DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2018-0357; Product Identifier 2018-NM-035-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
certain Dassault Aviation Model FALCON 2000EX airplanes. This proposed
AD was prompted by the manufacturer revising the airplane maintenance
manual (AMM) maintenance requirements and airworthiness limitations.
This proposed AD would require revising the maintenance or inspection
program, as applicable, to incorporate new maintenance requirements and
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 June 14, 2018.

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 service information at the
FAA, Transport Standards Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA.
For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call
206-231-3195.

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-2018-0357;
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 NPRM, 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 Section, Transport Standards Branch, FAA, 2200 South
216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; telephone and fax 206-231-3226.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

We invite you to send any written relevant data, views, or
arguments about this proposal. Send your comments to an address listed
under the ADDRESSES section. Include "Docket No. FAA-2018-0357;
Product Identifier 2018-NM-035-AD" at the beginning of your comments.
We specifically invite comments on the overall regulatory, economic,
environmental, and energy aspects of this NPRM. We will consider all
comments received by the closing date and may amend this NPRM 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 NPRM.

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 2018-0021, dated January 29, 2018 (referred to
after this as the Mandatory Continuing Airworthiness Information, or
"the MCAI"), to correct an unsafe condition for certain Dassault
Aviation Model FALCON 2000EX airplanes. The MCAI states:

The airworthiness limitations for Dassault Falcon 2000EX
aeroplanes, which are approved by EASA, are currently defined and
published in Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM) Airworthiness
Limitations Section (ALS) Chapter 5-40. These instructions have been
identified as mandatory for continued airworthiness.

Failure to accomplish these instructions could result in an
unsafe condition [i.e., reduced structural integrity of the
airplane].

EASA previously issued [EASA] AD 2012-0157 [which corresponds to
FAA AD 2014-16-12 Amendment 39-17936 (79 FR 52187, September 3,
2014) ("AD 2014-16-12")], requiring the actions described in
Dassault Falcon 2000EX AMM Chapter 5-40 (DGT 113877) at Revision 07.

Since that [EASA] AD was issued, Dassault published Revision 11
of Dassault Falcon 2000EX AMM Chapter 5-40 (DGT 113877), containing
new and/or more restrictive maintenance tasks and introducing (among
other changes) an operational test for Cursor Control Device.

For the reason described above, this [EASA] AD retains the
requirements of EASA AD 2012-0157, which is superseded, and requires
accomplishment of the actions specified in the Dassault Falcon
2000EX AMM Chapter 5-40 (DGT 113877) at Revision 11 * * *.

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-2018-0357.

Relationship Between Proposed AD and AD 2014-16-12

This NPRM would not supersede AD 2014-16-12. Rather, we have
determined that a stand-alone AD would be more appropriate to address
the changes in the MCAI. This NPRM would require revising the
maintenance or inspection program to incorporate the new maintenance
requirements and airworthiness limitations. Accomplishment of the
proposed actions would then terminate all of the requirements of AD
2014-16-12.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

Dassault Aviation has issued Chapter 5-40, Airworthiness
Limitations, DGT 113877, Revision 11, dated November 2017, of the
Dassault Falcon 2000EX Maintenance Manual. This service information
describes instructions applicable to airworthiness and safe life
limitations. 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 these
same type designs.

This AD requires revisions to certain operator maintenance
documents. Compliance with these revisions 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 damage tolerance of the affected structure.

Differences Between This Proposed AD and the MCAI or Service
Information

The MCAI specifies that if there are findings from the
airworthiness limitations section (ALS) inspection tasks, corrective
actions must be accomplished in accordance with Dassault Aviation
maintenance documentation. However, this proposed AD does not include
that requirement. Operators of U.S.-registered airplanes are required
by general airworthiness and operational regulations to perform
maintenance using methods that are acceptable to the FAA. We consider
those methods to be adequate to address any corrective actions
necessitated by the findings of ALS inspections required by this
proposed AD.

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 would apply to Dassault Aviation Model
FALCON 2000EX airplanes with an original certificate of airworthiness
or original export certificate of airworthiness that was issued on or
before January 15, 2018 (the effective date of the ALS revision
identified in this proposed AD). Operators of airplanes with an
original certificate of airworthiness 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 181 airplanes of U.S.
registry.

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

We have determined that revising the maintenance or inspection
program takes an average of 90 work-hours per operator, although we
recognize that this number may vary from operator to operator. In the
past, we have estimated that this action takes 1 work-hour per
airplane. Since operators incorporate maintenance or inspection program
changes for their affected fleet(s), we have determined that a per-
operator estimate is more accurate than a per-airplane estimate.
Therefore, we estimate the total cost per operator to be $7,650 (90
work-hours x $85 per work-hour).

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.

This proposed AD is issued in accordance with authority delegated
by the Executive Director, Aircraft Certification Service, as
authorized by FAA Order 8000.51C. In accordance with that order,
issuance of ADs is normally a function of the Compliance and
Airworthiness Division, but during this transition period, the
Executive Director has delegated the authority to issue ADs applicable
to transport category airplanes to the Director of the System Oversight
Division.

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):