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Airworthiness Directives; Dassault Aviation AirplanesJul 24, 2013 (Transportation Department Documents and Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX) -- SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all DASSAULT AVIATION Model FAN JET FALCON; Model MYSTERE-FALCON 200 airplanes; and Model MYSTERE-FALCON 20-C5, 20-D5, 20-E5, and 20-F5 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of defective fire extinguisher bottle cartridges. This proposed AD would require checking manufacturing references of pyrotechnical cartridges for batch number and date, repetitive checking of cartridges for electrical continuity, and replacing defective pyrotechnical cartridges if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct defective fire bottle cartridges, which could affect the capability to extinguish a fire in an engine, auxiliary power unit, or rear compartment, which could result in damage to the airplane and injury to the occupants. EFFECTIVE DATE: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by September 9, 2013. ADDRESSES: You may send comments by any of the following methods: * Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.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: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. For service information identified in this proposed AD, contact Dassault Falcon Jet, P.O. Box 2000, South Hackensack, NJ 07606; telephone 201-440-6700; Internet http://www.dassaultfalcon.com. You may review copies of the referenced service information at the FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 425-227-1221. Examining the AD Docket You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov; or in person at the Docket Operations office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD docket contains this proposed AD, the regulatory evaluation, any comments received, and other information. The street address for the Docket Operations office (telephone (800) 647-5527) is in the ADDRESSES section. Comments will be available in the AD docket shortly after receipt. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Rodriguez, Aerospace Engineer, International Branch, ANM-116, Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA 98057-3356; phone: 425-227-1137; fax: 425-227-1149. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We invite you to send any written relevant data, views, or arguments about this proposed AD. Send your comments to an address listed under the ADDRESSES section. Include "Docket No. FAA-2013-0626; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-180-AD" at the beginning of your comments. We specifically invite comments on the overall regulatory, economic, environmental, and energy aspects of this proposed AD. We will consider all comments received by the closing date and may amend this proposed AD based on those comments. We will post all comments we receive, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you provide. We will also post a report summarizing each substantive verbal contact we receive about this proposed AD. Discussion The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the aviation authority for the Member States of the European Community, has issued EASA Airworthiness Directive 2012-0190, dated September 24, 2012 (referred to after this as the Mandatory Continuing Airworthiness Information, or "the MCAI"), to correct an unsafe condition for the specified products. The MCAI states: Several defective fire bottle cartridges have been reported on certain Dassault Aviation Fan Jet Falcon and Mystere-Falcon 20-() 5 aeroplanes. The results of the investigations concluded that there was a production quality issue with the fire bottle cartridge. In addition, the part numbers (P/N) of the fire bottle cartridge and the batch numbers have been identified. This condition, if not detected and corrected, could constitute a dormant failure that might impact the capability to extinguish a fire, either in an engine or the Auxiliary Power Unit, or the rear compartment, possibly resulting in damage to the aeroplane and injury to the occupants. For the reason described above, this [EASA] AD requires repetitive checking of the electrical continuity [and of the references] of the fire extinguishers bottles cartridges [extinguisher bottle cartridges] and depending on findings, replacement of an affected part with a serviceable part. It also ultimately requires replacement of any affected cartridges with a serviceable part. In addition, this [EASA] AD prohibits installation of an affected fire extinguisher bottle cartridge. You may obtain further information by examining the MCAI in the AD docket. Relevant Service Information Dassault has issued Mandatory Service Bulletin F20-783, Revision 1, dated June 11, 2012 (for Model FAN JET FALCON and MYSTERE-FALCON 20-()5 airplanes); and Mandatory Service Bulletin F200-128, Revision 1, dated June 11, 2012 (for Model MYSTERE-FALCON 200 airplanes). The actions described in this service information are intended to correct the unsafe condition identified in the MCAI. FAA's Determination and Requirements of This Proposed AD This product has been approved by the aviation authority of another country, and is approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant to our bilateral agreement with the State of Design Authority, we have been notified of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI and service information referenced above. We are proposing this AD because we evaluated all pertinent information and determined an unsafe condition exists and is likely to exist or develop on other products of the same type design. Costs of Compliance Based on the service information, we estimate that this proposed AD would affect about 185 products of U.S. registry. We also estimate that it would take about 5 work-hours per product to comply with the basic requirements of this proposed AD. The average labor rate is $85 per work-hour. Required parts would cost about $6,300 per product. Where the service information lists required parts costs that are covered under warranty, we have assumed that there will be no charge for these parts. As we do not control warranty coverage for affected parties, some parties may incur costs higher than estimated here. Based on these figures, we estimate the cost of the proposed AD on U.S. operators to be $1,244,125, or $6,725 per product. 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 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. Is not a "significant rule" under the DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979); 3. Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska; and 4. 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 proposed AD and placed it in the AD docket. 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. SEC 39.13 [Amended] 2. The FAA amends SEC 39.13 by adding the following new AD: Dassault Aviation: Docket No. FAA-2013-0626; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-180-AD. (a) Comments Due Date We must receive comments by September 9, 2013. (b) Affected ADs None. (c) Applicability This AD applies to the DASSAULT AVIATION airplanes identified in paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(3) of this AD, certificated in any category, all serial numbers. (1) Model FAN JET FALCON airplanes, --This is a summary of a Federal Register article originally published on the page number listed below-- Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). CFR Part: "14 CFR Part 39" RIN Number: "RIN 2120-AA64" Citation: "78 FR 44473" Document Number: "Docket No. FAA-2013-0626; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-180-AD" Federal Register Page Number: "44473" "Proposed Rules" |