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2016-17-04 ALL HOT AIR BALLOONS:
Amendment 39-18617; Docket No. FAA-2016-8989; Directorate Identifier 2016-CE-025-AD.

(a) EFFECTIVE DATE

    This airworthiness directive (AD) becomes effective August 29, 2016.

(b) AFFECTED ADS

    None.

(c) APPLICABILITY

    This AD applies to all hot air balloons, certificated in any category,
    with BALONY KUBICEK spol. s r.o. Model Kubicek burners.

(d) SUBJECT

    Air Transport Association of America (ATA) Code 28: Fuel.

(e) REASON

    This AD was prompted by mandatory continuing airworthiness information
    (MCAI) issued by the aviation authority of another country to identify
    and  correct an  unsafe condition  on  an  aviation product.  The MCAI
    describes the unsafe  condition as propane  leaks on burners  equipped
    with fuel hoses made  of EGEFLEX material. We  are issuing this AD  to
    prevent propane leaks in the fuel hoses, which could result in a fire,
    damaging  the  balloon  and its  envelope,  ultimately  leading to  an
    emergency landing, with consequent injury to the occupants and persons
    on the ground.

(f) ACTIONS AND COMPLIANCE

    Unless already done, do the following actions.

(1) Within  the  next 14 days after August 29, 2016 (the effective date of
    this AD),  inspect  all hot air balloon fuel lines to determine  if  a
    Kubicek fuel hose made of "EGEFLEX" material is installed.  Do the in-
    spection as following BALONY KUBICEK spol. s r.o. Service Bulletin No.
    BB/50, BB-S/11, AB24 rev.1, dated May 12, 2016.

(2) If any Kubicek hose made of "EGEFLEX" material is found during the in-
    spection  required  in  paragraph (f)(1)  of this AD,  before  further
    flight,  replace  the  fuel hose following BALONY KUBICEK spol. s r.o.
    Service Bulletin No. BB/50, BB-S/11, AB24 rev.1, dated May 12, 2016.

(3) As of August 29, 2016 (the effective date of this AD),  do not install
    a Kubicek fuel hose made of "EGEFLEX" material.

(g) OTHER FAA AD PROVISIONS

    The following provisions also apply to this AD:

(1) Alternative  Methods  of  Compliance  (AMOCs):  The Manager, Standards
    Office,  FAA,  has the authority to approve AMOCs for this AD,  if re-
    quested using the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19.  Send  information
    to  ATTN: Karl Schletzbaum,  Aerospace Engineer,  FAA,  Small Airplane
    Directorate, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 64106;  tele-
    phone: (816) 329-4123;  fax: (816) 329-4090;  email: karl.schletzbaum@
    faa.gov.  Before  using  any approved AMOC on any balloon to which the
    AMOC applies,  notify your appropriate principal inspector (PI) in the
    FAA Flight Standards District Office  (FSDO),  or  lacking a PI,  your
    local FSDO.

(2) Airworthy Product: For any requirement in this AD to obtain corrective
    actions from a manufacturer or other source, use these actions if they
    are FAA-approved.  Corrective actions  are considered  FAA-approved if
    they are approved by the State of Design Authority (or their delegated
    agent). You are required to assure the product is airworthy before  it
    is returned to service.

(3) Reporting  Requirements:  For any reporting requirement in this AD,  a
    federal  agency  may not  conduct  or sponsor,  and  a person  is  not
    required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for
    failure to  comply with  a collection  of information  subject to  the
    requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection  of
    information  displays  a current  valid  OMB Control  Number.  The OMB
    Control Number  for this  information collection  is 2120-0056. Public
    reporting  for  this  collection of  information  is  estimated to  be
    approximately 5 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing
    instructions, completing and reviewing the collection of  information.
    All  responses  to  this  collection  of  information  are  mandatory.
    Comments concerning the  accuracy of this  burden and suggestions  for
    reducing the burden should be directed to the FAA at: 800 Independence
    Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20591, Attn: Information Collection Clearance
    Officer, AES-200.

(h) SPECIAL FLIGHT PERMIT

    Special flight permits are prohibited.

(i) RELATED INFORMATION

    Refer to MCAI European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD No. 2016-0151,
    dated July 26, 2016, for related information. You may examine the MCAI
    on  the  Internet  at  http://www.regulations.gov by searching for and
    locating Docket No. FAA-2016-8989.

(j) MATERIAL INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

(1) The  Director  of  the  Federal Register approved the incorporation by
    reference (IBR)  of  the  service information listed in this paragraph
    under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.

(2) You must use  this service information as applicable to do the actions
    required by this AD, unless this AD specifies otherwise.

(i) BALONY KUBICEK spol. s r.o.  Service Bulletin No. BB/50, BB-S/11, AB24
    rev.1, dated May 12, 2016.

(ii) Reserved.

(3) For BALONY KUBICEK spol. s r.o. service information identified in this
    AD, contact BALONY KUBICEK spol. s r. o., Jarni 2a, 614 00 Brno, Czech
    Republic,  telephone: +420 545 422 620;  fax: +420 545 422 621; email:
    info@kubicekballons.cz. Internet: http://www.kubicekballoons.eu.

(4) You  may  view  this  service information at the FAA,  Small  Airplane
    Directorate, 901 Locust, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.  For information
    on the availability of this material at the FAA,  call (816) 329-4148.
    It is also available on the Internet  at http://www.regulations.gov by
    searching for locating Docket No. FAA-2016-8989.

(5) You  may  view  this  service  information  that  is  incorporated  by
    reference at the  National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
    For  information  on  the availability of this material at NARA,  call
    202-741-6030,  or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/
    ibr-locations.html.

Issued in  Kansas City,  Missouri  on  August 16, 2016. Pat Mullen, Acting
Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karl Schletzbaum, Aerospace Engineer, FAA
Small Airplane Directorate,  901 Locust,  Room 301,  Kansas City, Missouri
64106; telephone: (816) 329-4123; fax: (816) 329-4090; email: karl.schletz
baum@faa.gov.
PREAMBLE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2016-8989; Directorate Identifier 2016-CE-025-AD;
Amendment 39-18617; AD 2016-17-04]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; All Hot Air Balloons

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all hot
air balloons to determine if BALONY KUBICEK spol.
s r.o. Model Kubicek burners equipped with fuel hoses
made of "EGEFLEX" material are installed. This AD results from
mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the
aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe
condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe
condition as propane leaks found on burners equipped with fuel hoses
made of EGEFLEX material. We are issuing this AD to require actions to
address the unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: This AD is effective August 29, 2016.
The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by
reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of August 29,
2016.
We must receive comments on this AD by October 7, 2016.

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 W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
For service information identified in this AD, contact
BALONY KUBICEK spol. s r.o., Jarni 2a, 614
00 Brno, Czech Republic, telephone: +420 545 422 620; fax: +420 545 422
621; email: info@kubicekballons.cz; Internet: http://www.kubicekballoons.eu.
You may view this referenced service
information at the FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, Kansas
City, Missouri 64106. For information on the availability of this
material at the FAA, call (816) 329-4148. It is also available on the
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov by searching for locating Docket
No. FAA-2016-8989.

Examining the AD Docket

You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov
by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2016-
8989; or in person at the Docket Management Facility between 9 a.m. and
5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD docket
contains this AD, the regulatory evaluation, any comments received, and
other information. The street address for the Docket 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: Karl Schletzbaum, Aerospace Engineer,
FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City,
Missouri 64106; telephone: (816) 329-4123; fax: (816) 329-4090; email:
karl.schletzbaum@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Discussion

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical
Agent for the Member States of the European Community, has issued AD
No. 2016-0151, dated July 26, 2016 (referred to
after this as "the MCAI"), to correct an unsafe condition for hot air
balloons with Balony Kubicek spol. s.r.o. Model
Kubicek burners equipped with fuel hoses made of
"EGEFLEX" material. The MCAI states:

Three propane leaks were reported in the recent past on a burner
manufactured by Balony Kubicek spol. s.r.o.,
equipped with the fuel hoses made of hose material "EGEFLEX".
This condition, if not detected and corrected, could result in a
fire, damaging the balloon and its envelope, ultimately leading to
an emergency landing, with consequent injury to balloon occupants
and persons on the ground.
To address this potential unsafe condition, Balony
Kubicek spol. s.r.o. (the hose assemblies'
manufacturer) published Service Bulletin (SB) N° BB/50, BB-S/11,
AB24 rev. 1, which provides instructions for replacement of the
affected fuel hoses with an improved part. As the affected burner
and related fuel hoses can easily be installed on other hot air
balloons, this AD applies to all possibly affected type designs.
For the reasons described above, this AD required identification
and replacement of the affected fuel hoses.

You may examine the MCAI on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov
by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2016-8989.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

BALONY KUBICEK spol. s r.o. has issued Service
Bulletin No. BB/50, BB-S/11, AB24 rev.1, dated May 12, 2016. The
service information describes procedures for replacing all fuel lines
on burners that utilize EGEFLEX hoses. 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.

FAA's Determination and Requirements of This 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 this State of Design Authority, they
have notified us of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI and
service information referenced above. We are issuing this AD because we
evaluated all information provided by the State of Design Authority and
determined the unsafe condition exists and is likely to exist or
develop on type certificated products that incorporate the affected
burners.

FAA's Determination of the Effective Date

An unsafe condition exists that requires the immediate adoption of
this AD. The FAA has found that the risk to the flying public justifies
waiving notice and comment prior to adoption of this rule because this
condition could result in a fire, damaging the balloon and its
envelope, ultimately leading to an emergency landing, with consequent
injury to the occupants and persons on the ground. Therefore, we
determined that notice and opportunity for public comment before
issuing this AD are impracticable and that good cause exists for making
this amendment effective in fewer than 30 days.

Comments Invited

This AD is a final rule that involves requirements affecting flight
safety, and we did not precede it by notice and opportunity for public
comment. We invite you to send any written relevant data, views, or
arguments about this AD. Send your comments to an address listed under
the ADDRESSES section. Include "Docket No. FAA-2016-8989; Directorate
Identifier 2016-CE-025-AD" at the beginning of your comments. We
specifically invite comments on the overall regulatory, economic,
environmental, and energy aspects of this AD. We will consider all
comments received by the closing date and may amend this AD because of
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 AD.

Costs of Compliance

We estimate that this AD will affect 6,400 products of U.S.
registry. We also estimate that it will take about 0.5 work-hour per
product to comply with the basic inspection requirement of this AD. The
average labor rate is $85 per work-hour.
Based on these figures, we estimate the cost of this AD on U.S.
operators to be $272,000, or $42.50 per product.
In addition, we estimate that any necessary follow-on actions will
take about 2 work-hours and require parts costing $200, for a cost of
$370 per product. We have no way of determining the number of hot air
balloons that may need the replacement, but we estimate that it will
affect no more than 60 hot air balloons.

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 above, I certify that this AD:
(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),
(3) Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, 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 AD: