DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2019-0991; Product Identifier 2019-NM-179-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: The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD)
2016-16-09 and AD 2019-03-20, which apply to Dassault Aviation Model
FALCON 7X airplanes. Those ADs require revising the existing
maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new
and more restrictive maintenance requirements and airworthiness
limitations for airplane structures and systems. Since the FAA issued
AD 2019-03-20, the FAA has determined that new or more restrictive
airworthiness limitations are necessary. This proposed AD would require
revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable,
to incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations, as
specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which
will be incorporated by reference. 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 February
14, 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: 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 the material identified in this proposed AD that will be
incorporated by reference (IBR), contact the EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer
3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 89990 1000; email
ADs@easa.europa.eu; internet www.easa.europa.eu. You may find this IBR
material on the EASA website at https://ad.easa.europa.eu. You may view
this IBR material 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. It is also available in the AD
docket on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for
and locating Docket No. FAA-2019-0991.

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-2019-0991;
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 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: 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

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-2019-0991;
Product Identifier 2019-NM-179-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 based on those comments.

The FAA will post all comments, 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 the agency receives about this NPRM.

Discussion

The FAA issued AD 2019-03-20, Amendment 39-19572 (84 FR 6059,
February 26, 2019) ("AD 2019-03-20"), which applied to certain
Dassault Aviation Model FALCON 7X airplanes. AD 2019-03-20 requires
revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable,
to incorporate new and more restrictive maintenance requirements and
airworthiness limitations for airplane structures and systems. The FAA
issued AD 2019-03-20 to address reduced structural integrity and
reduced control of airplanes due to the failure of system components.

AD 2019-03-20 specifies that accomplishing the revision required by
paragraph (g) of that AD terminates all requirements of AD 2016-16-09,
Amendment 39-18607 (81 FR 52752, August 10, 2016). AD 2019-03-20 also
specifies that accomplishing the revisions required by paragraph (g) of
that AD terminates the requirements of paragraph (q) of AD 2014-16-23,
Amendment 39-17947 (79 FR 52545, September 4, 2014); that provision is
part of this proposed AD.

Actions Since AD 2019-03-20 Was Issued

Since the FAA issued AD 2019-03-20, the FAA has determined that new
or more restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary.

The EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the
European Union, has issued EASA AD 2019-0257, dated October 17, 2019
("EASA AD 2019-0257") (also referred to as the Mandatory Continuing
Airworthiness Information, or "the MCAI"), to correct an unsafe
condition for all Dassault Aviation Model FALCON 7X airplanes. EASA AD
2019-0257 supersedes EASA AD 2018-0277, dated December 17, 2018, which
in turn superseded EASA AD 2018-0101, dated May 3, 2018 (FAA AD 2019-
03-20 corresponds to EASA AD 2018-0101).

Airplanes with an original airworthiness certificate or original
export certificate of airworthiness issued after June 1, 2019, must
comply with the airworthiness limitations specified as part of the
approved type design and referenced on the type certificate data sheet;
this proposed AD therefore does not include those airplanes in the
applicability.

This proposed AD was prompted by a determination that new or more
restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary. The FAA is
proposing this AD to address reduced structural integrity and reduced
control of airplanes due to the failure of system components. See the
MCAI for additional background information.

Related IBR Material Under 1 CFR Part 51

EASA AD 2019-0257 describes new or more restrictive maintenance
airworthiness limitations for airplane structures and systems.

This AD would also require Chapter 5-40-00, Airworthiness
Limitations, DGT 107838, Revision 7, dated August 24, 2018, of the
Dassault Falcon 7X Maintenance Manual (MM), which the Director of the
Federal Register approved for incorporation by reference as of April 2,
2019 (84 FR 6059, February 26, 2019).

This material 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 the FAA's bilateral agreement with the State of Design Authority,
the FAA has been notified of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI
referenced above. The FAA is proposing this AD because the FAA
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.

Proposed AD Requirements

This proposed AD would require revising the existing maintenance or
inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more
restrictive airworthiness limitations, which are specified in EASA AD
2019-0257, described previously, as incorporated by reference. Any
differences with EASA AD 2019-0257 are identified as exceptions in the
regulatory text of this proposed AD.

This proposed AD would require revisions to certain operator
maintenance documents to include new actions (e.g., inspections) and
Critical Design Configuration Control Limitations (CDCCLs). Compliance
with these actions and CDCCLs 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
(m)(1) of this proposed AD.

Explanation of Required Compliance Information

In the FAA's ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency of the AD
process, the FAA initially worked with Airbus and EASA to develop a
process to use certain EASA ADs as the primary source of information
for compliance with requirements for corresponding FAA ADs. The FAA has
since coordinated with other manufacturers and civil aviation
authorities (CAAs) to use this process. As a result, EASA AD 2019-0257
will be incorporated by reference in the FAA final rule. This proposed
AD would, therefore, require compliance with EASA AD 2019-0257 in its
entirety, through that incorporation, except for any differences
identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this proposed AD.
Using common terms that are the same as the heading of a particular
section in the EASA AD does not mean that operators need comply only
with that section. For example, where the AD requirement refers to
"all required actions and compliance times," compliance with this AD
requirement is not limited to the section titled "Required Action(s)
and Compliance Time(s)" in the EASA AD.

Service information specified in EASA AD 2019-0257 that is required
for compliance with EASA AD 2019-0257 will be available on the internet
at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No.
FAA-2019-0992 after the FAA final rule is published.

Airworthiness Limitation ADs Using the New Process

The FAA's new process, which uses MCAI ADs as the primary source of
information for compliance with corresponding FAA ADs, has been limited
to certain MCAI ADs (primarily those with service bulletins as the
primary source of information for accomplishing the actions required by
the FAA AD). However, the FAA is now expanding the process to include
MCAI ADs that specify the incorporation of airworthiness limitation
documents.

Although the format of the airworthiness limitation ADs using the
new process is different than the FAA's existing format for
airworthiness limitation ADs, the FAA requirements are the same:
Operators must revise the existing maintenance or inspection program,
as applicable, to incorporate the information specified in the new
airworthiness limitation document.

The previous format of the airworthiness limitation ADs included a
paragraph that specified that no alternative actions (e.g.,
inspections), intervals, or CDCCLs may be used unless the actions,
intervals, and CDCCLs are approved as an alternative method of
compliance (AMOC) in accordance with the procedures specified in the
AMOCs paragraph under "Other FAA Provisions." This new format
includes a "New Provisions for Alternative Actions, Intervals, and
CDCCLs" paragraph that does not specifically refer to AMOCs, but
operators may still request an AMOC to use an alternative action,
interval, or CDCCL.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this proposed AD affects 67 airplanes of
U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with
this proposed AD:

The FAA estimates the total cost per operator for the retained
actions from AD 2019-03-20 to be $7,650 (90 work-hours x $85 per work-
hour).

The FAA has determined that revising the maintenance or inspection
program takes an average of 90 work-hours per operator, although the
agency recognizes that this number may vary from operator to operator.
In the past, the agency has estimated that this action takes 1 work-
hour per airplane. Since operators incorporate maintenance or
inspection program changes for their affected fleet(s), the FAA has
determined that a per-operator estimate is more accurate than a per-
airplane estimate. The FAA estimates the total cost per operator for
the new proposed actions 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.

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 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 and associated appliances to the
Director of the System Oversight 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 removing Airworthiness Directive (AD)
2016-16-09, Amendment 39-18607 (81 FR 52752, August 10, 2016), and AD
2019-03-20, Amendment 39-19572 (84 FR 6059, February 26, 2019), and
adding the following new AD: