DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2019-0760; Product Identifier 2019-NE-18-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Thales AVS France SAS Global
Positioning System/Satellite Based Augmentation System Receivers

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD)
for certain Thales AVS France SAS (Thales) Global Positioning System/
Satellite Based Augmentation System (GPS/SBAS) receivers installed on
airplanes and helicopters. This proposed AD was prompted by reports
that Thales GPS/SBAS receivers provided, under certain conditions,
erroneous outputs on aircraft positions. This proposed AD would require
the installation of a software update to the aircraft navigation
database and insertion of a change to the applicable airplane flight
manual (AFM). The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe
condition on these products.

DATES: The FAA must receive comments on this proposed AD by March 16,
2020.

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 https://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: Sikorsky
Aircraft Corporation, Customer Service Engineering, 124 Quarry Road,
Trumbull, CT 06611; telephone 1-800-Winged-S or 203-416-4299; email:
wcs_cust_service_eng.gr-sik@lmco.com; Thales AVS France SAS, 75-77
Avenue Marcel Dassault, 33700 Merignac--France, Tel: +33 (0)5 24
44 77 40, www.thalesgroup.com; or ATR-GIE Avions de Transport
Regional, 1, Allee Pierre Nadot, 31712 Blagnac Cedex,
France; telephone +33 (0) 5 62 21 62 21; fax +33 (0) 5 62 21 67 18;
email continued.airworthiness@atr-aircraft.com. You may view this
service information at the FAA, Engine and Propeller Standards Branch,
1200 District Avenue, Burlington, MA, 01803. For information on the
availability of this material at the FAA, call 781-238-7759.

Examining the AD Docket

You may examine the AD docket on the internet at https://www.regulations.
gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2019-0760;
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 NPRM, the mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI),
the regulatory evaluation, any comments received, and other
information. The street address for Docket Operations is listed above.
Comments will be available in the AD docket shortly after receipt.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kirk Gustafson, Aerospace Engineer,
Boston ACO Branch, FAA, 1200 District Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803;
phone: 781-238-7190; fax: 781-238-7199; email: kirk.gustafson@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

The FAA invites 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-2019-0760;
Product Identifier 2019-NE-18-AD" at the beginning of your comments.
The FAA specifically invites comments on the overall regulatory,
economic, environmental, and energy aspects of this NPRM. The FAA will
consider all comments received by the closing date and may amend this
NPRM because of those comments.

Except for Confidential Business Information (CBI) as described in
the following paragraph, and other information as described in 14 CFR
11.35, the FAA will post all comments received, without change, to
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you
provide. The FAA will also post a report summarizing each substantive
verbal contact received about this proposed AD.

Confidential Business Information

Confidential Business Information (CBI) is commercial or financial
information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by
its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552),
CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to
this NPRM contain commercial or financial information that is
customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as private, and
that is relevant or responsive to this NPRM, it is important that you
clearly designate the submitted comments as CBI. Please mark each page
of your submission containing CBI as "PROPIN." The FAA will treat
such marked submissions as confidential under the FOIA, and they will
not be placed in the public docket of this NPRM. Submissions containing
CBI should be sent to Kirk Gustafson, Aerospace Engineer, Boston ACO
Branch, FAA, 1200 District Avenue, Burlington, MA, 01803. Any
commentary that the FAA receives which is not specifically designated
as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this rulemaking.

Discussion

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the
Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Community, has
issued EASA AD No. 2019-0004, dated January 11, 2019, corrected on
January 17, 2019 (referred to after this as "the MCAI"), to address
an unsafe condition for the specified products. The MCAI states, in
pertinent part:

It has been determined that, in SBAS areas, in specific
conditions of the GPS satellite constellation in line of sight to
the aircraft, the Thales Topstar 200 LPV GPS/SBAS
receiver may provide an erroneous position on its outputs, which may
not be detected by the integrity check. Depending on the aircraft
installation, this error may not be noticed by the flight crew.

This condition, if not corrected, could possibly compromise the
safety margins when the receiver is used for Localizer Performance
with Vertical guidance (LPV) and/or RNP-AR (Required Navigation
Performance--Authorization Required) operations.

For the reasons described above, this [EASA] AD requires removal
from the navigation database of LPV procedures and all RNP-AR
procedures in SBAS areas, listed in the SIL. To ensure a reset of
all the GPS computations which may contribute to the erroneous GPS
position output, this AD also requires, for certain ATR aeroplanes
(see Note 1 of this [EASA] AD), amendment of the applicable AFM.

You may obtain further information by examining the MCAI in the AD
docket on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for
and locating Docket No. FAA-2019-0760.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

The FAA reviewed Task 31-61-00-800-802, "2. FMS Database Update
for Multifunction Display (MFD)" of the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation,
AMM SA S76D-AMM-000, 31-61-00, dated November 30, 2017. This Task
provides instructions for updating the MFD on affected Sikorsky
aircraft.

The FAA also reviewed ATR72 Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM) Job
Instruction Cards, Doc. No. 45-11-00 LDG 10030-004, dated June 1, 2018,
and ATR42-400/500 Series AMM Job Instruction Cards, Doc. No. 45-11-00
LDG 10030-004, dated July 1, 2018. These service documents provide
instructions on updating the navigation databases installed on affected
ATR airplanes.

The FAA also reviewed Thales Service Information Letter (SIL) Doc.
No. THAV/SIL-1308, Issue 7, dated September 28, 2018. The SIL describes
procedures to upload navigational database using Thales PMAT software
on affected ATR airplanes.

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

This product has been approved by EASA and is approved for
operation in the United States. Pursuant to our bilateral agreement
with the European Community, EASA has notified the FAA of the unsafe
condition described in the MCAI and service information referenced
above. The FAA is proposing this AD because the Agency evaluated all
the relevant information provided by EASA and determined the unsafe
condition described previously is likely to exist or develop in other
products of the same type design.

Proposed AD Requirements

This proposed AD would require installation of a software update to
the aircraft navigation database and insertion of a change to the
applicable AFM.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this proposed AD affects 45 Thales GPS/SBAS
receivers installed on, but not limited to, GIE Avions de Transport
Regional model ATR42 airplanes and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
model S-76D helicopters of U.S. registry.

The FAA estimates 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.

The FAA is 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 engines, propellers, and
associated appliances to the Manager, Engine and Propeller Standards
Branch, Policy and Innovation Division.

Regulatory Findings

The FAA 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) Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, and

(3) 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):