DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2013-0752; Product Identifier 2009-SW-44-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Pacific Scientific Company Seat
Restraint System Rotary Buckle Assemblies

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM); reopening
of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is reopening the comment period for an earlier
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for certain Pacific Scientific Aviation
Services seat restraint rotary buckle assemblies (buckles). The NPRM
proposed to require inspecting each buckle and buckle handle vane, and
depending on the inspection results, removing the buckle from service
and installing an airworthy buckle. The NPRM also proposed to prohibit
the installation of the affected buckles. The NPRM was prompted by
several reports of cracked buckle handles. This action reopens the
comment period because a significant amount of time has elapsed since
the NPRM was published. Additionally, this action clarifies the
applicability and updates nomenclature, contact information, and the
design approval holder's (DAH) name.

DATES: The FAA must receive comments on this SNPRM by November 9, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by any of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Docket: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for sending your comments electronically.

Fax: 202-493-2251.

Mail: Send comments to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

Hand Delivery: Deliver to the "Mail" address between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Examining the AD Docket

You may examine the AD docket on the internet at https://www.regulations.
gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2013-0752;
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 AD, the European Aviation Safety Agency (now European Union
Aviation Safety Agency) (EASA) AD, any comments received, and other
information. The street address for Docket Operations is listed above.
Comments will be available in the AD docket shortly after receipt.

For Pacific Scientific Company service information identified in
this proposed rule, contact Meggitt Services, 1785 Voyager Ave., Simi
Valley, CA 93063, telephone 877-666-0712 or at
CustomerResponse@meggitt.com. You may view the referenced service
information at the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, Southwest
Region, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy, Room 6N-321, Fort Worth, TX 76177.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristi Bradley, Aviation Safety
Engineer, International Validation Branch, General Aviation and
Rotorcraft Unit, FAA, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Fort Worth, TX 76177;
telephone 817-222-5110; email kristin.bradley@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

The FAA invites you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting
written comments, data, or views. The most helpful comments reference a
specific portion of the proposal, explain the reason for any
recommended change, and include supporting data. To ensure the docket
does not contain duplicate comments, commenters should send only one
copy of written comments, or if comments are filed electronically,
commenters should submit only one time.

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 file in the docket all comments received, as well
as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA
personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this
proposal, the FAA will consider all comments received on or before the
closing date for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed after the
comment period has closed if it is possible to do so without incurring
expense or delay. The FAA may change this proposal in light of the
comments received.

Confidential Business Information

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 SNPRM 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 SNPRM, 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 SNPRM. Submissions
containing CBI should be sent to Kristi Bradley, Aviation Safety
Engineer, International Validation Branch, General Aviation and
Rotorcraft Unit, FAA, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Fort Worth, TX 76177;
telephone 817-222-5110; email kristin.bradley@faa.gov. Any commentary
that the FAA receives which is not specifically designated as CBI will
be placed in the public docket for this rulemaking.

Discussion

On September 5, 2013, at 78 FR 54594, the FAA published in the
Federal Register an NPRM which proposed to amend 14 CFR part 39 by
adding an AD that would apply to buckles, part number (P/N) 1111430 or
1111475, all dash numbers, installed on but not limited to Cessna
Aircraft Company, de Havilland, Inc. (Type Certificate (TC) currently
held by Viking Air Limited), and Learjet Inc. model airplanes and
Eurocopter France model helicopters. The NPRM proposed to require,
within 30 days, inspecting each buckle for a crack and replacing any
cracked buckle with an airworthy buckle. Also, within 6 months, the
NPRM proposed to require inspecting the thickness of the buckle handle
vane and replacing any buckle with a handle vane thickness of 0.125
inch or greater. Lastly, the NPRM proposed to prohibit installing an
affected buckle on any airplane or helicopter. The proposed
requirements were intended to detect a cracked rotary buckle handle,
which could prevent a strap from releasing as intended when the buckle
is rotated.

The NPRM was prompted by EASA AD No. 2007-0256, dated September 19,
2007, issued by EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member
States of the European Union, to correct an unsafe condition for
certain Pacific Scientific Company Seat Restraint System Plastic Rotary
Buckle Handles. According to EASA, Pacific Scientific Company reports
several instances of cracked handles on certain buckles with a date of
manufacture from November 2004 through May 2007. Testing on buckles
with a cracked handle indicates that in some circumstances, a load
placed on the restraint system prevents a strap from releasing as
intended when the buckle is rotated. EASA states that these
circumstances are possible when a passenger weighs more than 50 kg
(approximately 110 lbs.) and an aircraft is upside down.

Actions Since the NPRM Was Issued

Since the FAA issued the NPRM, a significant amount of time has
elapsed requiring the FAA to reopen the comment period to allow the
public a chance to comment on the proposed actions. These actions are
intended to prevent a buckle from not releasing the restraint system
strap in an emergency.

The FAA is also correcting the name of Pacific Scientific Aviation
Services to Pacific Scientific Company in this SNPRM.

Comments

After the NPRM was published, the FAA received comments from one
commenter. The following presents the comments received on the NPRM and
the FAA's response to each comment.

Request

The commenter stated that buckle P/Ns 1111430-11 and 1111460-13 are
fitted for certain Bombardier Inc., Model CL-600-2B19 aircraft and
requested that the FAA include these aircraft in the Applicability
because it would be helpful when performing records research and
audits. The FAA partially agrees. Buckle P/N 1111430-11 is captured by
the Applicability; however, buckle P/N 1111460-13 is not known to be
affected by this unsafe condition and therefore is not included in the
Applicability. Further, while the list of airplanes and helicopters in
the Applicability that could have an affected buckle installed is not
all-inclusive, the FAA has added Bombardier Inc., as a possible
airplane on which an affected buckle could be installed.

The commenter also stated that Appendix 1 of Pacific Scientific
Service Bulletin SB 25-1111432, dated May 22, 2007 (SB 25-1111432)
lists P/Ns of affected buckles and restraint systems, and that affected
part-numbered buckles may be in inventory with restraint system
subassemblies (straps and belts) and on spare seat assemblies. The
commenter requested the FAA require checking these inventories to
determine if they need to be inspected. The FAA partially agrees. The
FAA agrees that affected part-numbered buckles must be inspected and
that they may be found as a component of a different part-numbered
restraint system assembly. Accordingly, the FAA has added a note to the
Applicability paragraph to clarify that an affected part-numbered
buckle may be included as a component of a different part-numbered
restraint system assembly and added a reference to Appendix 1 of SB 25-
1111432, which lists the P/Ns of potentially affected restraint
systems. To address spare parts, the proposed AD contains an
installation prohibition so that affected parts in inventory will not
become installed on any aircraft.

The commenter noted that the NPRM proposed to require replacing
affected buckles and requested that the FAA allow replacing a restraint
system or subassembly with a restraint system or subassembly containing
an airworthy buckle as an acceptable method of compliance. The FAA
agrees with the comment, but does not agree that a change to this AD
action is necessary. Replacing a restraint system or subassembly that
contains an airworthy buckle inherently meets the requirement to
replace an affected buckle with an airworthy buckle.

The commenter stated that it will be difficult to maintain a record
of compliance since this is an appliance AD for a non-serialized
component and spare buckles are affected. Although neither the service
information nor the NPRM suggest marking or serializing buckles, the
commenter requested the FAA require doing so as a method to ensure
solid compliance recordkeeping. The FAA disagrees. The Applicability
includes the part-numbered buckles affected by the unsafe condition and
the FAA appreciates the importance of compliance recordkeeping.
However, serializing buckles for the purpose of compliance with this AD
would create unnecessary costs and internal controls by maintainers and
operators are expected to be used to ensure AD compliance.

The commenter stated that SB 25-1111432, which is referenced in the
Related Service Information section of the NPRM, provides a link to an
out of date revision of the component maintenance manual (CMM) and that
the revised CMM includes an Illustrated Parts Catalog list. The
commenter did not request a change to the proposed AD. The FAA
acknowledges that the link in paragraph 4 of SB 25-1111432 is out of
date, but that portion of SB 25-1111432 is not required to accomplish
this AD.

Lastly, the commenter stated that considering SB 25-1111432 was
issued several years ago, there appears to be a lack of urgency. The
commenter requested that the FAA increase the compliance time for
performing the inspection for cracks from 30 days to 6 months and the
compliance time for performing the buckle handle vane measurement from
6 months to 1 year. The FAA agrees and has made these changes
accordingly in this SNPRM.

FAA's Determination

This product has been approved by EASA and is approved for
operation in the United States. Pursuant to the FAA's bilateral
agreement with the European Union, EASA has notified the FAA of the
unsafe condition described in its AD. The FAA is proposing this SNPRM
after evaluating all known relevant information and determining that an
unsafe condition exists and is likely to exist or develop on other
products. Because of the amount of time that has elapsed since the NPRM
was issued, the FAA has determined that it is necessary to reopen the
comment period to provide additional opportunity for the public to
comment. This SNPRM incorporates the changes described previously as
well as the following:

Minor editorial changes,

update of the estimated costs to comply with this proposed
AD,

clarification of the Applicability paragraph by stating
buckle P/Ns 1111430 "and" 1111475 instead of buckle P/Ns 1111430
"or" 1111475,

update of Cessna Aircraft Company's name to Textron
Aviation, Inc., and Eurocopter France's name to Airbus Helicopters, and

update of the contact information name from Pacific
Scientific Aviation Services to Meggitt Services, as well as the
contact information.

Additionally, since the FAA issued the NPRM, the FAA's Aircraft
Certification Service has changed its organization structure. The new
structure replaces product directorates with functional divisions. The
FAA has revised some of the office titles and nomenclature throughout
this SNPRM to reflect the new organizational changes. Additional
information about the new structure can be found in the Notice
published on July 25, 2017 (82 FR 34564).

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

The FAA reviewed SB 25-1111432. This service information specifies
inspecting each buckle P/Ns 1111430-XX and 1111475-XX with a date of
manufacture between November 2004 and May 2007, to identify whether the
handle is one susceptible to cracking by checking the P/N on the
reverse side of the buckle assembly or by measuring the thickness of
the handle vane. If the buckle is identified as a "suspect" buckle,
the service information provides procedures for removing the buckle and
replacing it with an acceptable buckle. Information in the service
information also advises that buckles with a cracked handle should be
removed from service immediately.

This service information 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.

Proposed Requirements of This SNPRM

This proposed AD would require, within 6 months, inspecting each
buckle for a crack, and within 12 months, inspecting the thickness of
the buckle handle vane. If there is a crack or the handle vane
thickness is 0.125 inch or greater, this proposed AD would require
removing the buckle from service and replacing it with an airworthy
buckle. This proposed AD would also prohibit installing an affected
buckle on any airplane or helicopter.

Differences Between This Proposed AD and the EASA AD

The EASA AD applies to certain Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters)
model helicopters only. Since the affected buckles may be installed in
other aircraft resulting in the same unsafe condition, this proposed AD
would also apply to those aircraft. This proposed AD would not require
returning the unairworthy buckle assembly to the manufacturer, and this
proposed AD would not apply to "spare" parts that are not installed
on an aircraft. Also, this proposed AD would apply to buckle P/Ns
1111430 and 1111475, all dash numbers, and would not be dependent on
the restraint P/Ns. The EASA AD requires inspecting the buckles within
30 days, whereas this proposed AD would require inspecting the buckle
handle for a crack within 6 months and the buckle handle vane thickness
within 12 months instead. This proposed AD would not require an
inspection for cracks "before any flight" for the 6 months until the
affected buckles are replaced. The EASA AD identifies suspect parts by
date of manufacture, and this proposed AD would not. Finally, the EASA
AD allows for marking a seat as "un-operative" and this proposed AD
would not.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 1,435
restraint systems installed on aircraft of U.S. Registry. The FAA
estimates that operators may incur the following costs in order to
comply with this proposed AD. Labor costs are estimated at $85 per
work-hour.

Inspecting a buckle would cost a minimal amount and take a nominal
amount of time. Replacing a buckle would take about 0.5 work-hour and
parts would cost about $636 for an estimated cost of $679 per buckle
and $974,365 for the U.S. fleet.

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

This AD will not have federalism implications under Executive Order
13132. This AD will 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 this AD:

(1) Is not a "significant regulatory action" under Executive
Order 12866,

(2) Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, 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.

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 airworthiness
directive (AD):