.29) and the 

applicable bilateral airworthiness 

agreement. Pursuant to this bilateral 

airworthiness agreement, the DGAC has 

kept the FAA informed of the situation 

described above. We have examined the 

DGAC’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 below. 

Difference Between Proposed AD and 

Service Bulletin 

The service bulletin specifies that you 

may contact the manufacturer for 

instructions on how to repair certain 

conditions, but this proposed AD would 

require you to repair those conditions 

using a method that we or the DGAC (or 

its delegated agent) approve. In light of 

the type of repair that would be required 

to address the unsafe condition, and 

consistent with existing bilateral 

airworthiness agreements, we have 

determined that, for this proposed AD, 

a repair we or the DGAC approve would 

be acceptable for compliance with this 

proposed AD. 

Clarification of Inspection Type 

The service bulletins do not specify 

the type of inspection that would be 

required by this proposed AD. We have 

determined that this inspection is a 

detailed inspection. Note 1 of this 

proposed AD defines a detailed 

inspection. 

Costs of Compliance 

The following table provides the 

estimated costs for U.S. operators to 

comply with this proposed AD. 

ESTIMATED COSTS

Action Work hours 

Average 

labor rate 

per hour 

Parts Cost per airplane 

Number of 

U.S.-reg. 

airplanes 

Fleet cost 

Inspection .............................. 3 $65 None required .. $195 ............................ 146 $28,470. 

Repetitive follow-on tasks ..... 12 65 $0 ..................... $780, per inspection 

cycle.

146 $113,880, per inspection cycle. 

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. 

58354 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 193 / Thursday, October 6, 2005 / Proposed Rules 

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): 

Airbus: Docket No. FAA–2005–22630; 

Directorate Identifier 2001–NM–323–AD. 

Comments Due Date 

(a) The Federal Aviation Administration 

must receive comments on this AD action by 

November 7, 2005. 

Affected ADs 

(b) None. 

Applicability 

(c) This AD applies to all of the following 

Airbus airplanes, certificated in any category: 

Model A300 B4–601, B4–603, B4–620, and 

B4–622 airplanes 

Model A300 B4–605R and B4–622R airplanes 

Model A300 F4–605R and F4–622R airplanes 

Model A300 C4–605R Variant F airplanes 

Model A310–203, –204, –221, and –222 

airplanes 

Model A310–304, –322, –324, and –325 

airplanes 

Unsafe Condition 

(d) This AD was prompted by reports of 

trimmable horizontal stabilizer actuators 

(THSAs) that have reached their design 

operational life. We are issuing this AD to 

extend the operational life of the THSA to 

prevent a possible failure of high-time units, 

which could result in 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. 

Service Bulletin References 

(f) Unless otherwise specified in this AD, 

the term ‘‘service bulletin,’’ as used in this 

AD, means the Accomplishment Instructions 

of the applicable service bulletin identified 

in Table 1 of this AD. The service bulletins 

refer to Goodrich Actuation Systems Service 

Bulletin 47142–27–11, Revision 3, dated 

April 25, 2005, as an additional source of 

service information for the required actions. 

TABLE 1.—SERVICE BULLETINS

For Airbus Model— Use Airbus Service Bulletin— 

Actions done before the effective 

date of this AD are also acceptable if done in accordance with 

Airbus Service Bulletin— 

A300 B4–601, B4–603, B4–620, and B4–622 airplanes; A300 B4– 

605R and B4–622R airplanes; A300 F4–605R and F4–622R airplanes; and A300 C4–605R Variant F airplanes.

A300–27–6044, Revision 04, 

dated September 10, 2001.

A300–27–6044, Revision 02, 

dated August 26, 2000; or Revision 03, dated June 28, 2001. 

A310–203, –204, –221, and –222 airplanes; and A310–304, –322, 

–324, and –325 airplanes.

A310–27–2089, Revision 02, 

dated June 28, 2001.

A310–27–2089, Revision 01, 

dated August 8, 2000. 

Inspection 

(g) At the applicable time specified in 

paragraph (g)(1) or (g)(2) of this AD, do a 

detailed inspection of specified components 

of the THSA in accordance with paragraph 

E.(2)(a) of the applicable service bulletin. 

Repair any discrepancy before further flight 

in accordance with a method approved by 

the Manager, International Branch, ANM–

116, Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA; or 

the Direction Ge ́ne ́rale de l’Aviation Civile 

(DGAC) (or its delegated agent). 

(1) If the flight hours accumulated on the 

THSA can be positively determined: Inspect 

before the accumulation of 47,000 total flight 

hours on the THSA, or within 600 flight 

hours after the effective date of this AD, 

whichever occurs later. 

(2) If the flight hours accumulated on the 

THSA cannot be positive determined: Inspect 

before the accumulation of 47,000 total flight 

hours on the airplane, or within 600 flight 

hours after the effective date of this AD, 

whichever occurs later. 

Note 1: For the purposes of this AD, a 

detailed inspection is: ‘‘An intensive 

examination of a specific item, installation, 

or assembly to detect damage, failure, or 

irregularity. Available lighting is normally 

supplemented with a direct source of good 

lighting at an intensity deemed appropriate. 

Inspection aids such as mirror, magnifying 

lenses, etc., may be necessary. Surface 

cleaning and elaborate procedures may be 

required.’’

Follow-on Repetitive Tasks 

(h) After the inspection required by 

paragraph (g) of this AD: Do the repetitive 

tasks in accordance with and at the times 

specified in paragraph E.(2)(b) of the service 

bulletin, as applicable, except as provided by 

paragraph (i) of this AD. The repetitive tasks 

are valid only until the THSA operational life 

exceeds the first occurring of 65,000 flight 

hours or 40,000 flight cycles. Before 

operating the THSA beyond these extended 

life goals, the operator must replace the 

THSA with a new THSA, except as provided 

by paragraph (i) of this AD. 

THSA Replacement 

(i) For any THSA, whether discrepant or 

not, that is replaced with a new THSA: 

Within 47,000 flight hours after the THSA is 

replaced, do the applicable tasks specified in 

paragraph E.(2)(a) of the applicable service 

bulletin. Thereafter repeat the tasks within 

the repetitive intervals specified in paragraph 

E.(2)(b) of the applicable service bulletin. 

Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(j)(1) The Manager, International Branch, 

ANM–116, has the authority to approve 

AMOCs for this AD, if requested in 

accordance with the procedures found in 14 

CFR 39.19. 

(j)(2) Before using any AMOC approved in 

accordance with 14 CFR 39.19 on any 

airplane to which the AMOC applies, notify 

the appropriate principal inspector in the 

FAA Flight Standards Certificate Holding 

District Office. 

Related Information 

(k) French airworthiness directive 2001–

242(B), dated June 27, 2001, also addresses 

the subject of this AD. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on 

September 28, 2005. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–20063 Filed 10–5–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P