2023-00186. 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) 2020-05-16, which applies to certain Airbus SAS Model A319-115 airplanes; Model A320-214, -216, -232, -251N, and -271N airplanes; and Model A321-211, -231, -251N, -251NX, -253N, -271N, -271NX, and -272N airplanes. AD 2020-05-16 requires a one-time detailed inspection of certain attaching points on the left-hand and right-hand wings for the correct installation of certain hardware, and, depending on findings, accomplishment of applicable corrective actions. Since the FAA issued AD 2020-05-16, a determination was made that additional airplanes are subject to the unsafe condition. This proposed AD would continue to require the actions in AD 2020-05-16 and would add airplanes to the applicability, 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 February 27, 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-2023-0009; 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 NPRM, 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. It is also available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2023-0009.

• You may view this service information 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:

Hyeyoon Jang, Aerospace Engineer, Large Aircraft Section, International Validation Branch, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; phone [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-2023-0009; Project Identifier MCAI-2022-00789-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 Hyeyoon Jang, Aerospace Engineer, Large Aircraft Section, International Validation Branch, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; phone [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 2020-05-16, Amendment 39-19866 (85 FR 15938, March 20, 2020) (AD 2020-05-16), for certain Airbus SAS Model A319-115 airplanes; Model A320-214, -216, -232, -251N, and -271N airplanes; and Model A321-211, -231, -251N, -251NX, -253N, -271N, -271NX, and -272N airplanes. AD 2020-05-16 was prompted by an MCAI originated by EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Union. EASA issued AD 2019-0233, dated September 18, 2019; corrected September 19, 2019 (EASA AD 2019-0233), to correct an unsafe condition.

AD 2020-05-16 requires a one-time detailed inspection of certain attaching points on the left-hand and right-hand wings for the correct installation of certain hardware, and, depending on findings, accomplishment of applicable corrective actions. The FAA issued AD 2020-05-16 to address incomplete installations of the over wing panel lug attachments in the production assembly line, which, if not detected and corrected, could reduce the structural integrity of the wing.

Actions Since AD 2020-05-16 Was Issued

Since the FAA issued AD 2020-05-16, EASA superseded EASA AD 2019-0233, and issued EASA AD 2022-0111, dated June 15, 2022 (EASA AD 2022-0111) (also referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition for certain Airbus SAS Model A319-115 airplanes; Model A320-214, -216, -232, -251N, and -271N airplanes; and Model A321-211, -231, -251N, -251NX, -252NX, -253N, -253NX, -271N, -271NX, and -272N airplanes. The MCAI states that since EASA AD 2019-0233 was issued, Airbus identified additional affected airplanes.

The FAA is issuing this AD to address incomplete installations of the over wing panel lug attachments in the production assembly line, which, if not detected and corrected, could reduce the structural integrity of the wing. You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2023-0009.

Explanation of Retained Requirements

Although this proposed AD does not explicitly restate the requirements of AD 2020-05-16, this proposed AD would retain all of the requirements of AD 2020-05-16. Those requirements are referenced in EASA AD 2022-0111, which, in turn, is referenced in paragraph (g) of this proposed AD.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

EASA AD 2022-0111 specifies procedures for a one-time detailed inspection of certain attaching points on the left-hand and right-hand wings for the correct installation of certain hardware (bolt, nut, washer, and cotter pin), and, depending on findings, accomplishment of applicable corrective actions. Corrective actions include installing missing hardware, properly orienting hardware, and performing a damage assessment for cracks and deformed parts in the event of missing hardware, and repair. For certain airplanes, EASA AD 2022-0111 also specifies reporting the inspection results to Airbus. 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 retain all requirements of AD 2020-05-16. This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified in EASA AD 2022-0111 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 2022-0111 by reference in the FAA final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with EASA AD 2022-0111 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 2022-0111 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 2022-0111. Service information required by EASA AD 2022-0111 for compliance will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2023-0009 after the FAA final rule is published.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would affect 131 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
2 work-hours × $85 per hour = $170	$0	$170	$22,700
* Table does not include estimated costs for reporting.

The FAA estimates that it would take about 1 work-hour per product to comply with the reporting requirement in this proposed AD. The average labor rate is $85 per hour. Based on these figures, the FAA estimates the cost of reporting the inspection results on U.S. operators to be up to $11,135, or $85 per product.

The FAA estimates the following costs to do any necessary on-condition actions 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 these on-condition actions:

Estimated Costs of On-Condition Actions

Labor cost	Parts cost	Cost per product
Up to 20 work-hours × $85 per hour = $1,700	Up to $77,850	Up to $79,550.

Paperwork Reduction Act

A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information displays a current valid OMB Control Number. The OMB Control Number for this information collection is 2120-0056. Public reporting for this collection of information is estimated to take approximately 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. All responses to this collection of information are mandatory. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Information Collection Clearance Officer, Federal Aviation Administration, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177-1524.

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) 2020-05-16, Amendment 39-19866 ( 85 FR 15938, March 20, 2020); and

b. Adding the following new AD:

Airbus SAS: Docket No. FAA-2023-0009; Project Identifier MCAI-2022-00789-T.

(a) Comments Due Date

The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive (AD) by February 27, 2023.

(b) Affected ADs

This AD replaces AD 2020-05-16, Amendment 39-19866 (85 FR 15938, March 20, 2020) (AD 2020-05-16).

(c) Applicability

This AD applies to the Airbus SAS airplanes specified in paragraphs (c)(1) through (3) of this AD, certificated in any category, as identified in European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2022-0111, dated June 15, 2022 (EASA AD 2022-0111).

(1) Model A319-115 airplanes.

(2) Model A320-214, -216, -232, -251N, and -271N airplanes.

(3) Model A321-211, -231, -251N, -251NX, -252NX, -253N, -253NX, -271N, -271NX, and -272N airplanes.

(d) Subject

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

(e) Unsafe Condition

This AD was prompted by reports of incomplete installations of the over wing panel lug attachments in the production assembly line and a determination that additional airplanes are subject to the unsafe condition. The FAA is issuing this AD to address these incomplete installations. The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in reduced structural integrity of the wing.

(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 2022-0111.

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2022-0111

(1) Where EASA AD 2022-0111 refers to its effective date, this AD requires using the effective date of this AD.

(2) Where EASA AD 2022-0111 refers to October 2, 2019 (the effective date of EASA AD 2019-0233), this AD requires using April 24, 2022 (the effective date of AD 2020-05-16).

(3) Where paragraph (5) of EASA AD 2022-0111 specifies to “contact Airbus for approved instructions, and within the compliance time identified therein, accomplish those instructions accordingly” if discrepancies are detected, for this AD if 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.

(4) The “Remarks” section of EASA AD 2022-0111 does not apply to this AD.

(5) Where paragraph (2) of EASA AD specifies a compliance time, for this AD the compliance time is “before exceeding 14,000 flight hours or 7,000 flight cycles, whichever occurs first since airplane first flight; or within 30 days after the effective date of this AD; whichever occurs later.”

(i) No Reporting Requirement for Certain Airplanes

For Group 1 airplanes, as identified in EASA AD 2022-0111, this AD does not require reporting.

(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 2020-05-16 are approved as AMOCs for the corresponding provisions of EASA AD 2022-0111 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 Hyeyoon Jang, Aerospace Engineer, Large Aircraft Section, International Validation Branch, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; phone [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 2022-0111, dated June 15, 2022.

(ii) [Reserved]

(3) For EASA AD 2022-0111, 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 service information 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 service information 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 January 4, 2023.

Gaetano A. Sciortino,

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