DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2018-0688; Product Identifier 2018-CE-026-AD; Amendment
39-19338; AD 2018-15-06]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Honda Aircraft Company LLC Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain
Honda Aircraft Company LLC Model HA-420 airplanes. This AD requires
incorporating new and revised airworthiness limitations into the
airplane's maintenance program. This AD was prompted by a report that
several maintenance tasks were omitted from the airworthiness
limitations section of the Honda Aircraft Company, Inc. Model HA-420
Airworthiness Limitation and Inspection Manual (ALIM). We are issuing
this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: This AD is effective August 13, 2018.
The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by
reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of August 13,
2018.
We must receive comments on this AD by September 21, 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: 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 final rule, contact
Honda Aircraft Company LLC, 6430 Ballinger Road, Greensboro, North
Carolina 27410; telephone (336) 662-0246; internet: http://www.hondajet.com.
You may view this service information at the FAA,
Policy and Innovation Division, 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 and locating Docket No. FAA-2018-0688.

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-
0688; 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 final rule, the regulatory evaluation, any comments received, and
other information. The street address for the Docket Operations (phone:
800-647-5527) is listed above. Comments will be available in the AD
docket shortly after receipt.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samuel Kovitch, Aerospace Engineer,
Atlanta ACO Branch, FAA, 1701 Columbia Avenue, College Park, Georgia
30337; phone: (404) 474-5570; fax: (404) 474-5605; email:
samuel.kovitch@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Discussion

Honda Aircraft Company LLC has informed us that several required
maintenance tasks driven by system safety assessment requirements were
inadvertently omitted from or listed incorrectly in the airworthiness
limitations section of the Honda Aircraft Company, Inc. Model HA-420
ALIM with a revision level prior to Revision C1 and dated earlier than
May 1, 2018. Additional airworthiness limitations, additional
maintenance tasks for various systems, and reduced compliance times for
existing maintenance tasks are necessary to maintain all airplanes in a
condition for safe operation.
In addition, we determined that some airplanes may have exceeded
the new maintenance intervals once the ALIM was revised, including but
not limited to:
1. Latent failure mode of the Wing Anti-Ice Crossflow Valve
(WAIXV): This condition would prevent the opening of the WAIXV when
commanded and could result in loss of control of the airplane if one
bleed air source becomes unavailable while operating in icing
conditions. An existing ice protection system check would identify this
condition; however, the system check was not located in the
airworthiness limitations section of the ALIM. The revised ALIM
relocates the system check to the airworthiness limitations section and
reduces the system check intervals from 600 hours time-in-service (TIS)
to 300 hours TIS.
2. Latent failures in the brake and emergency accumulators: The
hydraulic power system check for identifying and correcting potential
latent failures in the brake and emergency accumulators contained
incorrect procedures and was not located in the airworthiness
limitations section of the ALIM. Honda corrected these procedures and
superseded the current procedures (-801) with the new procedures (-
802). The revised ALIM lists the correct procedures for the hydraulic
power system check and relocates this check to the airworthiness
limitations section.
These conditions, if not addressed, could result in failures in
various airplane systems, including but not limited to the hydraulic
and ice protection systems, which could result in loss of control of
the airplane.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

We reviewed Honda Aircraft Company HA-420 Airworthiness Limitation
and Inspection Manual ``Airworthiness Limitations--Inspection/Check''
(Airworthiness Limitations section 05-60-00), dated May 1, 2018. The
service information contains airworthiness limitations, additional
maintenance tasks for various
systems, and reduced compliance times for existing maintenance tasks,
including but not limited to the hydraulic and ice protection systems.
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

We are issuing this AD because we evaluated all the relevant
information and determined the unsafe condition described previously is
likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design.

AD Requirements

This AD requires revising the airworthiness limitations section of
the maintenance program by replacing Airworthiness Limitations section
05-60-00 with an issue date earlier than May 1, 2018, with the revised
Airworthiness Limitations section 05-60-00, dated May 1, 2018.
Incorporating these airworthiness limitations makes them mandatory
(reference 14 CFR 43.16 and 14 CFR 91.403(c)). For airplanes that have
exceeded the new maintenance intervals, compliance with replacement
times or inspection intervals is required before further flight once
the limitations are incorporated. Operators have the compliance time
period of the AD to plan for any immediate maintenance action required
by the new limitations. This includes, but is not limited to the
following:
The 600-hour TIS ice protection system check, AMM Task
Reference 30-10-01-700-801, previously located in the Scheduled
Inspections section 05-20-00, has been relocated to the Airworthiness
Limitations section 05-60-00, and reduced to a 300-hour TIS interval.
Airplanes that have exceeded 300 hours TIS since the ice protection
system check was last performed must have the ice protection system
check within the compliance time specified in paragraph (f) of the AD.
This AD allows a credit for airplanes that had the system check at the
previous 600-hour TIS interval but have not exceeded 300 hours TIS
since the last check and the WAIXV passed the functionality check
contained in the procedure.
The 600-hour TIS hydraulic power system check, AMM Task
Reference 29-00-01-700-801, previously located in the Scheduled
Inspections section 05-20-00, has been relocated to the Airworthiness
Limitations section 05-60-00, and revised to AMM Task Reference 29-00-
01-700-802. Airplanes that had the system check per the previous
incorrect version of the maintenance task (29-00-01-700-801) at 600
hours TIS must have the inspection done before further flight after
incorporating the airworthiness limitations.

FAA's Justification and Determination of the Effective Date

An unsafe condition exists that requires the immediate adoption of
this AD without providing an opportunity for public comments prior to
adoption. The FAA has found that the risk to the flying public
justifies waiving notice and comment prior to adoption of this rule
because exceeding certain maintenance intervals and/or limitations
could cause failures in various airplane systems, including but not
limited to the hydraulic and ice protection systems, which could result
in loss of control. Therefore, we find good cause that notice and
opportunity for prior public comment are impracticable. In addition,
for the reasons stated above, we find that good cause exists for making
this amendment effective in less than 30 days.

Comments Invited

This AD is a final rule that involves requirements affecting flight
safety and was not preceded by notice and an opportunity for public
comment. However, we invite you to send any written data, views, or
arguments about this final rule. Send your comments to an address
listed under the ADDRESSES section. Include the docket number FAA-2018-
0688 and Product Identifier 2018-CE-026-AD at the beginning of your
comments. We specifically invite comments on the overall regulatory,
economic, environmental, and energy aspects of this final rule. We will
consider all comments received by the closing date and may amend this
final rule 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 final rule.

Costs of Compliance

We estimate that this AD affects 96 airplanes of U.S. registry.
We estimate the following costs to comply with this 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.
This 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 small airplanes, gliders,
balloons, airships, domestic business jet transport airplanes, and
associated appliances to the Director of the Policy and Innovation
Division.

Regulatory Findings

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 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 airworthiness
directive (AD):