DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2017-0525; Directorate Identifier 2016-NM-121-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Dassault Aviation Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all
Dassault Aviation Model MYSTERE-FALCON 900 airplanes. This proposed AD
was prompted by a determination that new or more restrictive
maintenance requirements and/or airworthiness limitations are
necessary. This proposed AD would require revising the maintenance or
inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more
restrictive maintenance requirements and/or airworthiness limitations.
We are proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these
products.

DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by July 21, 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: Deliver to Mail address above between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

For service information identified in this NPRM, contact Dassault
Falcon Jet Corporation, Teterboro Airport, P.O. Box 2000, South
Hackensack, NJ 07606; telephone 201-440-6700; Internet http://www.
dassaultfalcon.com. 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-2017-0525;
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
Operations 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: Tom Rodriguez, Aerospace Engineer,
International Branch, ANM-116, Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA,
1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA 98057-3356; telephone 425-227-1137; 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-2017-0525;
Directorate Identifier 2016-NM-121-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

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical
Agent for the Member States of the European Union, has issued EASA
Airworthiness Directive 2016-0127, dated June 23, 2016 (referred to
after this as the Mandatory Continuing Airworthiness Information, or
"the MCAI"), to correct an unsafe condition for all Dassault Aviation
Model MYSTERE-FALCON 900 airplanes. The MCAI states:

The airworthiness limitations and maintenance requirements for
the DA [Dassault Aviation] Mystere-Falcon 900 type design are
included in Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM) chapter 5-40 and are
approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). These
instructions have been identified as mandatory for continued
airworthiness.

Failure to accomplish these instructions could result in an
unsafe condition.

Consequently, EASA issued AD 2013-0053 [which corresponds with
AD 2016-01-16, Amendment 39-18376 (81 FR 3320, January 21, 2016)
("AD 2016-01-16")] to require accomplishment of the maintenance
tasks, and implementation of the airworthiness limitations, as
specified in DA Mystere-Falcon 900 AMM chapter 5-40 (DGT
113873) at revision 20.

Since that [EASA] AD was issued, DA issued revision 22 of
Mystere-Falcon 900 AMM chapter 5-40 (DGT 113873) (hereafter
referred to as "the ALS" in this [EASA] AD), which contains new or
more restrictive maintenance requirements and/or airworthiness
limitations. The ALS introduces, among others, the following new
tasks:

--Task 53-40-07-280-803 "Special detailed inspection of the
repaired areas on centre-wing lower panel";
--Task 53-50-00-220-803 "Detailed inspection of the baggage
compartment";
--Task 53-50-00-220-807 "Detailed inspection of the upper part of
frame 30."

For the reason described above, this [EASA] AD retains the
requirements of EASA AD 2013-0053, which is superseded, and requires
accomplishment of the actions specified in the ALS.

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-2017-0525.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

Dassault issued Chapter 5-40, Airworthiness Limitations, Revision
22, dated December 2015, of the Dassault Aviation Falcon 900
Maintenance Manual. The service information describes procedures,
maintenance tasks, and airworthiness limitations specified in the
Airworthiness Limitations section (ALS) of the AMM. 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.

FAA's Determination and Requirements of This Proposed 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 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 the same
type design.

This proposed AD would require revisions to certain operator
maintenance documents to include new actions (e.g., inspections).
Compliance with these actions is required by 14 CFR 91.403(c). For
airplanes that have been previously modified, altered, or repaired in
the areas addressed by this proposed AD, the operator may not be able
to accomplish the actions described in the revisions. In this
situation, to comply with 14 CFR 91.403(c), the operator must request
approval for an alternative method of compliance according to paragraph
(j)(1) of this proposed AD. The request should include a description of
changes to the required actions that will ensure the continued
operational safety of the airplane.

This proposed AD would not supersede AD 2016-01-16. Rather, we have
determined that a stand-alone AD would be more appropriate to address
the changes in the MCAI. This proposed AD would require revising the
maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or
more restrictive maintenance requirements and/or airworthiness
limitations than those required by AD 2016-01-16. Accomplishment of the
proposed actions would then terminate all the requirements of AD 2016-
01-16.

Airworthiness Limitations Based on Type Design

The FAA recently became aware of an issue related to the applicability of
ADs that require incorporation of an ALS revision into an operator's
maintenance or inspection program.

Typically, when these types of ADs are issued by civil aviation
authorities of other countries, they apply to all airplanes covered
under an identified type certificate (TC). The corresponding FAA AD
typically retains applicability to all of those airplanes.

In addition, U.S. operators must operate their airplanes in an
airworthy condition, in accordance with 14 CFR 91.7(a). Included in
this obligation is the requirement to perform any maintenance or
inspections specified in the ALS, and in accordance with the ALS as
specified in 14 CFR 43.16 and 91.403(c), unless an alternative has been
approved by the FAA.

When a type certificate is issued for a type design, the specific
ALS, including revisions, is a part of that type design, as specified
in 14 CFR 21.31(c).

The sum effect of these operational and maintenance requirements is
an obligation to comply with the ALS defined in the type design
referenced in the manufacturer's conformity statement. This obligation
may introduce a conflict with an AD that requires a specific ALS
revision if new airplanes are delivered with a later revision as part
of their type design.

To address this conflict, the FAA has approved alternative methods
of compliance (AMOCs) that allow operators to incorporate the most
recent ALS revision into their maintenance/inspection programs, in lieu
of the ALS revision required by the AD. This eliminates the conflict
and enables the operator to comply with both the AD and the type
design.

However, compliance with AMOCs is normally optional, and we
recently became aware that some operators choose to retain the AD-
mandated ALS revision in their fleet-wide maintenance/inspection
programs, including those for new airplanes delivered with later ALS
revisions, to help standardize the maintenance of the fleet. To ensure
that operators comply with the applicable ALS revision for newly
delivered airplanes containing a later revision than that specified in
an AD, we plan to limit the applicability of ADs that mandate ALS
revisions to those airplanes that are subject to an earlier revision of
the ALS, either as part of the type design or as mandated by an earlier
AD. This proposed AD therefore applies Dassault Aviation Model MYSTERE-
FALCON 900 airplanes with an original certificate of airworthiness or
original export certificate of airworthiness that was issued on or
before the date of approval of the ALS revision identified in this
proposed AD. Operators of airplanes with an original certificate of air-
worthiness or original export certificate of airworthiness issued after
that date must comply with the airworthiness limitations specified as
part of the approved type design and referenced on the type certificate
data sheet.

Costs of Compliance

We estimate that this proposed AD affects 65 airplanes of U.S.
registry.

We estimate the following costs to comply with this proposed AD:

Estimated Costs

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):