2020-23301. Airworthiness Directives; Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. 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 all Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. (Pilatus) Model PC-24 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report that electronic circuit breakers (ECBs) were found in a locked state after maintenance, but before flight. This proposed AD would require revising the airplane flight manual to incorporate a procedure to check for the ECB status. 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 7, 2020.

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: [phone].
• 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 service information identified in this NPRM, contact PILATUS Aircraft Ltd., Customer Technical Support (MCC), P.O. Box 992, CH-6371 Stans, Switzerland; phone [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail]; internet: https://www.pilatus-aircraft.com. You may view this service information at the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 901 Locust Street, Kansas City, Missouri. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call [phone].

Examining the AD Docket

You may examine the AD docket on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-0917; 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:

Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, General Aviation & Rotorcraft Section, International Validation Branch, 901 Locust Street, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; telephone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

The FAA invites you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting written comments, data, or views about this proposal. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion of the proposal, explain the reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data. To ensure the docket does not contain duplicate comments, commenters should send only one copy of written comments, or if comments are filed electronically, commenters should submit only one time. Send your comments to an address listed under the ADDRESSES section. Include “Docket No. FAA-2020-0917; Project Identifier MCAI-2020-00606-A” at the beginning of your 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, as well as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this proposal, the FAA will consider all comments received by the closing date for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed after the comment period has closed if it is possible to do so without incurring expense or delay. The FAA may change this NPRM because of those comments.

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 Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, General Aviation & Rotorcraft Section, International Validation Branch, 901 Locust Street, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; telephone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. Any commentary that the FAA receives which is not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this rulemaking.

Discussion

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Union, has issued EASA AD No. 2020-0096, dated April 29, 2020 (referred to after this as the mandatory continuing airworthiness information, or “the MCAI”), to correct an unsafe condition for all Pilatus Model PC-24 airplanes. The MCAI states an occurrence was reported where some ECBs were found in a locked state after maintenance, but before flight. This situation caused the airplane to have a loss of equipment power before take-off and the pilot had no indication of this situation. This was caused by maintenance personnel turning off some or all of the ECBs through the cockpit multi-function display (MFD) prior to performing maintenance and then incorrectly or improperly resetting the ECBs when the maintenance is complete. Currently, there is no procedure in the airplane flight manual (AFM) to check whether the ECBs have been correctly set other than a step in the AFM “Before Engine Start” section that checks whether any ECBs are “FAILED” or “TRIPPED.” Pilatus has issued a temporary revision to the AFM to replace the “Before Engine Start” step to check for ECBs that are “FAILED, TRIPPED or LOCKED.” This added procedure will help ensure that there is indication to the pilot of the status of equipment power supply before take-off.

According to the MCAI, this condition, if not corrected, could lead to a loss of power supply to equipment, without indication to the flightcrew before take-off. To address this condition, the MCAI requires amending the AFM to include a temporary revision issued by Pilatus to provide operators with the necessary preflight check instructions.

You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-0917.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

Pilatus has issued PC-24 (Pilatus) Temporary Revision No. 02371-016, dated November 1, 2019, to the PC-24 AFM. This service information contains a step to be added to the pilot preflight procedures to check the ECB status. 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 the ADDRESSES section.

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 the State of Design Authority, the FAA has been notified of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI and service information referenced above. The FAA is proposing this AD because the FAA evaluated all the relevant information and determined the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop on other products of the same type design.

Proposed Requirements of This NPRM

This proposed AD would require revising the airplane flight manual to incorporate a pilot preflight procedure to check the ECB status.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 30 airplanes of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this proposed AD:

Estimated Costs for Required Actions

Labor cost	Parts cost	Cost per product	Cost on U.S. operators
1 work-hour × $85 per hour = $85	$0	$85	$2,550

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) Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, 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.

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

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 adding the following new airworthiness directive:

Pilatus Aircraft Ltd.: Docket No. FAA-2020-0917; Project Identifier MCAI-2020-00606-A.

(a) Comments Due Date

The FAA must receive comments by December 7, 2020.

(b) Affected ADs

None.

(c) Applicability

This airworthiness directive (AD) applies to Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. Model PC-24 airplanes, all serial numbers, certificated in any category.

(d) Subject

Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 24, Electrical Power.

(e) Reason

This AD was prompted by a report that electronic circuit breakers (ECBs) were found in a locked state after maintenance, but before flight. ECBs were turned off prior to maintenance and then not reset properly after maintenance was complete. The FAA is issuing this AD to prevent improperly set ECBs, which if not detected, could lead to loss of power supply to equipment without indication to the flightcrew before take-off.

(f) Compliance

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

(g) Revision of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM)

Within 30 days after the effective date of this AD, revise Section 4 of the existing AFM for your airplane by replacing the information as specified in PC-24 (Pilatus) Temporary Revision No. 02371-016, dated November 1, 2019, to the Pilatus PC-24 AFM.

(h) 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. Send information to: Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, General Aviation & Rotorcraft Section, International Validation Branch, 901 Locust Street, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; telephone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail]. In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, send your request to your principal inspector or local Flight Standards District Office, as appropriate. 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.

(i) Related Information

(1) Refer to Mandatory Continuing Airworthiness Information (MCAI) European Union Aviation Safety Agency AD No. 2020-0096, dated April 29, 2020, for related information. This MCAI may be found in the AD docket on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-0917.

(2) For more information about this AD, contact Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, General Aviation & Rotorcraft Section, International Validation Branch, 901 Locust Street, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106; telephone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail].

(3) For service information identified in this AD, contact PILATUS Aircraft Ltd., Customer Technical Support (MCC), P.O. Box 992, CH-6371 Stans, Switzerland; phone [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail]; internet: https://www.pilatus-aircraft.com. You may view this service information at the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 901 Locust Street, Kansas City, Missouri. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call [phone].

Issued on October 13, 2020.

Lance T. Gant,

Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft Certification Service.