Document ID: FAA-2023-2003-0001
Agency: faa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Airworthiness Directives: The Boeing Company Airplanes
Posted Date: 2023-10-26T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 206 (Thursday, October 26, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 73543-73545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23521]

 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 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.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 206 / Thursday, October 26, 2023 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 73543]]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2023-2003; Project Identifier AD-2022-01620-T]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company 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 certain The Boeing Company Model 757 airplanes. This proposed AD 
was prompted by reports of operators finding frequent and severe damage 
to the blowout vent grills of the aft soft bulkhead lining in the aft 
lower lobe cargo compartment. This proposed AD would require repetitive 
detailed inspections of certain decompression panels and pressure 
equalization valves, as applicable, in the forward and aft lower lobe 
cargo compartments for damage, and applicable on-condition actions. For 
certain airplanes, this proposed AD would also require replacement of a 
certain soft bulkhead with a rigid bulkhead. For certain other 
airplanes, this proposed AD would require installation of doublers to a 
certain bulkhead assembly panel. 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 December 
11, 2023.

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 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.
    AD Docket: You may examine the AD docket at regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FAA-2023-2003; 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, any comments received, and other 
information. The street address for Docket Operations is listed above.
    Material Incorporated by Reference:
     For service information identified in this NPRM, contact 
Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Attention: Contractual & Data Services 
(C&DS), 2600 Westminster Blvd., MC 110-SK57, Seal Beach, CA 90740-5600; 
telephone 562-797-1717; website myboeingfleet.com.
     You may view this service information 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 at 
regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2023-2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Venegas, Aviation Safety 
Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; telephone: 
562-627-5353; email: [email protected].

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-2023-2003; Project Identifier 
AD-2022-01620-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 
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 
Katherine Venegas, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., 
Des Moines, WA 98198; telephone: 562-627-5353; email: 
[email protected]. Any commentary that the FAA receives that is 
not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket 
for this rulemaking.

Background

    Operators have found, on multiple aircraft, frequent and severe 
damage to the blowout vent grills of the aft soft bulkhead lining in 
the lower lobe cargo compartment. Damage to the grill assembly 
consisted of bent, fractured, and missing sections of tubing; deformed 
frames; and twisted cross members. Boeing investigated the reported 
damage and found the blowout vent grills are vulnerable to being 
damaged during baggage loading and unloading. Damage to the blowout 
vent grills in the forward and aft lower lobe cargo compartments could 
lead to latent failure of the decompression panels and pressure 
equalization valves. This latent failure, in combination with a fire, 
could make the cargo fire protection, detection, suppression, and 
containment system ineffective. Also,

[[Page 73544]]

this latent failure, in combination with rapid decompression of the 
airplane, could prevent activation of the station (STA) 1640 
decompression panels, which could damage the STA 1640 floor beam and 
cause loss of hydraulic systems components and flight control. This 
condition, if not addressed could result in the inability of the 
flightcrew to maintain safe flight and landing.

FAA's Determination

    The FAA is issuing this NPRM after determining that the unsafe 
condition described previously is likely to exist or develop on other 
products of the same type design.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    The FAA reviewed Boeing Alert Requirements Bulletin 757-25A0319 RB, 
dated March 24, 2023. This service information specifies procedures for 
repetitive detailed inspections of certain bulkhead (including STA 
1640), sidewall, ceiling, and E5 EE rack decompression panels, and 
pressure equalization valves on certain airplanes, in the forward and 
aft lower lobe cargo compartments for damage; and applicable on-
condition actions. On-condition actions include repair or replacement 
of any damaged decompression panels or pressure equalization valves. 
For certain airplanes, this service information also specifies 
procedures for replacing the soft bulkhead at STA 1640 with a rigid 
bulkhead having decompression panels with billet grilles. For certain 
other airplanes, this service information specifies procedures for 
installing doublers to the bulkhead assembly panel at STA 1640.
    This service information is reasonably available because the 
interested parties have access to it through their normal course of 
business or by the means identified in ADDRESSES.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

    This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified 
in the service information already described, except for any 
differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this 
proposed AD. For information on the procedures and compliance times, 
see this service information at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-
2023-2003.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would 
affect 489 airplanes of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following 
costs to comply with this proposed AD:

                                                 Estimated Costs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                Cost on U.S.
              Action                    Labor cost        Parts cost    Cost per product          operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Detailed Inspection..............  Up to 21 work-hours            $0  Up to $1,785 per      Up to $872,865 per
                                    x $85 per hour =                   inspection cycle.     inspection cycle.
                                    $1,785 per
                                    inspection cycle.
Replacement of soft bulkhead (100  10 work-hours x $85       108,240  109,090.............  10,909,000.
 airplanes).                        per hour = $850.
Installation of doublers (7        2 work-hours x $85          1,760  $1,930..............  13,510.
 airplanes).                        per hour = $170.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FAA estimates the following costs to do any necessary repair or 
replacement that would be required based on the results of the proposed 
inspection. The agency has no way of determining the number of aircraft 
that might need this repair or replacement:

                                               On-Condition Costs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Cost per
                   Action                                 Labor cost                Parts cost        product
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Repair.....................................  12 work-hours x $85 per hour =              $54,120         $55,140
                                              $1,020.
Replacement................................  12 work-hour x $85 per hour =               108,240         109,260
                                              $1,020.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

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:

[[Page 73545]]

PART 39--AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

0
1. The authority citation for part 39 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.

Sec.  39.13  [Amended]

0
2. The FAA amends Sec.  39.13 by adding the following new airworthiness 
directive:

The Boeing Company: Docket No. FAA-2023-2003; Project Identifier AD-
2022-01620-T.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) by December 11, 2023.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to The Boeing Company Model 757-200, -200PF, -
200CB, and -300 series airplanes, certificated in any category, as 
identified in Boeing Alert Requirements Bulletin 757-25A0319 RB, 
dated March 24, 2023.

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 25, Equipment/
Furnishings.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by reports that operators have found, on 
multiple aircraft, frequent and severe damage to the blowout vent 
grills of the aft soft bulkhead lining in the lower lobe cargo 
compartment. The FAA is issuing this AD to address damage to the 
blowout vent grills in the forward and aft lower lobe cargo 
compartments that could lead to latent failure of the decompression 
panels and pressure equalization valves. This latent failure, in 
combination with a fire, could make the cargo fire protection, 
detection, suppression, and containment system ineffective. Also, 
this latent failure, in combination with rapid decompression of the 
airplane, could prevent activation of the station (STA) 1640 
decompression panels, which could damage the STA 1640 floor beam and 
cause loss of hydraulic systems components and flight control. This 
unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in the inability of 
the flightcrew to maintain safe flight and landing.

(f) Compliance

    Comply with this AD within the compliance times specified, 
unless already done.

(g) Required Actions

    Except as specified by paragraph (h) of this AD: At the 
applicable times specified in the ``Compliance'' paragraph of Boeing 
Alert Requirements Bulletin 757-25A0319 RB, dated March 24, 2023, do 
all applicable actions identified in, and in accordance with, the 
Accomplishment Instructions of Boeing Alert Requirements Bulletin 
757-25A0319 RB, dated March 24, 2023.

    Note 1 to paragraph (g): Guidance for accomplishing the actions 
required by this AD can be found in Boeing Alert Service Bulletin 
757-25A0319, dated March 24, 2023, which is referred to in Boeing 
Alert Requirements Bulletin 757-25A0319 RB, dated March 24, 2023.

(h) Exceptions to Service Information Specifications

    Where the Compliance Time columns of the tables in the 
``Compliance'' paragraph of Boeing Alert Requirements Bulletin 757-
25A0319 RB, dated March 24, 2023, use the phrase ``the original 
issue date of Requirements Bulletin 757-25A0319 RB,'' this AD 
requires replacing those words with ``the effective date of this 
AD.''

(i) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    (1) The Manager, AIR-520 Continued Operational Safety 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 manager of the Continued Operational 
Safety Branch, send it to the attention of the person identified in 
paragraph (j)(1) of this AD. Information may be emailed to: [email protected].
    (2) Before using any approved AMOC, notify your appropriate 
principal inspector, or lacking a principal inspector, the manager 
of the responsible Flight Standards Office.
    (3) An AMOC that provides an acceptable level of safety may be 
used for any repair, modification, or alteration required by this AD 
if it is approved by The Boeing Company Organization Designation 
Authorization (ODA) that has been authorized by the Manager, AIR-520 
Continued Operational Safety Branch, FAA, to make those findings. To 
be approved, the repair method, modification deviation, or 
alteration deviation must meet the certification basis of the 
airplane, and the approval must specifically refer to this AD.

(j) Related Information

    (1) For more information about this AD, contact Katherine 
Venegas, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des 
Moines, WA 98198; telephone: 562-627-5353; email: 
[email protected].
    (2) Service information identified in this AD that is not 
incorporated by reference is available at the addresses specified in 
paragraphs (k)(3) and (4) of this AD.

(k) Material Incorporated by Reference

    (1) The Director of the Federal Register approved the 
incorporation by reference (IBR) of the service information listed 
in this paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
    (2) You must use this service information as applicable to do 
the actions required by this AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise.
    (i) Boeing Alert Requirements Bulletin 757-25A0319 RB, dated 
March 24, 2023.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) For service information identified in this AD, contact 
Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Attention: Contractual & Data Services 
(C&DS), 2600 Westminster Blvd., MC 110-SK57, Seal Beach, CA 90740-
5600; telephone 562-797-1717; website myboeingfleet.com.
    (4) You may view this service information 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.
    (5) You may view this material at the National Archives and 
Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability 
of this material at NARA, visit www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/[email protected]">www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/[email protected].

    Issued on October 19, 2023.
Caitlin Locke,
Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-23521 Filed 10-25-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P