DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2016-9568; Directorate Identifier 2016-NM-150-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; 328 Support Services GmbH (Type
Certificate Previously Held by AvCraft Aerospace GmbH; Fairchild
Dornier GmbH; Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH) Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

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

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SUMMARY: We are revising an earlier proposal for an airworthiness
directive (AD) for certain 328 Support Services GmbH Model 328-100 and
Model 328-300 airplanes. This action revises the notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) by expanding the applicability and making certain
inspections repetitive. We are proposing this AD to address the unsafe
condition on these products. Since these actions impose an additional
burden over those proposed in the NPRM, we are reopening the comment
period to allow the public the chance to comment on these proposed changes.

DATES: The comment period for the NPRM published in the Federal
Register on January 11, 2017 (82 FR 3217), is reopened.
We must receive comments on this SNPRM by August 14, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, using the procedures found in 14 CFR
11.43 and 11.45, 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 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.

For service information identified in this SNPRM, contact 328
Support Services GmbH, Global Support Center, P.O. Box 1252, D-82231
Wessling, Federal Republic of Germany; telephone +49 8153 88111 6666;
fax +49 8153 88111 6565; email gsc.op@328support.de; Internet
http://www.328support.de. You may view this referenced service information at
the FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton,
WA. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA,
call 425-227-1221.

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-2016-9568; 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 proposed 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: Todd Thompson, Aerospace Engineer,
International Branch, ANM-116, Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA,
1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA 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-2016-9568;
Directorate Identifier 2016-NM-150-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 issued an NPRM to amend 14 CFR part 39 by adding an AD that
would apply to certain 328 Support Services GmbH Model 328-100 and
Model 328-300 airplanes. The NPRM published in the Federal Register on
January 11, 2017 (82 FR 3217). The NPRM was prompted by reports of
broken bonding wires of certain fuel line clamps. The NPRM proposed to
require a one-time inspection of certain fuel line clamps for
discrepancies, and replacement of any discrepant clamps.

Actions Since the NPRM Was Issued

Since we issued the NPRM, we have determined that repetitive
inspections are necessary to address the unsafe condition and that
additional airplanes are affected by the unsafe condition and must be
added to the applicability.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical
Agent for the Member States of the European Union, has issued EASA
Airworthiness Directive 2017-0016, dated January 31, 2017 (referred to
after this as the Mandatory Continuing Airworthiness Information, or
"the MCAI"), to correct an unsafe condition on all 328 Support
Services GmbH Model 328-100 and Model 328-300 airplanes. The MCAI
states:

Occurrences of broken bonding wires of the fuel line clamps have
been reported on Dornier 328-100 and Dornier 328-300 aeroplanes
equipped with fuel line clamps Part Number (P/N) 14C02-10A, or P/N
14C02-12A, or P/N 14C02-16A. The affected fuel line clamps have been
installed in accordance with the instructions of Dornier 328 Service
Bulletin (SB) SB-328-28-490 or SB-328J-28-241, as applicable, to
reduce occurrences of fuel line chafing.

The results of the investigation did not identify design
deficiency or production failure of the fuel line clamps. It is
assumed that the chafing and breaking of the bonding wires are
caused either by excessive vibration, misalignment, excessive
installation tolerances or mistakes on installation or a combination thereof.

This condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead to the
loss of bonding function and, in combination with a lightning
strike, create a source of ignition in a fuel tank, possibly
resulting in a fire or explosion and consequent loss of the aeroplane.

To address the unsafe condition, 328 Support Services issued
Alert SB (ASB) ASB-328-28-041 (for Dornier 328-100) and ASB-328J-28-
018 (for Dornier 328-300), providing inspection instructions.

Consequently, EASA issued AD 2016-0169 [which corresponds to the
NPRM] to require a one-time inspection of the fuel line clamps and,
depending on findings, replacement. That [EASA] AD also required the
reporting off all inspection results to the design approval holder.

Since that [EASA] AD was issued, it was determined that
repetitive inspections are necessary and 328 Support Services
revised the applicable ASBs accordingly.

For the reason described above, this [EASA] AD retains the
requirements of EASA AD 2016-0169, which is superseded, and requires
repetitive inspections of all Hydraflow fuel line clamps [i.e., a
general visual inspection of all Hydraflow fuel line clamps for worn
and missing bonding wires; a general visual inspection of the jet
pump outlet, connection part, and fuel lines for chafing marks; and
a measurement of the depth of the chafing marks on affected parts]
and continued reporting to the TC Holder.

You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket on the Internet at
http://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No.
FAA-2016-9568.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

328 Support Services has issued Alert Service Bulletin ASB-328J-28-
018, Revision 2, dated December 12, 2016; and Alert Service Bulletin
ASB-328-28-041, Revision 2, dated December 12, 2016. The service
information describes procedures for a general visual inspection of all
Hydraflow fuel line clamps for worn and missing bonding wires; a
general visual inspection of the jet pump outlet, connection part, and
fuel lines for chafing marks; a measurement of the depth of the chafing
marks, and replacement of affected parts. These documents are distinct
since they apply to different airplane models. 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.

Comments

We gave the public the opportunity to participate in developing
this proposed AD. We considered the comments received.

Request To Refer to Updated Service Information

Two commenters, Patrick Brady and Christoph Thallmayr, requested
that we revise the proposed AD to refer to the latest 328 Support
Services Service Bulletins. The commenters stated that updated versions
of the service information specify repetitive inspections at intervals
of 2,500 flight hours. The commenters further noted that EASA issued an
updated AD, which references the latest service information. Patrick
Brady noted that the repetitive inspections could be scheduled with
recurring "5A" inspections to ensure no additional downtime is needed.

We agree with the request. We have revised this AD to refer to the
updated service information and MCAI.

FAA's Determination and Requirements of This SNPRM

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 these
same type designs.

Certain changes described above expand the scope of the 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 SNPRM.

Costs of Compliance

We estimate that this SNPRM affects 25 airplanes of U.S. registry
We estimate the following costs to comply with this proposed AD:

Estimated Costs

We estimate the following costs to do any necessary replacements
that would be required based on the results of the proposed inspection.
We have no way of determining the number of aircraft that might need
these replacements.

On-Condition Costs

Paperwork Reduction Act

A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not
required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to 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 control
number for the collection of information required by this proposed AD
is 2120-0056. The paperwork cost associated with this AD has been
detailed in the Costs of Compliance section of this document and
includes time for reviewing instructions, as well as completing and
reviewing the collection of information. Therefore, all reporting
associated with this AD is 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.

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);

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.

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):