DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2015-1570; Directorate Identifier 2014-SW-054-AD;
Amendment 39-18161; AD 2015-10-05]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Helicopters (Previously
Eurocopter France) Helicopters

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

ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Airbus
Helicopters (previously Eurocopter France) Model AS365N3, EC155B, and
EC155B1 helicopters with an external life raft in the footsteps with
certain part-numbered junction units. This AD requires inspecting the
junction units of the external life raft deployment system for
corrosion, removing any corrosion, and performing certain measurements
to determine whether the junction unit must be replaced. This AD is
prompted by failure of a life raft deployment test and corrosion damage
inside the left-hand junction unit. These actions are intended to
prevent failure of an external life raft to deploy preventing
evacuation of passengers during an emergency.

DATES: This AD becomes effective June 5, 2015.

The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by
reference of certain documents listed in this AD as of June 5, 2015.
We must receive comments on this AD by July 20, 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, the European Aviation Safety
Agency (EASA) AD, the economic evaluation, any incorporated by
reference service information, 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 Airbus
Helicopters, Inc., 2701 N. Forum Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75052;
telephone (972) 641-0000 or (800) 232-0323; fax (972) 641-3775; or at
http://www.airbushelicopters.com/techpub. 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-2015-1570.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martin R. Crane, Aviation Safety
Engineer, Regulations Group, Rotorcraft Directorate, FAA, 2601 Meacham
Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76137; telephone (817) 222-5112; 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

We are adopting a new AD for Airbus Helicopters (previously
Eurocopter France) Model AS365N3, EC155B, and EC155B1 helicopters with
an external life raft in the footsteps with a junction unit,
manufacturer part number (P/N) 200197 or P/N 200188 (Airbus Helicopters
P/N 704A341302.48 or P/N 704A341302.30), installed. This AD requires
inspecting the external life raft deployment system junction unit for
corrosion, removing any corrosion, and measuring the clearance between
the internal and external pulleys and the junction unit cover. If the
clearance exceeds a certain threshold, this AD requires replacing the
junction unit. This AD is prompted by failure of the external life raft
deployment test and corrosion damage inside the left-hand junction
unit, which blocked the deployment handle. These actions are intended
to prevent corrosion damage inside a junction unit, which can prevent a
deployment handle from functioning correctly and cause failure of an
external life raft to deploy, preventing evacuation of passengers
during an emergency.
EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the
European Union, has issued AD No. 2014-0214, dated September 24, 2014,
to correct an unsafe condition for Airbus Helicopters Model AS365N3,
EC155B, and EC155B1 helicopters with external life rafts in the
footsteps with certain part-numbered junction units installed. EASA
advises that failure of the external life raft deployment test was
reported by a Model AS365 helicopter operator when the affected
external life raft underwent a scheduled maintenance. The failure
occurred during an attempt to release the life raft by pulling the
left-hand internal deployment handle. Subsequent investigations
revealed corrosion damage inside the left-hand junction unit, which
blocked the deployment handle. The EASA AD requires an inspection of
the tensile loads during a functional test of the life-raft system, the
junction unit cover for drainage holes, and the junction unit cover for
corrosion. The EASA AD also requires measuring operational clearance of
the right-hand and the left-hand junction units of the external life
raft deployment system and, depending on the findings, corrective
action and reporting the results to Airbus.

FAA's Determination

These helicopters have been approved by the aviation authority of
France and are approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant to
our bilateral agreement with France, 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 the 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

Airbus Helicopters issued Alert Service Bulletin (ASB) No. EC155-
05A027 for the Model EC155B and B1 helicopter and ASB No. AS365-
05.00.67 for the Model AS365N3 helicopter. Both ASBs are Revision 1 and
dated September 1, 2014. The ASBs specify checking the tensile load
during a functional test of the life-raft system, checking that the
drainage hole blank is correctly positioned, inspecting the junction
units for corrosion, and measuring the operational clearance between
the junction unit pulleys and the cover. If necessary, the ASBs call
for removing the corrosion from the cover surface or pulleys and
replacing the junction unit.
The ASBs state that the life raft deployment test on a Model AS365
helicopter failed when the left-hand internal deployment handle did not
function correctly because the handle was blocked by corrosion inside
the junction unit. ASB No. EC155-05A027 further states that Model
EC155B and B1 helicopters are equipped with similar junction units.
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 of this AD.

AD Requirements

This AD requires, before further flight:
Inspecting each external life raft deployment system unit
for corrosion, and if there is corrosion, either removing the corrosion
and applying a protective coating, primer, and paint to the surface or
replacing the junction unit with an airworthy junction unit.
Measuring the diameter of the junction unit cover and of
each (internal and external) junction unit pulley for operational
clearance. If the clearance is greater than 0.029 inch (0.75 mm),
replacing the junction unit with an airworthy junction unit.
Inspecting the drainage holes on the upper face and the
lower surface of the junction unit cover to determine whether they are
plugged. This AD requires plugging the drainage hole on the upper face
if it is not plugged and removing the plug in the drainage hole on the
lower surface if it is plugged.

Differences Between This AD and the EASA AD

The EASA AD requires a tensile load inspection and, depending on
the results of the inspection, may allow a longer compliance time for
the remaining required actions. This AD does not require the tensile
load inspection and requires all required actions before further
flight. The EASA AD allows the operational clearance measurements to be
taken before any corrosion is removed, while this AD requires removing
any corrosion before taking measurements. The EASA AD requires
reporting the inspection results to the manufacturer; this AD does not.

Costs of Compliance

There are no costs of compliance with this AD because there are no
helicopters equipped with the life raft deployment system that is the
subject of this AD.

FAA's Justification and Determination of the Effective Date

There are no helicopters with the affected life raft deployment
system; therefore, we believe it is unlikely that we will receive any
adverse comments or useful information about this AD from U.S.
Operators.
Since an unsafe condition exists that requires the immediate
adoption of this AD, we determined that notice and opportunity for
public comment before issuing this AD are unnecessary because there are
no helicopters with the affected life raft deployment system and that
good cause exists for making this amendment effective in less than 30
days.

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.

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):