2023-04654. Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS Airplanes

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

SUMMARY:

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2017-06-07, which applies to all Airbus SAS Model A330-200 Freighter, -200, and -300 series airplanes; and A340-200, -300, -500, and -600 series airplanes. AD 2017-06-07 requires identification of potentially affected inboard flap parts, a one-time eddy current inspection to identify which material the parts are made of, and, depending on findings, replacement with serviceable parts. Since the FAA issued AD 2017-06-07, it was determined that, even if affected inboard flaps were not installed on airplanes during production, affected inboard flaps could be installed on airplanes as spare parts. This proposed AD would continue to require the actions in AD 2017-06-07, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is proposed for incorporation by reference (IBR). This proposed AD would also reduce the allowance for the installation of affected parts under certain conditions. 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 April 24, 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: [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.

AD Docket: You may examine the AD docket at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2023-0428; 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 the EASA AD identified in this NPRM, you may contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone [phone]; email [e-mail]; website easa.europa.eu. You may find this material on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu. It is also available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2023-0428.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Vladimir Ulyanov, Aerospace Engineer, Large Aircraft Section, FAA, International Validation Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; telephone [phone]; email [e-mail].

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-2023-0428; Project Identifier MCAI-2022-01250-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 Vladimir Ulyanov, Aerospace Engineer, Large Aircraft Section, FAA, International Validation Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; telephone [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.

Background

The FAA issued AD 2017-06-07, Amendment 39-18831 (82 FR 17107, April 10, 2017) (AD 2017-06-07), for all Airbus SAS Model A330-223F and -243F airplanes; A330-201, -202, -203, -223, and -243 airplanes; A330-301, -302, -303, -321, -322, -323, -341, -342, and -343 airplanes; A340-211, -212, and -213 airplanes; A340-311, -312, and -313 airplanes; A340-541 airplanes; and A340-642 airplanes. AD 2017-06-07 was prompted by an MCAI originated by EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Union. EASA issued AD 2016-0231, dated November 22, 2016 (EASA AD 2016-0231), which superseded EASA AD 2016-0082, dated April 27, 2016, to correct an unsafe condition identified as structural parts of inboard flaps made of nonconforming aluminum alloy, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

AD 2017-06-07 requires identification of potentially affected inboard flap parts, a one-time eddy current inspection to identify which material the parts are made of, and, depending on findings, replacement with serviceable parts. The FAA issued AD 2017-06-07 to detect and correct structural parts of inboard flaps made of nonconforming aluminum alloy, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

Actions Since AD 2017-06-07 Was Issued

Since the FAA issued AD 2017-06-07, EASA superseded AD 2016-0231 and issued EASA AD 2022-0189, dated September 19, 2022 (EASA AD 2022-0189) (also referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition for all Airbus SAS Model A330-201, -202, -203, -223, -223F, -243, -243F, -301, -302, -303, -321, -322, -323, -341, -342, -343, and -743L airplanes; and A340-211, -212, -213, -311, -312, -313, -541, -542, -642, and -643 airplanes. Airbus SAS Model A330-743L, A340-542, and A340-643 airplanes are not certificated by the FAA and are not included on the U.S. type certificate data sheet; this proposed AD therefore does not include those airplanes in the applicability. The MCAI states that since EASA AD 2016-0231 was issued, it was determined that, even if affected inboard flaps were not installed on airplanes during production, affected inboard flaps could be installed on airplanes as spare parts. The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

The FAA is proposing this AD to detect and correct structural parts of inboard flaps made of nonconforming aluminum alloy. You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2023-0428.

Explanation of Retained Requirements

Although this proposed AD does not explicitly restate the requirements of AD 2017-06-07, this proposed AD would retain all of the requirements of AD 2017-06-07. Those requirements are referenced in EASA AD 2022-0189, which, in turn, is referenced in paragraph (g) of this proposed AD.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

EASA AD 2022-0189 specifies procedures for identification of potentially affected inboard flap parts, a one-time special detailed inspection (eddy current) to identify which material the parts are made of, and, depending on findings, replacement with serviceable parts. The MCAI also reduces the allowance for the installation of affected parts under certain conditions. 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.

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, 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.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified in EASA AD 2022-0189 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 2022-0189 by reference in the FAA final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with EASA AD 2022-0189 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 2022-0189 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 2022-0189. Service information required by EASA AD 2022-0189 for compliance will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2023-0428 after the FAA final rule is published.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would affect 36 airplanes of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this proposed AD:

Estimated Costs for Required Actions

Action	Labor cost	Parts cost	Cost per product	Cost on U.S. operators
Retained actions from AD 2017-06-07	10 work-hours × $85 per hour = $850	$0	$850	$30,600

The FAA estimates the following costs to do any necessary on-condition action that would be required based on the results of any required actions. The FAA has no way of determining the number of aircraft that might need this on-condition action:

Estimated Costs of On-Condition Actions

Labor cost	Parts cost	Cost per product
60 work-hours × $85 per hour = $5,100	$1,345,000	$1,350,100

According to the manufacturer, some or all 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 for affected individuals. As a result, the FAA has included all known costs in the 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 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

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:

a. Removing Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2017-06-07, Amendment 39-18831 ( 82 FR 17107, April 10, 2017); and

b. Adding the following new AD:

Airbus SAS: Docket No. FAA-2023-0428; Project Identifier MCAI-2022-01250-T.

(a) Comments Due Date

The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive (AD) by April 24, 2023.

(b) Affected ADs

This AD replaces AD 2017-06-07, Amendment 39-18831 (82 FR 17107, April 10, 2017) (AD 2017-06-07).

(c) Applicability

This AD applies to all Airbus SAS Model A330-223F and -243F airplanes; A330-201, -202, -203, -223, and -243 airplanes; A330-301, -302, -303, -321, -322, -323, -341, -342, and -343 airplanes; A340-211, -212, and -213 airplanes; A340-311, -312, and -313 airplanes; A340-541 airplanes; and A340-642 airplanes; certificated in any category.

(d) Subject

Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 57, Wings.

(e) Unsafe Condition

This AD was prompted by reports that nonconforming aluminum alloy was used to manufacture structural parts on the inboard flap. The FAA is issuing this AD to detect and correct structural parts of inboard flaps made of nonconforming aluminum alloy. The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

(f) Compliance

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

(g) Requirements

Except as specified in paragraphs (h) and (i) of this AD: Comply with all required actions and compliance times specified in, and in accordance with, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2022-0189, dated September 19, 2022 (EASA AD 2022-0189).

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2022-0189

(1) Where EASA AD 2022-0189 refers to May 11, 2016 (the effective date of EASA AD 2016-0082, dated April 27, 2016), this AD requires using May 15, 2017 (the effective date of AD 2017-06-07).

(2) Where EASA AD 2022-0189 refers to its effective date, this AD requires using the effective date of this AD.

(3) This AD does not adopt the “Remarks” section of EASA AD 2022-0189.

(i) No Reporting Requirement

Although the service information referenced in EASA AD 2022-0189 specifies to submit certain information to the manufacturer, this AD does not include that requirement.

(j) 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 (k) of this AD. Information may be emailed to: [e-mail].

(i) Before using any approved AMOC, notify your appropriate principal inspector, or lacking a principal inspector, the manager of the responsible Flight Standards Office.

(ii) AMOCs approved previously for AD 2017-06-07 are approved as AMOCs for the corresponding provisions of EASA AD 2022-0189 that are required by paragraph (g) of this AD.

(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 (j)(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.

(k) Additional Information

For more information about this AD, contact Vladimir Ulyanov, Aerospace Engineer, Large Aircraft Section, FAA, International Validation Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; telephone [phone]; email [e-mail].

(l) 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 2022-0189, dated September 19, 2022.

(ii) [Reserved]

(3) For EASA AD 2022-0189, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone [phone]; email [e-mail]; 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 [e-mail], or go to: www.archives.gov/​federal-register/​cfr/​ibr-locations.html.

Issued on March 2, 2023.

Christina Underwood,

Acting Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft Certification Service.