Airworthiness Directives: Honeywell Flight Management Systems Equipped with Honeywell NZ-2000 Navigation Computers, etc., Installed on Various Transport Category Airplanes
Federal Register: April 9, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 67)
Rules and Regulations
Page 16121-16124
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
DOCID:fr09ap09-8
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration 14 CFR Part 39
Docket No. FAA-2008-0899; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-022-AD;
Amendment 39-15874; AD 2009-08-01
RIN 2120-AA64
Airworthiness Directives; Honeywell Flight Management Systems
(FMSs) Equipped With Honeywell NZ-2000 Navigation Computers and
Honeywell IC-800 or IC-800E Integrated Avionics Computers; as Installed on Various Transport Category Airplanes
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive
(AD), which applies to all Honeywell FMSs served by Honeywell NZ-2000 navigation computers and IC-800 integrated avionics computers. That AD currently requires identifying affected computers by part number and software modification level and revising the Limitations section of applicable airplane flight manuals to provide procedures for retaining optimum position determination and intended navigation. This new AD requires upgrading new software, which terminates the existing requirements. This AD results from reports of in-flight unannunciated shifts of computed position in airplanes with the subject FMS computers. We are issuing this AD to prevent a shift in the FMS computed position, which could result in uncommanded deviations from the intended flight path of the airplane, and, if those deviations are undetected by the flight crew, compromised terrain/traffic avoidance.
DATES: This AD becomes effective May 14, 2009.
The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the AD as of May 14, 2009.
On April 18, 2007 (72 FR 15818, April 3, 2007), the Director of the
Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of Honeywell
Technical Newsletter A23-6111-008, Revision 001, dated February 22, 2007.
ADDRESSES: For service information identified in this AD, contact
Honeywell Technical Operations Center, 1944 East Sky Harbor Circle,
Phoenix, Arizona 85034-3442; telephone (U.S. and Canada) 800-601-3099,
(international) 602-365-3099; e-mail AeroTechSupport@Honeywell.com;
Internet http://www.honeywell.com.
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 this AD, the regulatory evaluation, any comments received, and other information. The address for the
Docket Office (telephone 800-647-5527) is the Document 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: Daniel Bui, Aerospace Engineer,
Systems and Equipment Branch, ANM-130L, FAA, Los Angeles Aircraft
Certification Office, 3960 Paramount Boulevard, Lakewood, California 90712-4137; telephone (562) 627-5339; fax (562) 627-5210.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Discussion
The FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14
CFR part 39 to include an AD that supersedes AD 2007-07-12, amendment 39-15009 (72 FR 15818, April 3, 2007). The existing AD applies to all
Honeywell FMSs served by Honeywell NZ-2000 navigation computers and IC- 800 integrated avionics computers. That NPRM was published in the
Federal Register on August 21, 2008 (73 FR 49368). That NPRM proposed to retain the existing requirements of identifying affected airplanes by part numbers/modification levels and revising the Limitations section of the airplane flight manual. That NPRM also proposed to require uploading new software, which would terminate the existing requirements.
Actions Since NPRM Was Issued
Since we issued the NPRM, Honeywell has published Alert Service
Bulletin 7017300-22-A6112, Revision 001, dated February 7, 2008. In the
NPRM, we referred to Honeywell Alert Service Bulletin 7017300-22-A6112, dated June 22, 2007, as the appropriate source of service information for accomplishing the proposed actions. The procedures in Revision 001 of this service bulletin are essentially the same as those in the original issue of this service bulletin. Revision 001 of this service bulletin includes instructions to load software onboard as an alternative
Page 16122
to sending the unit to a service center to have the software loaded.
Therefore, we have revised this AD to refer to Honeywell Alert
Service Bulletin 7017300-22-A6112, Revision 001, dated February 7, 2008, as the appropriate source of service information. We have also added a new paragraph (i) to this AD that specifies that actions done before the effective date of this AD in accordance with Honeywell Alert
Service Bulletin 7017300-22-A6112, dated June 22, 2007, are acceptable for compliance with the requirements of this AD and re-identified subsequent paragraphs.
Comments
We provided the public the opportunity to participate in the development of this AD. We have considered the comments that have been received on the NPRM.
Request To Remove References to Service Bulletin
Honeywell requests that we remove the references to Honeywell
Service Bulletin 7018879-34-6061, Revision 001, dated January 21, 2008, from the NPRM because the service modifications identified in this service bulletin are not affected by the identified unsafe condition and the modification works correctly.
We agree that Honeywell Service Bulletin 7018879-34-6061, Revision 001, dated January 21, 2008, is unnecessary. This service bulletin, which includes Modifications A and B, did not exhibit the FMS position jump problem that this AD addresses. This problem started when
Modification C was incorporated into the affected units. Since
Modifications A and B did not exhibit the FMS position jump problem, operators of these units are not required to incorporate the AFM revision procedures. Therefore, we have removed references to Honeywell
Service Bulletin 7018879-34-6061, Revision 001, dated January 21, 2008, from this AD.
Request To Clarify Terminology
Honeywell notes that the NPRM states that the new software should be ``uploaded.'' This term may cause some confusion as very few of the affected airplanes have the capability to field-load the software.
Honeywell recommends replacing the term ``upload'' with ``upgrade.''
We agree that this terminology may cause some confusion, and we have changed the ``upload'' terminology to ``upgrade'' throughout this
AD.
Request To Change Contact Information of Manufacturer
The manufacturer, Honeywell, has requested that we change the contact information for service information to Honeywell Technical
Operations Center, 1944 East Sky Harbor Circle, Phoenix, Arizona 85034- 3442; telephone (U.S. and Canada) 800-601-3099; (international) 602- 365-3099; e-mail AeroTechSupport@Honeywell.com.
We agree, and we have provided the specific contact information for the manufacturer as requested.
Conclusion
We have carefully reviewed the available data, including the comments that have been received, and determined that air safety and the public interest require adopting the AD with the changes described previously. We have determined that these changes will neither increase the economic burden on any operator nor increase the scope of the AD.
Costs of Compliance
There are about 104 airplanes of the affected design in the worldwide fleet. The following table provides the estimated costs for
U.S. operators to comply with this AD.
Estimated Costs
Number of U.S.-
Action
Work hour
Average labor
Cost per
registered
Fleet cost rate per hour
airplane
airplanes
AFM revision (required by AD
1
$80
$80
77
$6,160 2007-07-12)....................
Terminating action (new required
1
80
80
77
6,160 action)........................
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 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 that 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. 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, Incorporation by reference, Safety.
Adoption of the Amendment 0
Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the Administrator, the FAA amends 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 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) amends Sec. 39.13
Page 16123
by removing amendment 39-15009 (72 FR 15818, April 3, 2007) and by adding the following new airworthiness directive (AD): 2009-08-01 Honeywell, Inc.: Amendment 39-15874. Docket No. FAA-2008- 0899; Directorate Identifier 2008-NM-022-AD.
Effective Date
(a) This AD becomes effective May 14, 2009.
Affected ADs
(b) This AD supersedes AD 2007-07-12.
Applicability
(c) This AD applies to all Honeywell NZ-2000 navigation computers and Honeywell IC-800 or IC-800E integrated avionics computers; as installed on transport category airplanes, certificated in any category, including but not limited to the airplanes identified in Table 1 of this AD.
Table 1--Known Affected Airplanes
Manufacturer
Model
Bombardier, Inc........................ CL-600-2B16 (CL-601-3A, CL-601- 3R, and CL-604) airplanes.
Dassault Aviation...................... Mystere-Falcon 900 airplanes.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation....... G-1159A and GV airplanes, and G-
IV series airplanes.
Lockheed............................... 382G series airplanes.
Hawker Beechcraft (formerly Raytheon
BAe.125 Series 800A (including
Aircraft Company).
C-29A and U-125) airplanes.
Hawker 800XP and 1000 airplanes.
Unsafe Condition
(d) This AD results from reports of in-flight unannunciated shifts of computed position in airplanes with the subject flight management system (FMS) computers identified in paragraph (c) of this AD. We are issuing this AD to prevent a shift in the FMS computed position, which could result in uncommanded deviations from the intended flight path of the airplane and, if those deviations are undetected by the flight crew, compromised terrain/traffic avoidance.
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.
Requirements of AD 2007-07-12
Identification of Part Number/Modification Level
(f) Within 14 days after April 18, 2007 (the effective date of
AD 2007-07-12): Determine if the installed NZ-2000 navigation computers and IC-800 or IC-800E integrated avionics computers serving FMSs have computer part numbers and software modification levels identified in Honeywell Technical Newsletter A23-6111-008,
Revision 001, dated February 22, 2007. For purposes of this AD, airplanes with FMS computers having a part number and software modification level identified in the newsletter are ``affected airplanes.''
Revision of Airplane Flight Manual (AFM)
(g) For any affected airplane: Within 14 days after April 18, 2007, revise the Limitations section of the applicable AFM to incorporate the information included in Appendix A of Honeywell
Technical Newsletter A23-6111-008, Revision 001, dated February 22, 2007. This may be done by inserting a copy of Appendix A of the newsletter into the AFM.
New Requirements of This AD
Terminating Action
(h) Within 12 months after the effective date of this AD, upgrade the applicable software as specified in Table 2 of this AD.
After upgrading the applicable software, the requirements of paragraphs (f) and (g) of this AD are no longer necessary, and the
AFM revision required by paragraph (g) of this AD may be removed.
Table 2--Terminating Action
In accordance with
Upgrade new software in-- the accomplishment
For-- instructions of--
(1) The IC-800 or
Honeywell Alert
The IAC identified
IC[dash]800E integrated
Service Bulletin
in Honeywell Alert avionic computer (IAC), as 7017300-22-A6112,
Service Bulletin applicable.
Revision 001, dated 7017300-22-A6112,
February 7, 2008.
Revision 001, dated
February 7, 2008.
(2) The NZ-2000 navigation
Honeywell Alert
The NAV computer computer (NAV computer).
Service Bulletin
identified in 7018879-34-A6060,
Honeywell Alert
Revision 001, dated Service Bulletin
January 21, 2008.
7018879-34-A6060,
Revision 001, dated
January 21, 2008.
Honeywell Alert
The NAV computer
Service Bulletin
identified in 7018879-34-A6062,
Honeywell Alert dated June 12, 2007. Service Bulletin 7018879-34-A6062, dated June 12, 2007.
Honeywell Alert
The NAV computer
Service Bulletin
identified in 7018879-34-A6063,
Honeywell Alert dated July 6, 2007. Service Bulletin 7018879-34-A6063, dated July 6, 2007.
Credit for Actions Done According to Previous Issue of Service
Bulletin
(i) Actions done before the effective date of this AD in accordance with Honeywell Service Bulletin 7017300-22-A6112, dated
June 22, 2007, are acceptable for compliance with the requirements of paragraph (h)(1) of this AD.
Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)
(j)(1) The Manager, Los Angeles Aircraft Certification 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: Daniel Bui, Aerospace Engineer, Systems and Equipment Branch,
ANM-130L, FAA, Los Angeles Aircraft Certification Office, 3960
Paramount Boulevard, Lakewood, California 90712-4137; telephone
(562) 627-5339; fax (562) 627-5210.
(2) To request a different method of compliance or a different compliance time for this AD, follow the procedures in 14 CFR 39.19.
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.
Material Incorporated by Reference
(k) You must use the service information contained in Table 3 of this AD to do the actions required by this AD, as applicable, unless the AD specifies otherwise. (The revision level of Honeywell Alert
Service Bulletin 7017300-22A6112, Revision 001;
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and Honeywell Alert Service Bulletin 7018879-34-A6060, Revision 001; is identified only on the first page of these documents.)
Table 3--All Material Incorporated by Reference
Document
Revision
Date
Honeywell Alert Service Bulletin
-
February 7, 2008. 7017300-22A6112.
Honeywell Alert Service Bulletin
-
January 21, 2008. 7018879-34-A6060.
Honeywell Alert Service Bulletin
Original................ June 12, 2007. 7018879-34-A6062.
Honeywell Alert Service Bulletin
Original................ July 6, 2007. 7018879-34-A6063.
Honeywell Technical Newsletter A23- 001..................... February 22, 2007. 6111-008.
(1) The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of the service information contained in
Table 4 of this AD under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
Table 4--New Material Incorporated by Reference
Document
Revision
Date
Honeywell Alert Service Bulletin
-
February 7, 2008. 7017300-22A6112.
Honeywell Alert Service Bulletin
-
January 21, 2008. 7018879-34-A6060.
Honeywell Alert Service Bulletin
Original................ June 12, 2007. 7018879-34-A6062.
Honeywell Alert Service Bulletin
Original................ July 6, 2007. 7018879-34-A6063.
(2) The Director of the Federal Register previously approved the incorporation by reference of the service information contained in
Table 5 of this AD on April 18, 2007 (72 FR 15818, April 3, 2007).
Table 5--Material Previously Incorporated by Reference
Document
Revision
Date
Honeywell Technical Newsletter A2- 001..................... February 22, 2007. 6111-008.
(3) For service information identified in this AD, contact
Honeywell Technical Operations Center, 1944 East Sky Harbor Circle,
Phoenix, Arizona 85034-3442; telephone (U.S. and Canada) 800-601- 3099, (international) 602-365-3099; e-mail
AeroTechSupport@Honeywell.com; Internet http://www.honeywell.com.
(4) You may review copies of the service information that is incorporated by reference at the FAA, Transport Airplane
Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 425-227-1221 or 425-227-1152.
(5) You may also review copies of the service information 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 Renton, Washington, on March 30, 2009.
Stephen P. Boyd,
Acting Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification
Service.
FR Doc. E9-7790 Filed 4-8-09; 8:45 am
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