Document ID: FAA-2021-0608-0001
Agency: faa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Airworthiness Directives: Leonardo S.p.a. Helicopters
Posted Date: 2021-07-30T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 144 (Friday, July 30, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40962-40964]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-16168]

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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 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.
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 144 / Friday, July 30, 2021 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 40962]]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2021-0608; Project Identifier 2019-SW-119-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Leonardo S.p.a. Helicopters

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) 
for Leonardo S.p.a. Model AB139, AW139, AB412, and AB412 EP 
helicopters. This proposed AD was prompted by failure of an Emergency 
Flotation System (EFS) float compartment to inflate during maintenance 
of the EFS. This proposed AD would require inspecting certain EFSs and 
depending on the results, marking certain parts or removing certain 
parts from service, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety 
Agency (EASA) AD, which is proposed for incorporation by reference 
(IBR). 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 September 
13, 2021.

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 is proposed for IBR in this AD, contact the 
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 the EASA material on the EASA website at https://ad.easa.europa.eu. For Leonardo Helicopters and Safran service 
information identified in this NPRM, contact Leonardo S.p.A. 
Helicopters, Emanuele Bufano, Head of Airworthiness, Viale G.Agusta 
520, 21017 C.Costa di Samarate (Va) Italy; telephone +39-0331-225074; 
fax +39-0331-229046; or at https://customerportal.leonardocompany.com/en-US/. You may view this material at the FAA, Office of the Regional 
Counsel, Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Room 6N-321, Fort 
Worth, TX 76177. For information on the availability of this material 
at the FAA, call (817) 222-5110. The EASA material is also available in 
the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and 
locating Docket No. FAA-2021-0608.

Examining the AD Docket

    You may examine the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov by 
searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2021-0608; 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. Comments will be available in the AD docket 
shortly after receipt.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrea Jimenez, Aerospace Engineer, 
COS Program Management Section, Operational Safety Branch, Compliance & 
Airworthiness Division, FAA, 1600 Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY 
11590; telephone (516) 228-7330; email andrea.jimenez@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-2021-0608; Project Identifier 
2019-SW-119-AD'' 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 proposal.

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 
Andrea Jimenez, Aerospace Engineer, COS Program Management Section, 
Operational Safety Branch, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, FAA, 
1600 Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone (516) 228-
7330; email andrea.jimenez@faa.gov. Any commentary that the FAA 
receives that 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 2019-0311, dated December 19, 2019 
(EASA AD 2019-0311), to correct an unsafe condition for Leonardo 
S.p.A., formerly Finmeccanica Helicopter Division, AgustaWestland, 
Agusta S.p.A. Model AB139, AW139, AB412, and AB412EP helicopters.

[[Page 40963]]

    This proposed AD was prompted failure of an EFS float compartment 
to inflate during maintenance of the EFS. The FAA is proposing this AD 
to address a blocked float supply hose. The unsafe condition, if not 
addressed, could result in partial inflation of an EFS float during an 
emergency landing on water and subsequently preventing a timely egress 
from the helicopter, which could result in injury to helicopter 
occupants. See EASA AD 2019-0311 for additional background information.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    EASA AD 2019-0311 specifies inspecting certain EFSs and depending 
on the results, marking a float supply hose with a green heat 
shrinkable sleeve if the float supply hose passes an inspection, 
replacing the float supply hose with a serviceable float supply hose. 
EASA AD 2019-0311 also prohibits installing a float supply hose unless 
it passes the inspection and is re-identified.
    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.

Other Related Service Information

    The FAA reviewed Safran Service Bulletin 025-69-19, Revision 00, 
dated November 22, 2019 (SB 025-69-19), which is attached as Annex A to 
Leonardo Helicopters Alert Service Bulletin (ASB) No. 139-610 and 
Emergency ASB No. 412-157, each dated December 17, 2019. SB 025-69-19 
specifies procedures for inspecting for blockage through the float 
supply hoses of the EFS inflation system.

FAA's Determination

    These products have been approved by the aviation authority of 
another country, and are approved for operation in the United States. 
Pursuant to the bilateral agreement with the State of Design Authority, 
the FAA has been notified of the unsafe condition described in EASA AD 
2019-0311. The FAA is proposing this AD after evaluating all the 
relevant information and determining the unsafe condition described 
previously is likely to exist or develop in other products of these 
same type designs.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

    This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified 
in EASA AD 2019-0311, described previously, as incorporated by 
reference, except for any differences identified as exceptions in the 
regulatory text of this proposed AD and except as discussed under 
``Differences Between this Proposed AD and the EASA AD.

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 2019-0311 by reference in the FAA 
final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with 
EASA AD 2019-0311 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 2019-0311 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 2019-
0311. Service information specified in EASA AD 2019-0311 that is 
required for compliance with EASA AD 2019-0311 will be available at 
https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. 
FAA-2021-0608 after the FAA final rule is published.

Differences Between This Proposed AD and the EASA AD

    EASA AD 2019-0311 requires inspecting each affected part in Group A 
within 400 flight hours (FH) or 12 months, whichever occurs first, 
whereas this proposed AD would require inspecting each affected part in 
that group within 100 hours time-in-service instead. EASA AD 2019-0311 
requires inspecting each affected part in Group C within 300 FH or 
during the next scheduled ``18 months'' inspection, whichever occurs 
first, whereas this proposed AD would require inspecting each affected 
part in that group within 15 hours time-in-service instead to address 
the unsafe condition as soon as practical as there are no Group C 
aircraft registered in the U.S.; the proposed compliance time matches 
those same model aircraft found in Group D. Where the service 
information referenced in EASA AD 2019-0311 specifies ``operator able 
to perform the EFS maintenance in accordance with Aircraft Maintenance 
Manual (AMM) or Aircraft Maintenance Publication (AMP) can perform the 
procedure defined in this Service Bulletin,'' this proposed AD would 
require that the work be accomplished by a mechanic that meets the 
requirements of 14 CFR part 65 subpart D. Where EASA AD 2019-0311 
specifies replacing an affected float supply hose that fails the 
inspection, this proposed AD would require removing the float supply 
hose from service instead.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this proposed AD affects 129 helicopters of 
U.S. Registry. Labor rates are estimated at $85 per work-hour. Based on 
these numbers, the FAA estimates that operators may incur the following 
costs in order to comply with this proposed AD.
    Inspecting each EFS supply hose would take about 0.25 work-hour for 
an estimated cost of $21 per hose. Re-identifying each EFS supply hose 
would take a minimal amount of time at a nominal cost.
    Replacing an EFS supply hose would take up to 8 work-hours and 
parts would cost between $2,500 and $9,500 for a set of float supply 
hoses, for an estimated cost of up to $10,180 per helicopter.
    According to Safran's service information, some of the costs of 
this proposed AD may be covered under warranty, thereby reducing the 
cost impact on affected individuals. The FAA does not control warranty 
coverage by Safran; accordingly, all costs are included in this cost 
estimate.

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

[[Page 40964]]

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:

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:

Leonardo S.p.a.: Docket No. FAA-2021-0608; Project Identifier 2019-
SW-119-AD.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments by September 13, 2021.

(b) Affected Airworthiness Directives (ADs)

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to Leonardo S.p.a. Model AB139, AW139, AB412, 
and AB412 EP, helicopters, certificated in any category, with an 
affected part as identified in European Union Aviation Safety Agency 
(EASA) AD 2019-0311, dated December 19, 2019 (EASA AD 2019-0311), 
installed.

(d) Subject

    Joint Aircraft System Component (JASC) Code: 3212, Emergency 
Flotation Section.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by failure of an Emergency Flotation System 
(EFS) float compartment to inflate during maintenance of the EFS. 
The FAA is issuing this AD to address a blocked float supply hose. 
The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in partial 
inflation of an EFS float during an emergency landing on water and 
subsequently preventing a timely egress from the helicopter, which 
could result in injury to helicopter occupants.

(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, EASA AD 2019-0311.

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2019-0311

    (1) Where EASA AD 2019-0311 refers to its effective date, this 
AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
    (2) Where EASA AD 2019-0311 requires compliance in terms of 
flight hours, this AD requires using hours time-in-service (TIS).
    (3) Where paragraph (1) of EASA AD 2019-0311 requires inspecting 
each affected part within the compliance time specified in Table 2 
of its AD, this AD requires:
    (i) Inspecting each affected part in Group A within 100 hours 
TIS after the effective date of this AD.
    (ii) Inspecting each affected part in Group C within 15 hours 
TIS after the effective date of this AD.
    (4) Where the service information referenced in paragraph (1) of 
EASA AD 2019-0311 specifies ``operator able to perform the EFS 
maintenance in accordance with Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM) or 
Aircraft Maintenance Publication (AMP) can perform the procedure 
defined in this Service Bulletin,'' this AD requires that the work 
be accomplished by a mechanic that meets the requirements of 14 CFR 
part 65 subpart D.
    (5) Where paragraph (2) of EASA AD 2019-0311 specifies replacing 
an EFS supply hose that fails the inspection, this AD requires 
removing the hose from service.
    (6) This AD does not require the ``Remarks'' section of EASA AD 
2019-0311.

(i) No Reporting Requirement

    Although the service information referenced in EASA AD 2019-0311 
specifies to submit certain information to the manufacturer, this AD 
does not include that requirement.

(j) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    (1) The Manager, 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 local Flight 
Standards District Office, as appropriate. If sending information 
directly to the manager of the International Validation Branch, send 
it to the attention of the person identified in paragraph (k)(2) of 
this AD. Information may be emailed to: 9-AVS-AIR-730-AMOC@faa.gov.
    (2) Before using any approved AMOC, notify your appropriate 
principal inspector, or lacking a principal inspector, the manager 
of the local flight standards district office/certificate holding 
district office.

(k) Related Information

    (1) For EASA AD 2019-0311, contact the 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, Office of the Regional Counsel, 
Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Room 6N-321, Fort Worth, TX 
76177. For information on the availability of this material at the 
FAA, call 817-222-5110. This material may be found in the AD docket 
at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket 
No. FAA-2021-0608.
    (2) For more information about this AD, contact Andrea Jimenez, 
Aerospace Engineer, COS Program Management Section, Operational 
Safety Branch, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, FAA, 1600 
Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone (516) 228-
7330; email andrea.jimenez@faa.gov.

    Issued on July 23, 2021.
Lance T. Gant,
Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-16168 Filed 7-29-21; 8:45 am]
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