Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 134 / Wednesday, July 15, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 34213 

Office (FSDO), or lacking a PI, your local 

FSDO. 

Material Incorporated by Reference 

(g) You must use Hawker Beechcraft 

Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 28–3967, 

dated June 2009, to do the actions required 

by this AD, unless the AD specifies 

otherwise. 

(1) The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference of 

this service information under 5 U.S.C. 

552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. 

(2) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Hawker Beechcraft 

Corporation, Attn: Piston Technical Support, 

P.O. Box 85, Wichita, Kansas 67201; 

telephone: (800) 429–5372; fax: (316) 676– 

8745; E-mail: tmdc@hawkerbeechcraft.com; 

Internet: http://www.hawkerbeechcraft.com. 

(3) You may review copies of the service 

information incorporated by reference for 

this AD at the FAA, Central Region, Office of 

the Regional Counsel, 901 Locust, Kansas 

City, Missouri 64106. For information on the 

availability of this material at the Central 

Region, call (816) 329–3768. 

(4) You may also review copies of the 

service information incorporated by reference 

for this AD 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/

code_of_federal_regulations/

ibr_locations.html. 

Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 2, 

2009. 

Scott A. Horn, 

Acting Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–16383 Filed 7–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2009–0437; Directorate 

Identifier 2009–CE–018–AD; Amendment 

39–15963; AD 2009–14–13] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Pilatus 

Aircraft Ltd. Models PC–12, PC–12/45, 

PC–12/47, and PC–12/47E Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are superseding an 

existing airworthiness directive (AD) for 

the products listed above. This AD 

results from mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information (MCAI) 

issued by an aviation authority of 

another country to identify and correct 

an unsafe condition on an aviation 

product. The MCAI (two different 

MCAI) describes the unsafe condition 

as: 

FOCA AD HB 2002–271 was issued 

because the Nose Landing Gear (NLG) Right 

Hand (RH) upper drag link, Part Number (P/ 

N) 532.20.12.140 was found broken on some 

aircraft due to fatigue cracking, and therefore 

a life limit of 4,000 landings was introduced. 

Recent investigation of a new occurrence 

revealed that the replacement part NLG RH 

upper drag link P/N 532.20.12.289 also 

suffered fatigue cracking, however on a 

different location. 

Complete failure of the NLG RH upper drag 

link could result in NLG collapse during 

landing. 

and 

This Airworthiness Directive (AD) is 

prompted by reports of several in-service 

cracked torque tubes. A reduced wall 

thickness produced during the 

manufacturing process has been determined 

to be the initial cause. 

Additionally, all the involved torque tubes 

have been found to show fatigue cracking 

problems. 

Such a condition, if left uncorrected, could 

lead to failure of the torque tube and result 

in loss of the steering control on ground and 

consequent unsafe condition. 

We are issuing this AD to require 

actions to correct the unsafe condition 

on these products. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective 

August 19, 2009. 

On August 19, 2009, the Director of 

the Federal Register approved the 

incorporation by reference of certain 

publications listed in this AD. 

ADDRESSES: You may examine the AD 

docket on the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in person at the 

Docket Management Facility, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, 

FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 

Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, 

Missouri 64106; telephone: (816) 329– 

4059; fax: (816) 329–4090. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

We issued a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR 

part 39 to include an AD that would 

apply to the specified products. That 

NPRM was published in the Federal 

Register on May 8, 2009 (74 FR 21561), 

and proposed to supersede AD 2003– 

14–07, Amendment 39–13226 (68 FR 

41903, July 16, 2003). That NPRM 

proposed to correct an unsafe condition 

for the specified products. The MCAI 

(two different MCAI) states: 

FOCA AD HB 2002–271 was issued 

because the Nose Landing Gear (NLG) Right 

Hand (RH) upper drag link, Part Number (P/ 

N) 532.20.12.140 was found broken on some 

aircraft due to fatigue cracking, and therefore 

a life limit of 4,000 landings was introduced. 

Recent investigation of a new occurrence 

revealed that the replacement part NLG RH 

upper drag link P/N 532.20.12.289 also 

suffered fatigue cracking, however on a 

different location. 

Complete failure of the NLG RH upper drag 

link could result in NLG collapse during 

landing. To address that condition, this AD 

is issued to mandate the implementation of 

the latest revision of the PC–12 Aircraft 

Maintenance Manual (AMM) chapter 4— 

airworthiness limitations section—by 

establishing repetitive inspections for the 

NLG RH upper drag links P/N 532.20.12.140 

and P/N 532.20.12.289. 

and 

This Airworthiness Directive (AD) is 

prompted by reports of several in-service 

cracked torque tubes. A reduced wall 

thickness produced during the 

manufacturing process has been determined 

to be the initial cause. 

Additionally, all the involved torque tubes 

have been found to show fatigue cracking 

problems. 

Such a condition, if left uncorrected, could 

lead to failure of the torque tube and result 

in loss of the steering control on ground and 

consequent unsafe condition. 

For the reason described above, this new 

AD mandates the replacement of certain 

torque tubes by new ones of an improved 

design and the latest revision of chapter 4 

‘limitations’ of the PC–12 Aircraft 

Maintenance Manual (AMM) which 

introduces the new life limit for torque tubes 

with Part Number (P/N) 532.50.12.047. 

We reviewed the available data, 

including the comment received, and 

determined that air safety and the 

public interest require adopting the AD 

as proposed. 

Comments 

We gave the public the opportunity to 

participate in developing this AD. We 

considered the comment received. 

Comment Issue: Require Using 

Limitations Document in Latest 

Maintenance 

Manual Revision 

Tim Kitzman states that document 

12–A–04–00–00–00A–000T–A, dated 

January 28, 2009, has been incorporated 

into the latest revision of the aircraft 

maintenance manual. He requests that 

we update the AD to require 

incorporating the data module found in 

PC–12 AMM, Document No. 02049, Rev 

19, dated March 1, 2009. 

We disagree with the commenter. 

Structural and Component 

Limitations—Airworthiness Limitations, 

document 12–A–04–00–00–00A–000T– 


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34214 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 134 / Wednesday, July 15, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

A, dated January 28, 2009, contains the 

required limitations information for this 

AD. We are aware Pilatus periodically 

updates their aircraft maintenance 

manuals (both electronic and paper 

versions), and the manuals contain the 

limitations section referenced in this 

AD. We encourage owners/operators to 

keep their maintenance manuals up-todate. However, paragraph 145.c.(2) of 

the FAA Airworthiness Directives 

Manual FAA–IR–M–8040.1B, dated May 

28, 2008, states: 

Only the version given to the OFR (Office 

of the Federal Register) for IBR (incorporation 

by reference) is the legally enforceable one. 

Later revised service bulletin pages, for 

instance, would constitute a change to the 

document and an ‘‘alternative method of 

compliance’’ that has not been subject to 

public notice and comment. 

We use the AD process to mandate 

changes to the limitations section and 

we can not mandate future revisions. If 

the document containing the limitations 

section is updated and an owner/ 

operator wants to incorporate the latest 

version of the document (including the 

limitations section) into their 

maintenance program, they can request 

an alternative method of compliance 

(AMOC) following the procedures in 

paragraph (h)(1) of this AD. You may get 

a copy of the FAA Airworthiness 

Directives Manual on the Internet at 

http://rgl.faa.gov/ 

Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/ 

rgOrders.nsf/Frameset?OpenPage. 

We are not changing the final rule AD 

action based on this comment. 

Conclusion 

We reviewed the available data, 

including the comment received, and 

determined that air safety and the 

public interest require adopting the AD 

with the changes described previously. 

We determined that these changes will 

not increase the economic burden on 

any operator or increase the scope of the 

AD. 

Differences Between This AD and the 

MCAI or Service Information 

We have reviewed the MCAI and 

related service information and, in 

general, agree with their substance. But 

we might have found it necessary to use 

different words from those in the MCAI 

to ensure the AD is clear for U.S. 

operators and is enforceable. In making 

these changes, we do not intend to differ 

substantively from the information 

provided in the MCAI and related 

service information. 

We might also have required different 

actions in this AD from those in the 

MCAI in order to follow FAA policies. 

Any such differences are highlighted in 

a NOTE within the AD. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this AD will affect 

540 products of U.S. registry. We also 

estimate that it will take about 3.5 workhours per product to comply with the 

basic requirements of this AD. The 

average labor rate is $80 per work-hour. 

Required parts will cost about $300 per 

product. Based on these figures, we 

estimate the cost of this AD to the U.S. 

operators to be $313,200, or $580 per 

product. 

In addition, we estimate that any 

necessary follow-on actions would take 

about 6 work-hours and require parts 

costing $4,000, for a cost of $4,480 per 

product. We have no way of 

determining the number of products 

that may need these actions. 

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 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 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); 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 AD and placed it in the AD Docket. 

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 the NPRM, 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. 

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 

removing Amendment 39–13226 (68 FR 

41903, July 16, 2003) and adding the 

following new AD: 

2009–14–13 Pilatus Aircraft Ltd.: 

Amendment 39–15963; Docket No. 

FAA–2009–0437; Directorate Identifier 

2009–CE–018–AD. 

Effective Date 

(a) This airworthiness directive (AD) 

becomes effective August 19, 2009. 

Affected ADs 

(b) This AD supersedes AD 2003–14–07, 

Amendment 39–13226. 

Applicability 

(c) This AD applies to the following model 

and serial number airplanes, certificated in 

any category: 

(1) Models PC–12, PC–12/45, PC–12/47, 

manufacturer serial numbers (MSNs) 101 

through 544 and MSNs 546 through 888; and 

(2) Model PC–12/47E, MSN 545 and MSNs 

1001 through 1150. 

Subject 

(d) Air Transport Association of America 

(ATA) Code 32: Landing Gear. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 134 / Wednesday, July 15, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 34215 

Reason 

(e) The mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information (MCAI) (two 

different MCAI) states: 

FOCA AD HB 2002–271 was issued 

because the Nose Landing Gear (NLG) Right 

Hand (RH) upper drag link, Part Number 

(P/N) 532.20.12.140 was found broken on 

some aircraft due to fatigue cracking, and 

therefore a life limit of 4,000 landings was 

introduced. 

Recent investigation of a new occurrence 

revealed that the replacement part NLG RH 

upper drag link P/N 532.20.12.289 also 

suffered fatigue cracking, however on a 

different location. 

Complete failure of the NLG RH upper drag 

link could result in NLG collapse during 

landing. To address that condition, this AD 

is issued to mandate the implementation of 

the latest revision of the PC–12 Aircraft 

Maintenance Manual (AMM) chapter 4— 

airworthiness limitations section—by 

establishing repetitive inspections for the 

NLG RH upper drag links P/N 532.20.12.140 

and P/N 532.20.12.289. 

and 

This Airworthiness Directive (AD) is 

prompted by reports of several in-service 

cracked torque tubes. A reduced wall 

thickness produced during the 

manufacturing process has been determined 

to be the initial cause. Additionally, all the 

involved torque tubes have been found to 

show fatigue cracking problems. 

Such a condition, if left uncorrected, could 

lead to failure of the torque tube and result 

in loss of the steering control on ground and 

consequent unsafe condition. 

For the reason described above, this new 

AD mandates the replacement of certain 

torque tubes by new ones of an improved 

design and the latest revision of chapter 4 

‘‘limitations’’ of the PC–12 Aircraft 

Maintenance Manual (AMM) which 

introduces the new life limit for torque tubes 

with Part Number (P/N) 532.50.12.047. 

Actions and Compliance 

(f) Unless already done, do the following 

actions: 

(1) Limitations Section Actions: For all 

airplanes, before further flight after August 

19, 2009 (the effective date of this AD), insert 

Structural and Component Limitations— 

Airworthiness Limitations, document 12–A– 

04–00–00–00A–000T–A, dated January 28, 

2009 (for PC–12, PC–12/45, PC–12/47), and 

Structural and Component Limitations— 

Airworthiness Limitations, document 12–B– 

04–00–00–00A–000A–A, dated January 27, 

2009 (for PC–12/47E), into the Limitations 

section of the FAA approved maintenance 

program (e.g., maintenance manual). The 

limitations section revision does the 

following: 

(i) Establishes a life limit for torque tube 

P/N 532.50.12.047 and does not impose a life 

limit on torque tube P/N 532.50.12.064; 

(ii) Requires doing initial and repetitive 

inspections of nose landing gear right hand 

upper drag link P/N 532.20.12.140 (for PC– 

12 and PC–12/45 airplanes) or P/N 

532.20.12.289 (for all airplanes) in 

accordance with the time limits specified in 

the revision. The limitations do not allow 

installation of the upper drag link P/N 

532.20.12.140 on PC–12/47 and PC–12/47E 

airplanes. The 4,000 landing limit for the 

upper drag link P/N 532.20.12.140 installed 

on the PC–12 and PC–12/45 is retained from 

AD 2003–14–07 through this limitation 

requirement; and 

(iii) Does not require doing initial and 

repetitive inspections of nose landing gear 

right hand upper drag link P/N 

532.20.12.296; therefore, installation of upper 

drag link P/N 532.20.12.296 terminates the 

inspection requirement referenced in 

paragraph (f)(1)(ii) of this AD. 

(2) Additional Torque Tube Actions: 

(i) For PC–12 and PC–12/45, S/N 101 

through 299, airplanes: Within the next 100 

hours time-in-service (TIS) after August 19, 

2009 (the effective date of this AD) or 1 year 

after August 19, 2009 (the effective date of 

this AD), whichever occurs first, replace the 

torque tube P/N 532.50.12.047 with torque 

tube P/N 532.50.12.064 following PILATUS 

AIRCRAFT LTD. Service Bulletin No: 32– 

021, dated November 21, 2008. 

(ii) For all airplanes: As of August 19, 2009 

(the effective date of this AD), do not install 

torque tube P/N 532.50.12.047. 

FAA AD Differences 

Note: This AD differs from the MCAI 

and/or service information as follows: No 

differences. 

Other FAA AD Provisions 

(h) The following provisions also apply to 

this AD: 

(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, Standards Office, 

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: Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, 

FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, 

Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; 

telephone: (816) 329–4059; fax: (816) 329– 

4090. Before using any approved AMOC on 

any airplane to which the AMOC applies, 

notify your appropriate principal inspector 

(PI) in the FAA Flight Standards District 

Office (FSDO), or lacking a PI, your local 

FSDO. 

(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 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) has 

approved the information collection 

requirements and has assigned OMB Control 

Number 2120–0056. 

Special Flight Permit 

(i) We are limiting the special flight 

permits for this AD by requiring you to fly 

with the landing gear extended in order to 

reach the nearest maintenance facility where 

the inspection or replacement is done. 

Consult the airplane flight manual or contact 

PILATUS AIRCRAFT LTD. for the additional 

limitations for flight with landing gear 

extended. 

Related Information 

(j) Refer to MCAI (two different MCAI) AD 

No.: 2009–0086 dated April 14, 2009, and AD 

No.: 2009–0060 dated March 11, 2009; 

PILATUS AIRCRAFT LTD. Service Bulletin 

No: 32–021, dated November 21, 2008; 

Structural and Component Limitations— 

Airworthiness Limitations, document 12–A– 

04–00–00–00A–000T–A, dated January 28, 

2009; and Structural and Component 

Limitations—Airworthiness Limitations, 

document 12–B–04–00–00–00A–000A–A, 

dated January 27, 2009, for related 

information. 

Material Incorporated by Reference 

(k) You must use PILATUS AIRCRAFT 

LTD. Service Bulletin No: 32–021, dated 

November 21, 2008; Structural and 

Component Limitations—Airworthiness 

Limitations, document 12–A–04–00–00– 

00A–000T–A, dated January 28, 2009; and 

Structural and Component Limitations— 

Airworthiness Limitations, document 12–B– 

04–00–00–00A–000A–A, dated January 27, 

2009, to do the actions required by this AD, 

unless the AD specifies otherwise. 

(1) The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference of 

this service information under 5 U.S.C. 

552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. 

(2) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact PILATUS AIRCRAFT LTD., 

Customer Service Manager, CH–6371 

STANS, Switzerland; telephone: +41 (0)41 

619 62 08; fax: +41 (0)41 619 73 11; Internet: 

http://www.pilatus-aircraft.com/, or e-mail: 

SupportPC12@pilatus-aircraft.com. 

(3) You may review copies of the service 

information incorporated by reference for 

this AD at the FAA, Central Region, Office of 

the Regional Counsel, 901 Locust, Kansas 

City, Missouri 64106. For information on the 

availability of this material at the Central 

Region, call (816) 329–3768. 

(4) You may also review copies of the 

service information incorporated by reference 

for this AD 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/ 

code_of_federal_regulations/ 

ibr_locations.html. 

Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 1, 

2009. 

Scott A. Horn, 

Acting Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–16230 Filed 7–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 


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