DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
14 CFR Part 39
[Docket No. FAA-2009-0714; Directorate Identifier 2009-NM-041-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64
AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES; Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A.
(EMBRAER) Model EMB-135 and -145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -
145MP, and -145EP Airplanes
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); reopening of
comment period.
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SUMMARY: We are revising an earlier NPRM for the products listed above.
This action revises the earlier NPRM by expanding the scope. This proposed
AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI)
originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and
correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the
unsafe condition as:
It was reported that after commanding the landing gear lever to down the
three green landing gear positioning indication was displayed followed by
the LG/LEVER DISAGREE EICAS [engine indicating and crew alerting system]
message. The crew decided to continue the approach and landing procedure.
As soon as the crew identified that the landing gear was not extended
properly, a go-around procedure was successfully performed. During
maneuver, the airplane settled momentarily onto the flaps and belly.
* * * * *
The unsafe condition is the landing gear remaining in the up and locked
position during approach and landing. This condition could be accompanied
by an invalid EICAS landing gear position indication, which could result
in landing with gear in the up position and eliminate controllability of
the airplane on the ground. This may consequently result in structural
damage to the airplane. The proposed AD would require actions that are
intended to address the unsafe condition described in the MCAI.
DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by March 22, 2010.
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 W12-40, 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 Empresa
Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. (EMBRAER), Technical Publications Section
(PC 060), Av. Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 2170--Putim-- 12227-901 Sao Jose dos
Campos--SP--BRASIL; telephone: +55 12 3927-5852 or +55 12 3309-0732; fax:
+55 12 3927-7546; e-mail: distrib@embraer.com.br; Internet:
http://www.flyembraer.com. You may review copies of the referenced service
information at the FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue,
SW., Renton, Washington. For information on the availability of this
material at the FAA, call 425-227-1221 or 425-227-1152.
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: Todd Thompson, Aerospace Engineer,
International Branch, ANN-116, Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA, 1601
Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; telephone (425) 227-1175;
fax (425) 227-1149.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
COMMENTS INVITED
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-2009-0714; Directorate
Identifier 2009-NM-041-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
We proposed to amend 14 CFR part 39 with an earlier NPRM for the specified
products, which was published in the Federal Register on August 19, 2009
(74 FR 41810). That earlier NPRM proposed to require actions intended to
address the unsafe condition for the products listed above.
Paragraph (c) of the original NPRM specifies that the AD applies to
certain airplanes modified by certain Brazilian supplemental type
certificates (STCs) and that are equipped with the affected part.
Brazilian STCs do not apply to U.S. airplanes. The applicability of this
supplemental NPRM would therefore not depend on accomplishment of the
Brazilian STC. We have removed the reference to the Brazilian STCs from
the applicability of this supplemental NPRM. We have coordinated this
issue with Agencia Nacional de Aviacao Civil (ANAC), which is the
airworthiness authority for Brazil.
RELEVANT SERVICE INFORMATION
We have reviewed EMBRAER Service Bulletin 145-32-0120, Revision 02, dated
February 17, 2009. The original NPRM cited EMBRAER Service Bulletin 145
-32-0120, Revision 01, dated November 4, 2008, as the appropriate source
of service information for replacing the landing gear electronic unit
(LGEU) with a new one having a new part number. EMBRAER Service Bulletin
145-32-0120, Revision 02, dated February 17, 2009, revises the effectivity
but adds no new actions. We have revised paragraphs (g)(1) and (g)(3)
(paragraphs (f)(1) and (f)(3) of the original NPRM) and Note 1 of this
supplemental NPRM to refer to Revision 02. We have also added EMBRAER
Service Bulletin 145-32-0120, Revision 01, dated November 4, 2008, to
Table 1 of this supplemental NPRM to provide credit for actions done in
accordance with EMBRAER Service Bulletin 145-32-0120, Revision 01, dated
November 4, 2008.
COMMENTS
We have considered the following comments received on the original NPRM.
REQUEST TO INCLUDE INSTALLATION OF LGEU HAVING PART NUMBER (P/N) 355-022
-003 IN THE AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE MANUAL
American Eagle Airlines requests that we revise the original NPRM to also
allow replacing the LGEU, in accordance with Section 32-32-01 Part II of
the EMBRAER Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM), as an acceptable method of
compliance with the requirements of paragraph (g) of the original NPRM.
Paragraph (g) of the original NPRM would have required replacing LGEU
having P/N 355-022-002 with P/N 355-002-003, in accordance with EMBRAER
Service Bulletin 145-32-0120, Revision 01, dated November 4, 2008; or
145LEG-32-0032, Revision 02, dated February 17, 2009; as applicable.
We disagree with the request. Section 32-32-01 of the EMBRAER AMM does not
include all the actions specified in the Accomplishment Instructions of
EMBRAER Service Bulletin 145-32-0120, Revision 01, dated November 4, 2008;
or 145LEG-32-0032, Revision 02, dated February 17, 2009. Neither the FAA
nor the Brazilian authorities approve the AMM. However, operators may
apply for an alternative method of compliance in accordance with the
provisions specified in paragraph (h)(1) of this supplemental NPRM. No
change has been made to this supplemental NPRM in this regard.
REQUEST TO REVISE COMPLIANCE TIMES
The Airline Pilots Association requests that we revise the compliance
times to 12 months for replacing all LGEUs. The original NPRM specifies
replacing LGEUs having P/N 355-022-002 having serial numbers (S/Ns) 1000
through 1999 with new LGEUs having P/N 355-022-003 within 12 months after
the effective date of the AD. It also specifies replacing LGEUs having P/N
355-022-002 having other serial numbers with new LGEUs having P/N 355-022
-003 within 30 months after the effective date of this AD. The commenter
provides no justification for this request.
We disagree with the request to revise the compliance times. All LGEUs
identified in this AD have the potential to fail. However, according to
the manufacturer's data, LGEUs having P/N 1000 through 1999 have certain
internal components that could fail sooner than the internal components of
the other LGEUs. For this reason LGEUs having P/ N 1000 through 1999
should be removed and replaced sooner than the other LGEUs. By replacing
LGEUs having P/N 1000 through 1999 sooner as a result of a shorter
compliance time, the same level of safety for all operators of the
affected airplane is maintained. No change has been made to this
supplemental NPRM in this regard.
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.
Certain changes described above expand the scope of the earlier NPRM. As a
result, we have determined that it is necessary to reopen the comment
period to provide additional opportunity for the public to comment on this
proposed AD.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THIS AD AND THE MCAI OR SERVICE INFORMATION
We have reviewed the MCAI and related service information and, in general,
agree with their substance. But we might have found it necessary to use
different words from those in the MCAI to ensure the AD is clear for U.S.
operators and is enforceable. In making these changes, we do not intend to
differ substantively from the information provided in the MCAI and related
service information.
We might also have proposed different actions in this AD from those in the
MCAI in order to follow FAA policies. Any such differences are highlighted
in a Note within the proposed AD.
EXPLANATION OF CHANGE TO COSTS OF COMPLIANCE
Since issuance of the original NPRM, we have increased the labor rate used
in the Costs of Compliance from $80 per work-hour to $85 per work-hour.
The Costs of Compliance information, below, reflects this increase in the
specified hourly labor rate.
COSTS OF COMPLIANCE
Based on the service information, we estimate that this proposed AD would
affect about 711 products of U.S. registry. We also estimate that it would
take about 2 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 $0 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
costs. 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
$120,870, or $170 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); 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.
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: