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PROPOSED AD AIRBUS HELICOPTERS DEUTSCHLAND GMBH: Docket No. FAA-2018-0980; Product Identifier 2017-SW-123-AD.
(a) APPLICABILITY

    This AD  applies  to  Airbus Helicopters Deutschland GmbH Model MBB-BK
    117 C-2 helicopters with a part listed  in Table 1 to paragraph (e) of
    this AD installed, certificated in any category.

Note 1 to paragraph (a) of this AD:  Helicopters  with  an  MBB-BK117 C-2e
designation are Model MBB-BK117 C-2 helicopters.

(b) UNSAFE CONDITION

    This AD defines  the unsafe condition  as a part  remaining in service
    beyond its fatigue life.  This condition could result in failure  of a
    part and loss of control of the helicopter.

(c) COMMENTS DUE DATE

    We must receive comments by January 18, 2019.

(d) COMPLIANCE

    You are  responsible for  performing each  action required  by this AD
    within  the  specified  compliance time  unless  it  has already  been
    accomplished prior to that time.

(e) REQUIRED ACTIONS

    Before further flight, remove from  service any part that has  reached
    or exceeded  its new  or reduced  life limit  as listed  in Table 1 to
    paragraph (e) of this AD. Thereafter, remove from service each part on
    or before reaching its new  or reduced life limit as listed in Table 1
    to paragraph (e) of this AD.  For purposes of this AD, a  "landing" is
    counted any time the helicopter lifts off into the air and then  lands
    again regardless  of the  duration of  the landing  and regardless  of
    whether the engine is shut down.

                          TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (E)                        
    ______________________________________________________________________
    PART NAME               PART NUMBER (P/N)         LIFE LIMIT
    ______________________________________________________________________
    Nut                       B622M1003201     65,800 landings or 10,123
                                               hours time-in-service (TIS)
                                               if the number of landings
                                               is unknown

    Quadruple nut upper       B622M1004201     60,000 landings or 9,230
    Quadruple nut lower       B622M1005201     hours TIS if the number of
                                               landings is unknown

    Bolt                      B622M1006201     31,200 landings or 4,800
                              B622M1007201     hours TIS if the number of
                                               landings is unknown

    Inner sleeve              B622M1009201     13,300 hours TIS

    Control ring assembly     B623M2001101     27,600 hours TIS

    Bellcrank-K               B670M7021201     21,500 hours TIS
    (collective) (4)

    Control rod tube          B291M1015201     30,000 hours TIS

    Forked lever              B671M7007201     22,500 Hours TIS
                              B671M7007205
    ______________________________________________________________________

(f) ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF COMPLIANCE (AMOCS)

(1) The Manager,  Safety Management Section,  Rotorcraft Standards Branch,
    FAA, may approve AMOCs for this AD. Send your proposal to Matt Fuller,
    Senior Aviation Safety Engineer, Safety Management Section, Rotorcraft
    Standards  Branch,  FAA,  10101 Hillwood Pkwy.,  Fort Worth, TX 76177;
    telephone (817) 222-5110; email 9-ASW-FTW-AMOC-Requests@faa.gov.

(2) For operations conducted under a 14 CFR part 119 operating certificate
    or under 14 CFR  part 91, subpart K,  we suggest that you  notify your
    principal inspector, or lacking a principal inspector, the manager  of
    the  local  flight standards district  office  or  certificate holding
    district office before operating  any aircraft complying with  this AD
    through an AMOC.

(g) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

(1) Airbus Helicopters  Alert Service Bulletin  ASB MBB-BK117 C-2-04A-008,
    Revision 0, dated April 27, 2017,  which is not incorporated by refer-
    ence,  contains  additional information  about the subject of this AD.
    For service information identified in this AD, contact Airbus Helicop-
    ters,  2701 N Forum Drive,  Grand Prairie, TX 75052;  telephone  (972)
    641-0000  or (800) 232-0323;  fax (972) 641-3775;  or  at  http://www.
    helicopters.airbus.com/website/en/ref/Technical-Support_73.html.   You
    may review the referenced service information  at the FAA,  Office  of
    the Regional Counsel,  Southwest  Region,  10101 Hillwood Pkwy.,  Room
    6N-321, Fort Worth, TX 76177.

(2) The subject of this AD is addressed in European Aviation Safety Agency
    (EASA) AD No. 2017-0174,  dated  September 12, 2017.  You may view the
    EASA AD on the internet at http://www.regulations.gov in the AD Docket

(h) SUBJECT

    Joint Aircraft Service Component (JASC) Code:  6220,  Main Rotor Head;
    6230 Main Rotor Mast/Swashplate; and 6710, Main Rotor Control.

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on November 6, 2018.  James A. Grigg,  Acting
Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft Certification Ser-
vice.

DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by January 18, 2019.
PREAMBLE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2018-0980; Product Identifier 2017-SW-123-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Helicopters Deutschland GmbH
Helicopters

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for
Airbus Helicopters Deutschland GmbH (Airbus Helicopters) Model MBB-BK
117 C-2 helicopters. This proposed AD would require establishing or
reducing the life limit of various parts. This proposed AD is prompted
by recalculations. The actions of this proposed AD are intended to
address an unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: We must receive comments on this proposed AD by January 18, 2019.

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 by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2018-
0980; or in person at Docket Operations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD docket contains
this proposed AD, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, the
economic evaluation, any comments received, and other information. The
street address for Docket Operations (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 proposed rule, contact
Airbus Helicopters, 2701 N Forum Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75052;
telephone (972) 641-0000 or (800) 232-0323; fax (972) 641-3775; or at
http://www.helicopters.airbus.com/website/en/ref/Technical-Support_73.
html. You may review the referenced service information at
the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 10101
Hillwood Pkwy., Room 6N-321, Fort Worth, TX 76177.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt Fuller, Senior Aviation Safety
Engineer, Safety Management Section, Rotorcraft Standards Branch, FAA,
10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Fort Worth, TX 76177; telephone (817) 222-5110;
email matthew.fuller@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

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 might
result from adopting the proposals in this document. The most helpful
comments reference a specific portion of the proposal, 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 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 proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this proposal, we
will consider all comments we receive on or before the closing date for
comments. We will consider comments filed after the comment period has
closed if it is possible to do so without incurring expense or delay.
We may change this proposal in light of the comments we receive.

Discussion

EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the
European Union, has issued EASA AD No. 2017-0174, dated September 12,
2017 (EASA AD 2017-0174), to correct an unsafe condition for Airbus
Helicopters Model MBB-BK 117 C-2 helicopters. EASA advises that
recalculation by Airbus Helicopters has resulted in new or reduced life
limits for certain parts. EASA AD 2017-0174 states the life limits are
mandatory for continued airworthiness and failing to replace life-
limited parts as specified could result in an unsafe condition. To
address this condition, EASA AD 2017-0174 requires replacing the
affected parts before exceeding their new or reduced life limit.

FAA's Determination

These helicopters have been approved by the aviation authority of
Germany and are approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant
to our bilateral agreement with Germany, EASA, its technical
representative, has notified us of the unsafe condition described in
its AD. We are proposing this AD because we evaluated all known
relevant information and determined that an unsafe condition is likely
to exist or develop on other products of the same type design.

Related Service Information

We reviewed Airbus Helicopters Alert Service Bulletin ASB MBB-BK117
C-2-04A-008, Revision 0, dated April 27, 2017, for Model MBB-BK 117 C-2
and C-2e helicopters. This service information specifies entering into
the helicopter records the reduced and new airworthiness life limits
for certain part-numbered main rotor head, swash plate, rotor flight
controls, cyclic controls, and upper controls parts.

Proposed AD Requirements

This proposed AD would require establishing and reducing the life
limit of the following parts: Main rotor head--nut, upper and lower
quadruple nut, bolts, and inner sleeve; swash plate control ring
assembly; rotor flight control collective bellcrank-K; cyclic
control rod tube; and upper control forked lever.

Costs of Compliance

We estimate that this proposed AD would affect 128 helicopters of
U.S. Registry. We estimate that operators may incur the following costs
in order to comply with this AD. Labor costs are estimated at $85 per
work-hour.

Replacing a nut would take about 5 work-hours and parts would cost
about $3,352 for an estimated replacement cost of $3,777.

Replacing a quadruple nut upper would take about 5 work-hours and
parts would cost about $3,283 for an estimated replacement cost of
$3,708.

Replacing a quadruple nut lower would take about 5 work-hours and
parts would cost about $3,405 for an estimated replacement cost of
$3,830.

Replacing a bolt would take about 2 work-hours and parts would cost
about $370 for an estimated replacement cost of $540.

Replacing an inner sleeve would take about 2 work-hours and parts
would cost about $20,073 for an estimated replacement cost of $20,243.

Replacing a control ring assembly would take about 5 work-hours and
parts would cost about $11,141 for an estimated replacement cost of
$11,566.

Replacing a bellcrank-K (collective) would take about 4 work-hours
and parts would cost about $3,400 for an estimated replacement cost of
$3,740.

Replacing a control rod tube would take about 4 work-hours and
parts would cost about $1,084 for an estimated replacement cost of
$1,424.

Replacing a forked lever would take about 3 work-hours and parts
would cost about $6,049 for an estimated replacement cost of $6,304.

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, 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 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.

We prepared an economic evaluation of the estimated costs to comply
with this proposed AD and placed it in the AD docket.

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):