DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2015-0908; Directorate Identifier 2015-SW-007-AD;
Amendment 39-18136; AD 2015-05-52]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Agusta S.p.A. Helicopters

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are publishing a new airworthiness directive (AD) for
Agusta S.p.A. (Agusta) Model A109, A109A, A109A II, A109C, A109K2,
A109E, A119, A109S, AW119 MKII, and AW109SP helicopters, which was sent
previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of these helicopters.
This AD requires inspecting certain tail rotor (T/R) pitch control
links (pitch links) for freedom of movement, corrosion, excessive
friction of the spherical bearings, and cracks. This AD is prompted by
a report of an in-flight failure of a pitch link on an Agusta Model
AW119 MKII helicopter. These actions are intended to prevent loss of T/
R pitch control and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

DATES: This AD becomes effective April 29, 2015 to all persons except
those persons to whom it was made immediately effective by Emergency AD
(EAD) 2015-05-52, issued on March 4, 2015, which contains the
requirements of this AD.
The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by
reference of certain documents listed in this AD as of April 29, 2015.
We must receive comments on this AD by June 15, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Docket: Go to http://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 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 AD, any incorporated by reference
service information, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, the
economic 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 service information identified in this AD, contact
AgustaWestland, Product Support Engineering, Via del Gregge, 100, 21015
Lonate Pozzolo (VA) Italy, ATTN: Maurizio D'Angelo; telephone 39-0331-
664757; fax 39 0331-664680; or at http://www.agustawestland.com/technical-
bulletins. You may review the referenced service information
at the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 2601
Meacham Blvd., Room 663, Fort Worth, Texas 76137. It is also available
on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FAA-2015-
0908.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martin Crane, Aviation Safety
Engineer, Safety Management Group, Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 2601
Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76137; telephone (817) 222-5110; email
martin.r.crane@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

This AD is a final rule that involves requirements affecting flight
safety, and we did not provide you with notice and an opportunity to
provide your comments prior to it becoming effective. However, we
invite you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting written
comments, data, or views. We also invite comments relating to the
economic, environmental, energy, or federalism impacts that resulted
from adopting this AD. The most helpful comments reference a specific
portion of the AD, 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 them only one time. We will file in the docket all comments that
we receive, as well as a report summarizing each substantive public
contact with FAA personnel concerning this rulemaking during the
comment period. We will consider all the comments we receive and may
conduct additional rulemaking based on those comments.

Discussion

On March 4, 2015, we issued EAD 2015-05-52, which requires
inspecting each pitch link part number (P/N) 109-0130-05-117 with 100
hours or less time-in-service since overhaul for freedom of movement,
corrosion, and to determine the force required to rotate the spherical
bearings. If there is any corrosion or if the force exceeds a certain
amount, then the pitch link is unairworthy. If there is no corrosion
and the force does not exceed the amount, then EAD 2015-05-52 requires
cleaning and visually inspecting the pitch link rod for a crack. If
there is a crack, then the pitch link is unairworthy. EAD 2015-05-52
was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of these
helicopters and resulted from a report of an in-flight failure of a
pitch link P/N 109-0130-05-117 on an Agusta Model AW119 MKII
helicopter.
EAD 2015-05-52 was prompted by EAD No. 2015-0035-E, dated February
27, 2015, issued by EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member
States of the European Union, to correct an unsafe condition for
AgustaWestland S.p.A. Model A109A, A109AII, A109C, A109E, A109K2,
A109LUH, A109S, AW109SP, A119, and AW119MKII helicopters. EASA advises
of the reported ``in-flight breaking'' of the T/R pitch control link P/
N 109-0130-05-117. EASA EAD 2015-0035-E requires inspecting the T/R
pitch control link for corrosion, rotation resistance or binding, and
cracks.

FAA's Determination

These helicopters have been approved by the aviation authority of
Italy and are approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant to
our bilateral agreement with Italy, EASA, its technical representative,
has notified us of the unsafe condition described in the EASA AD. We
are issuing this AD because we evaluated all information provided by
EASA and determined the unsafe condition exists and is likely to exist
or develop on other helicopters of these same type designs.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

AgustaWestland issued Alert Bollettino Tecnico (BT) Nos. 109-145,
109EP-141, 109K-65, 109S-065, 109SP-087, and 119-072, all revision A,
and all dated February 27, 2015. These alert BTs specify inspections of
pitch link P/N 109-0130-05-117 for corrosion, freedom of movement,
excessive friction of the spherical bearings, and cracks. This
information is reasonably available at http://www.regulations.gov in
Docket No. FAA-2015-0908. Or see ADDRESSES for other ways to access
this service information.

AD Requirements

This AD retains the requirements of EAD 2015-05-52 and requires
inspecting the pitch link for freedom of movement for rotation
resistance or binding. This AD also requires removing
the pitch link and inspecting each pitch link spherical bearing for
corrosion and the force required to rotate each pitch link spherical
bearing. If there is any corrosion, the pitch link is unairworthy. If
the force required to rotate a spherical bearing in either end of the
pitch link is greater than 7.30 N (1.64 pounds force), the pitch link
is unairworthy. If the force required to rotate the spherical bearings
in both ends of the pitch link is equal to or less than 7.30 N (1.64
pounds force), this AD requires cleaning and visually inspecting the
pitch link rod for a crack using a 10x or higher power magnifying glass
or by performing a dye penetrant inspection. If there is a crack, the
pitch link is unairworthy.

Interim Action

We consider this AD to be an interim action. If final action is
later identified, we might consider further rulemaking.

Costs of Compliance

We estimate that this AD affects 253 helicopters of U.S. Registry.
We estimate that operators may incur the following costs in order to
comply with this AD. It takes about 2.5 work-hours at $85 per work-hour
to perform the inspections, for a total cost of $213 per helicopter and
$53,889 for the U.S. operator fleet. If required, replacing a pitch
link will cost about $1,957 for parts. We do not anticipate any
additional labor costs to install a new pitch link as opposed to re-
installing the existing pitch link.
According to AgustaWestland's service information some of the costs
of this AD may be covered under warranty, thereby reducing the cost
impact on affected individuals. We do not control warranty coverage by
Agusta. Accordingly, we have included all costs in our cost estimate.

FAA's Justification and Determination of the Effective Date

Providing an opportunity for public comments prior to adopting
these AD requirements would delay implementing the safety actions
needed to correct this known unsafe condition. Therefore, we found and
continue to find that the risk to the flying public justifies waiving
notice and comment prior to the adoption of this rule because the
previously described unsafe condition can adversely affect the
controllability of the helicopter and the initial required action must
be accomplished before further flight.
Since it was found that immediate corrective action was required,
notice and opportunity for prior public comment before issuing this AD
were impracticable and contrary to the public interest and good cause
existed to make the AD effective immediately by EAD 2015-05-52, issued
on March 4, 2015, to all known U.S. owners and operators of these
helicopters. These conditions still exist and the AD is hereby
published in the Federal Register as an amendment to section 39.13 of
the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 39.13) to make it effective to
all persons.

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 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, I certify that this AD:
1. Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive Order
12866;
2. Is not a ``significant rule'' under DOT Regulatory Policies and
Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979);
3. Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska to the extent that
it justifies making a regulatory distinction; 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 an economic evaluation of the estimated costs to comply
with this 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.

Adoption of the Amendment

Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the
Administrator, the FAA amends 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):