Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS Airplanes
| Citation | 88 FR 60157 |
| Published date | 31 August 2023 |
| Record Number | 2023-18693 |
| Court | Federal Aviation Administration |
Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 168 (Thursday, August 31, 2023)
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 168 (Thursday, August 31, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60157-60160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18693]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 39
[Docket No. FAA-2023-1723; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-00457-T]
RIN 2120-AA64
Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS Airplanes
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 all Airbus SAS Model A330-200 Freighter series airplanes. This
proposed AD was prompted by a widespread fatigue damage (WFD)
evaluation on Airbus SAS Model A330-200 Freighter series airplanes,
which found that the circumferential joint at Frame 58 (near the rear
fuselage) is susceptible to WFD. This proposed AD would require a
modification to reinforce the circumferential joints at Frame 58 and,
if necessary, corrective action, 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 October 16,
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-2023-1723; 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, the mandatory continuing airworthiness
information (MCAI), any comments received, and other information. The
street address for Docket Operations is listed above.
Material Incorporated by Reference:
For material that is proposed for IBR in this AD, contact
EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221
8999 000; email [email protected]; website easa.europa.eu. You may
find this material on the EASA website at
[[Page 60158]]
ad.easa.europa.eu. It is also available at regulations.gov under Docket
No. FAA-2023-1723.
You may view this material 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Dowling, Aviation Safety Engineer,
FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone:
206-231-3667; 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-2023-1723; Project Identifier
MCAI-2023-00457-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 Tim
Dowling, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410,
Westbury, NY 11590; telephone: 206-231-3667; email:
[email protected]. Any commentary that the FAA receives which
is not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public
docket for this rulemaking.
Background
Fatigue damage can occur locally, in small areas or structural
design details, or globally, in widespread areas. Multiple-site damage
is widespread damage that occurs in a large structural element such as
a single rivet line of a lap splice joining two large skin panels.
Widespread damage can also occur in multiple elements such as adjacent
frames or stringers. Multiple-site damage and multiple-element damage
cracks are typically too small initially to be reliably detected with
normal inspection methods. Without intervention, these cracks will
grow, and eventually compromise the structural integrity of the
airplane. This condition is known as WFD. It is associated with general
degradation of large areas of structure with similar structural details
and stress levels. As an airplane ages, WFD will likely occur, and will
certainly occur if the airplane is operated long enough without any
intervention.
An FAA final rule (``Aging Airplane Program: Widespread Fatigue
Damage;'' 75 FR 69746, November 15, 2010) became effective on January
14, 2011, and amended 14 CFR parts 25, 26, 121, and 129 (commonly known
as the WFD rule). The WFD rule requires certain actions to prevent
structural failure due to WFD throughout the operational life of
certain existing transport category airplanes and all of these
airplanes that will be certificated in the future. Design approval
holders (DAHs) of existing and future airplanes subject to the WFD rule
are required to establish a limit of validity (LOV) of the engineering
data that support the structural maintenance program. Operators
affected by the WFD rule may not fly an airplane beyond its LOV, unless
an extended LOV is approved.
The WFD rule does not require identifying and developing
maintenance actions if the DAHs can show that such actions are not
necessary to prevent WFD before the airplane reaches the LOV. Many
LOVs, however, do depend on accomplishment of future maintenance
actions. As stated in the WFD rule, any maintenance actions necessary
to reach the LOV will be mandated by airworthiness directives through
separate rulemaking actions.
In the context of WFD, this action is necessary to enable DAHs to
propose LOVs that allow operators the longest operational lives for
their airplanes, and still ensure that WFD will not occur. This
approach allows for an implementation strategy that provides
flexibility to DAHs in determining the timing of service information
development (with FAA approval), while providing operators with
certainty regarding the LOV applicable to their airplanes.
EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the
European Union, has issued EASA AD 2023-0053, dated March 14, 2023
(EASA AD 2023-0053) (also referred to as the MCAI), to correct an
unsafe condition for all Airbus SAS Model A330-223F and -243F
airplanes. The MCAI states that within the scope of WFD evaluations on
Model A330-200 Freighter series airplanes, it was determined that the
circumferential joint at Frame 58 (near rear fuselage) is susceptible
to WFD. WFD, if not corrected, may lead to crack initiation and
undetected propagation, which could affect the structural integrity of
the airplane.
The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on
these products.
You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under
Docket No. FAA-2023-1723.
Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51
EASA AD 2023-0053 specifies procedures for a modification
(including rotating probe inspections for discrepancies and measurement
of the maximum hole diameter at any point in the fastener hole bores on
the circumferential joints) to reinforce the circumferential joints at
Frame 58 and, if any discrepancies (cracking) are found, corrective
action (contacting the manufacturer for instructions and accomplishing
those instructions). 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 ADDRESSES.
FAA's Determination
This product has been approved by the aviation authority of another
country and is approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant to
the FAA's bilateral agreement with this State of Design Authority, it
has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI
referenced above. The FAA is issuing this NPRM after determining that
the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop
in other products of the same type design.
[[Page 60159]]
Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM
This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified
in EASA AD 2023-0053 described previously, except for any differences
identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this proposed 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 2023-0053 by reference in the FAA
final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with
EASA AD 2023-0053 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 2023-0053 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 2023-
0053. Service information required by EASA AD 2023-0053 for compliance
will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2023-1723
after the FAA final rule is published.
Explanation of Compliance Time
The compliance time for the replacement specified in this proposed
AD for addressing WFD was established to ensure that certain structure
is replaced before WFD develops in airplanes. Standard inspection
techniques cannot be relied on to detect WFD before it becomes a hazard
to flight. The FAA will not grant any extensions of the compliance time
to complete any AD-mandated service bulletin related to WFD without
extensive new data that would substantiate and clearly warrant such an
extension.
Costs of Compliance
The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would
affect 6 airplanes of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following
costs to comply with this proposed AD:
Estimated Costs for Required Actions
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Cost per Cost on U.S.
Labor cost Parts cost product operators
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368 work-hours x $85 per hour = $31,280...................... $7,700 $38,980 $233,880
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The FAA has received no definitive data on which to base the cost
estimates for the on-condition actions specified in this proposed AD.
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:
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:
Airbus SAS: Docket No. FAA-2023-1723; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-
00457-T.
(a) Comments Due Date
The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive
(AD) by October 16, 2023.
(b) Affected ADs
None.
(c) Applicability
This AD applies to all Airbus SAS Model A330-223F and -243F
airplanes, certificated in any category.
(d) Subject
Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 53, Fuselage.
(e) Unsafe Condition
This AD was prompted by a widespread fatigue damage (WFD)
evaluation on Model A330-200 Freighter series airplanes, which found
that the circumferential joint at Frame 58 (near the rear fuselage)
is susceptible to WFD. The FAA is issuing this AD to address WFD in
the affected area. The unsafe condition, if not corrected, may lead
to crack initiation and undetected propagation, which could affect
the structural integrity of the airplane.
[[Page 60160]]
(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, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD
2023-0053, dated March 14, 2023 (EASA AD 2023-0053).
(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2023-0053
(1) Where EASA AD 2023-0053 refers to its effective date, this
AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
(2) This AD does not adopt the ``Remarks'' section of EASA AD
2023-0053.
(3) Where paragraph (2) of EASA AD 2023-0053 specifies ``if,
during the accomplishment of any inspection, which is part of the
modification as required by paragraph (1) of this AD, any
discrepancy, as identified in the SB, is detected, before next
flight, contact Airbus for approved instructions and accomplish
those instructions accordingly,'' this AD requires replacing those
words with ``if, during the accomplishment of any inspection, which
is part of the modification as required by paragraph (1) of this AD,
any cracking is detected, the cracking must be repaired before
further flight using a method approved by the Manager, International
Validation Branch, FAA; or EASA; or Airbus SAS's EASA Design
Organization Approval (DOA). If approved by the DOA, the approval
must include the DOA-authorized signature.''
(i) Additional AD Provisions
The following provisions also apply to this AD:
(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs): 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 responsible Flight Standards Office, as
appropriate. If sending information directly to the International
Validation Branch, send it to the attention of the person identified
in paragraph (j) of this AD. Information may be emailed to: [email protected]. Before using any approved AMOC, notify your
appropriate principal inspector, or lacking a principal inspector,
the manager of the responsible Flight Standards Office.
(2) Contacting the Manufacturer: For any requirement in this AD
to obtain instructions from a manufacturer, the instructions must be
accomplished using a method approved by the Manager, International
Validation Branch, FAA; or EASA; or Airbus SAS's EASA Design
Organization Approval (DOA). If approved by the DOA, the approval
must include the DOA-authorized signature.
(3) Required for Compliance (RC): Except as required by
paragraph (i)(2) of this AD, if any service information contains
procedures or tests that are identified as RC, those procedures and
tests must be done to comply with this AD; any procedures or tests
that are not identified as RC are recommended. Those procedures and
tests that are not identified as RC may be deviated from using
accepted methods in accordance with the operator's maintenance or
inspection program without obtaining approval of an AMOC, provided
the procedures and tests identified as RC can be done and the
airplane can be put back in an airworthy condition. Any
substitutions or changes to procedures or tests identified as RC
require approval of an AMOC.
(j) Additional Information
For more information about this AD, contact Tim Dowling,
Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410,
Westbury, NY 11590; telephone: 206-231-3667; email:
[email protected].
(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 this AD specifies otherwise.
(i) European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2023-0053,
dated March 14, 2023.
(ii) [Reserved]
(3) For EASA AD 2023-0053, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3,
50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999 000; email
[email protected]; website easa.europa.eu. You may find this EASA
AD on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu.
(4) You may view this material 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 that is incorporated by reference
at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For
information on the availability of this material at NARA, email
[email protected], or go to: www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.
Issued on August 24, 2023.
Victor Wicklund,
Deputy Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-18693 Filed 8-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
