[Federal Register: November 28, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 228)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 68766-68769]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28no06-14]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 39
[Docket No. FAA-2006-25926; Directorate Identifier 2000-CE-17-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64
Airworthiness Directives; Short Brothers & Harland Ltd. Models
SC-7 Series 2 and SC-7 Series 3 Airplanes
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
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SUMMARY: We propose to revise Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2003-17-05,
which applies to all Short Brothers & Harland Ltd. (Shorts) Models SC-7
Series 2 and SC-7 Series 3 airplanes. AD 2003-17-05 currently
establishes a technical service life for these airplanes and allows you
to incorporate modifications, inspections, and replacements of certain
life limited items to extend the life limits of these airplanes. Since
we issued AD 2003-17-05, Shorts Service Bulletin SB 51-51 was revised
to Revision 8, dated July 5, 2006, and the European Aviation Safety
Agency (EASA), which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of
the European Community, issued an AD for the European Community to
correct an unsafe condition for the specified product. AD 2003-17-05
contains conflicting information on the repetitive visual inspection
requirement. Consequently, this proposed AD would retain the technical
service life for these airplanes; would continue to allow
modifications, inspections, and replacements of certain life limited
items to extend the life limits of these airplanes; and would clarify
the repetitive visual inspection requirement between one of the service
bulletins and the maintenance program if an operator chooses to extend
the life limit. The actions specified by this proposed AD are intended
to clarify the inspection information to prevent failure of critical
structure of the aircraft caused by fatigue.
DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by December 28,
2006.
ADDRESSES: Use one of the following addresses to comment on this
proposed AD:
DOT Docket Web site: Go to http://dms.dot.gov and follow
the instructions for sending your comments electronically.
Government-wide rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov
and follow the instructions for sending your
comments electronically.
Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Fax: (202) 493-2251.
Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 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
Short Brothers PLC, P.O. Box 241, Airport Road, Belfast BT3 9DZ
Northern Ireland; telephone: +44 (0) 28 9045 8444; facsimile: +44 (0)
28 9073 3396.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, FAA,
Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri
64106; telephone: (816) 329-4059; facsimile: (816) 329-4090.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
We invite you to send any written relevant data, views, or
arguments regarding this proposed AD. Send your comments to an address
listed under the ADDRESSES section. Include the docket number, ``FAA-
2006-25926; Directorate
[[Page 68767]]
Identifier: 2000-CE-17-AD'' at the beginning of your comments. We
specifically invite comments on the overall regulatory, economic,
environmental, and energy aspects of the proposed AD. We will consider
all comments received by the closing date and may amend the proposed AD
in light of those comments.
We will post all comments we receive, without change, to http://dms.dot.gov
, including any personal information you provide. We will
also post a report summarizing each substantive verbal contact we
receive concerning this proposed AD.
Discussion
Mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the
airworthiness authority for the United Kingdom on all Shorts Models SC-
7 Series 2 and SC-7 Series 3 airplanes caused us to issue AD 2003-17-
05, Amendment 39-13279 (68 FR 50689, August 22, 2003). AD 2003-17-05
established a technical service life for these airplanes and allows you
to incorporate modifications, inspections, and replacements of certain
life limited items to extend the life limits of these airplanes.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical
Agent for the Member State of the European Community, notified the FAA
of the need to revise AD 2003-17-05 to address an unsafe condition that
may exist or could develop on all Shorts Models SC-7 Series 2 and SC-7
Series 3 airplanes. This proposed AD results from conflicting
information on the repetitive inspection requirement between one of the
service bulletins and the maintenance program if an operator chooses to
extend the life limit.
The life limits, if not complied with, could result in failure of
the primary structural components and possibly result in structural
failure during flight.
Relevant Service Information
We received and included the following in AD 2003-17-05 to extend
the life limit when incorporated:
--Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revision No.: 6, dated: March 14,
1983;
--Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-52, Revision No.: 4, dated: July 16,
2002; and
--Shorts Skyvan Maintenance Program, Amendment List No. 22, dated May
7, 2003 (any future revision to this maintenance program that
incorporates the language and intent is acceptable to use).
Since issuance of AD 2003-17-05, we reviewed (and included in this
NPRM) Shorts Service Bulletin Number 51-51, Revision No: 8, dated July
5, 2006; and Shorts Skyvan Maintenance Program, Amendment List No. 23,
dated December 14, 2004.
Foreign Airworthiness Authority Information
EASA classified Shorts Service Bulletin Number 51-51, Revision No:
8, dated July 5, 2006, as mandatory and issued EASA AD Number 2006-
0190, dated July 6, 2006, to ensure the continued airworthiness of
these airplanes in the EU.
These Shorts Models SC-7 Series 2 and SC-7 Series 3 airplanes are
manufactured in the United Kingdom and are type-certified for operation
in the United States under the provisions of section 21.29 of the
Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 21.29) and the applicable
bilateral airworthiness agreement.
Under this bilateral airworthiness agreement, EASA has kept us
informed of the situation described above.
FAA's Determination and Requirements of the Proposed AD
We are proposing this AD because we have examined EASA's findings,
evaluated all information and determined the unsafe condition described
previously is likely to exist or develop on other products of the same
type design that are certificated for operation in the United States.
This proposed AD would revise AD 2003-17-05 with a new AD that
would retain the technical service life for these airplanes; would
continue to allow modifications, inspections, and replacements of
certain life limited items to extend the life limits of these
airplanes; and would clarify the repetitive visual inspection
requirement between one of the service bulletins and the maintenance
program if an operator chooses to extend the life limit. This proposed
AD would require you to use the service information described
previously to perform these actions.
Costs of Compliance
We estimate that this proposed AD would affect 22 airplanes in the
U.S. registry.
Since the action of the proposed AD is life-limiting the structural
airframe, the actual operating cost of this AD is the cost of the
airplane minus any non-life-limited parts that are salvageable and can
be sold. There is no cost impact difference in this proposed AD to
revise AD 2003-17-05 than that originally presented in AD 2003-17-05,
except for the recalculation of the labor costs using the revised
figure of $80 per hour instead of $65 per hour.
The following paragraphs present the costs if you choose to
incorporate the inspections and modifications necessary to extend the
life limit.
We estimate the following costs to do the proposed optional
aircraft life extension on 16 airplanes (all airplanes that do not have
serial number SH1845, SH1883, SH1847, SH1889, SH1943, or SH1960) as
prescribed in Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51:
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Total cost per Total cost on
Labor cost Parts cost airplane U.S. operators
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350 work-hours x $80 per hour = $28,000...................... $90,000 $118,000 $1,888,000
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We estimate the following to do the proposed aircraft life
extension prescribed in Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-52 (which
includes Service Bulletin 51-51) for serial numbers 1889, 1943, and
1960:
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Total cost per Total cost on
Labor cost Parts cost airplane U.S. operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
470 work-hours x $80 per hour = $37,600...................... $112,000 $149,600 $448,800
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We estimate the following to do the proposed aircraft life
extension prescribed in Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-52 for serial
numbers 1845, 1847, and 1883:
[[Page 68768]]
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Total cost per Total cost on
Labor cost Parts cost airplane U.S. operators
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120 work-hours x $80 per hour = $9,600....................... $22,000 $31,600 $94,800
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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 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 that the 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); 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 proposed AD and placed it in the AD docket.
Examining the AD Docket
You may examine the AD docket that contains the proposed AD, the
regulatory evaluation, any comments received, and other information on
the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov; or in person at the Docket
Management Facility between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. The Docket Office (telephone (800) 647-5227)
is located at the street address in the ADDRESSES section. Comments
will be available in the AD docket shortly after receipt.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39
Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, 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 removing Airworthiness Directive
(AD) 2003-17-05, Amendment 39-13279 (68 FR 50689, August 22, 2003), and
adding the following new AD:
Short Brothers & Harland Ltd.: Docket No. FAA-2006-25926;
Directorate Identifier 2000-CE-17-AD.
Comments Due Date
(a) We must receive comments on this airworthiness directive
(AD) action by December 28, 2006.
Affected ADs
(b) This AD revises AD 2003-17-05, Amendment 39-13279.
Applicability
(c) This AD applies to Models SC-7 Series 2 and SC-7 Series 3
airplanes, all serial numbers, that are certificated in any
category.
Unsafe Condition
(d) This revised AD results from conflicting information of the
repetitive inspection requirement between one of the service
bulletins and the maintenance program if an operator chooses to
extend the life limit. We are issuing this AD to clarify the
inspection information to prevent failure of critical structure of
the aircraft caused by fatigue.
Compliance
(e) Do not operate the airplane upon accumulating the applicable
life limit or within the next 90 days after September 29, 2003 (the
effective date of AD 2003-17-05), whichever occurs later. For
owners/operators that do not have a record of the number of flights
on the aircraft, assume the number of flights on the basis of two
per operating hour. The following table presents the life limits:
Table 1.--Original Life Limits
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Serial No. Life limit
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(1) SH1845 and SH1883.................. 10,000 hours time-in-service
(TIS).
(2) SH1847............................. 15,200 hours TIS.
(3) SH1889............................. 13,805 flights.
(4) SH1943............................. 11,306 flights.
(5) SH1960............................. 4,142 flights.
(6) All airplanes that do not have 20,000 flights.
serial number SH1845, SH1883, SH1847,
SH1889, SH1943, or SH1960.
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(f) For airplanes with serial numbers SH1845, SH1847, or SH1883:
You can extend the life limits by doing the actions of Shorts
Service Bulletin No. 51-52, Revision No.: 4, dated: July 16, 2002
(and all service information or modifications referenced in the
Planning Information section of the service bulletin), and Shorts
Skyvan Maintenance Program, Amendment List No. 22, dated May 7,
2003, or Amendment List No. 23, dated December 14, 2004, or future
revisions. Any future revisions to this maintenance program shall
not change the inspection intervals, requirements, or the life
limits of this AD. The following table presents the extended life
limit:
Table 2.--Extended Life Limits After Incorporation of Required
Inspections and Modifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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(1) SH1845................................ 13,456 hours TIS.
[[Page 68769]]
(2) SH1847................................ 20,200 hours TIS.
(3) SH1883................................ 15,000 hours TIS.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(g) For airplanes with serial numbers SH1889, SH1943, or SH1960:
You can extend the life limits by doing the actions of Shorts
Service Bulletin No. 51-52, Revision No.: 4, dated: July 16, 2002
(and all service information or modification referenced in the
Planning Information section of the service bulletin including
Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revision No.: 6, dated: March 14,
1983; or Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revision No.: 8, dated:
July 5, 2006. You cannot use Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51,
Revision No.: 7, dated January 2005.), and Shorts Skyvan Maintenance
Program, Amendment List No. 22, dated May 7, 2003, or Amendment List
No. 23, dated December 14, 2004, or future revisions. Any future
revisions to this maintenance program shall not change the
inspeciton intervals, requirements, or the life limits of this AD.
The following table presents the extended life limit:
Table 3.--Extended Life Limits After Incorporation of Required
Inspections and Modifications
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Serial No. Extended life limit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) SH1889:............................... 20,094 flights.
(2) SH1943:............................... 17,325 flights.
(3) SH1960:............................... 8,449 flights.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(h) For airplanes that do not encompass either serial number
SH1845, SH1847, SH1883, SH1889, SH1943, or SH1960: You can extend
the life limit to 27,000 flights by doing the actions of Shorts
Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revision No.: 6, dated: March 14, 1983;
or Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revision No.: 8, dated: July
5, 2006; and Shorts Skyvan Maintenance Program, Amendment List No.
22, dated May 7, 2003; or Amendment List No. 23, dated December 14,
2004; or future revisions. Any future revisions to this mainenance
program shall not change the inspection intervals, requirements, or
the life limits of this AD. You cannot use Shorts Service Bulletin
No. 51-51, Revision No.: 7, dated: January 2005.
(i) The repetitive visual inspection requirements using Shorts
Service Bulletin No. 57-59, which is referenced on page 3 of Shorts
Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revision No.: 6, dated: March 14, 1983,
paragraph C (Special limitations) are every 2,400 flights and the
repetitive visual inspeciton program in Skyvan Maintenance Program,
Maintenance Program Appendix 1, parts A and B (Section 57-00, Item
3), are every 1,100 flights or 800 hours TIS intervals, whichever
occurs first. You msut use the repetitive inspection intervals of
the Skyvan Maintenance Program for the repetitive inspection of the
wing structure, skin, and skin doublers to be every 1,100 flights or
800 hours TIS, whichever occurs first and not the 2,400 flights as
stated in Shorts Service Bulletin No. 51-51, Revisions No.: 6,
dated: March 14, 1983.
Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)
(j) The Manager, Standards Office, Small Airplane Directorate,
FAA, ATTN: Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Small Airplane
Directorate, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106;
telephone: (816) 329-4059; facsimile: (816) 329-4090, has the
authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested using the
procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19.
(k) AMOCs approved for AD 2003-17-05 are approved for this AD.
Related Information
(1) The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD No.: 2006-
0190, dated July 6, 2006, also addresses the subject of this AD. To
get copies of the service information referenced in this AD, contact
Short Brothers PLC, P.O. Box 241, Airport Road, Belfast BT3 9DZ
Northern Ireland; telephone: +44 (0) 28 9045 8444; facsimile: +44
(0) 28 9073 3396. To view the AD docket, go to the Docket Management
Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street,
S.W., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, Washington, DC, or on the
Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. The docket number is Docket No. FAA-
2006-25926; Directorate Identifier 2000-CE-17-AD.
Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 20, 2006.
David R. Showers,
Acting Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification
Service.
[FR Doc. 06-9427 Filed 11-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M