DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2020-0195; Product Identifier 2019-CE-052-AD; Amendment
39-21031; AD 2020-04-14]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Honda Aircraft Company LLC

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for
certain Honda Aircraft Company LLC (Honda) Model HA-420 airplanes. This
AD requires inspecting the wheel speed transducer (WST) wiring harness,
replacing the wiring harness if necessary, installing wiring hardware,
and rerouting the WST wiring harness on both the left and right brake
assemblies. This AD also requires revising the Abnormal Procedures
section of the airplane flight manual (AFM) and quick reference
handbook (QRH). This AD was prompted by reports of damage to the wiring
harness due to excessive slack in the wiring harness assembly that
allows contact with the main landing gear tire and by the determination
that the AFMs and QRHs contain incorrect procedures for anti-skid
braking system failures. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the
unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: This AD is effective April 6, 2020.
The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by
reference of certain publications listed in this AD as of April 6,
2020.
The FAA must receive comments on this AD by May 4, 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 service information identified in this final rule, contact
Honda Aircraft Company LLC, 6430 Ballinger Road, Greensboro, North
Carolina 27410; telephone (336) 662-0246; internet: https://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 https://www.
regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-0195.

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-2020-
0195; 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 Docket Operations 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

The FAA received a report of a Honda Model HA-420 airplane losing
normal braking during ground operations. Inspections revealed damage to
a brake wiring harness for the WST, which was most likely caused by
contact with the main landing gear tire. A review of manufacturer type
design data and production line assembly instructions revealed that the
wiring harness is installed with excessive slack that allows contact
with the tire when pulled. Thus, the damage found may occur on all in
service Honda Model HA-420 airplanes.
Further investigation revealed that damage to the wiring harness
results in loss of the WST signal, which is interpreted by the digital
antiskid control unit (DACU) as either a WST failure or locked wheel
condition. The DACU provides locked wheel protection, which commands a
full release of normal brakes at speeds greater than 25 knots until the
right and left wheel speeds are within 70 percent of each other. Thus,
when a WST signal is lost, the DACU commands a full normal brake
release until the airplane speed falls below 25 knots. In this
scenario, unavailability of the normal brakes is not annunciated to the
pilot, because WST signal loss does not trigger the NORMAL BRAKE FAIL
red crew alerting system (CAS) message. The pilot is notified via an
ANTI-SKID FAIL amber CAS message. Existing AFM procedures for ANTI-SKID
FAIL instruct the pilot to apply normal brakes gradually to stop the
airplane when the anti-skid system has failed. The current AFM
procedures are incorrect and do not caution the pilot that normal
braking may be unavailable when the ANTI-SKID FAIL amber CAS message
posts or instruct the pilot to use emergency braking.
This condition, if not addressed, could result in unannunciated
loss of normal brakes, reduced directional control during landing
deceleration and ground operations, and loss of control of the airplane
when applying the brakes. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the
unsafe condition on these products.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

The FAA reviewed Pages 3A-178 through 3A-180 from Section 3A--
Abnormal Procedures in Honda Aircraft Company Airplane Flight Manual,
HondaJet, Effectivity: 42000012 through 42000125, Model HA-420, Part
No.: HJ1-29000-003-001, Revision D, dated December 12, 2019; and Pages
3A-178 through 3A-180 from Section 3A--Abnormal Procedures in Honda
Aircraft Company Airplane Flight Manual, HondaJet ELITE, Effectivity:
42000011, 42000126 and after, HondaJet APMG, Effectivity: 42000012
through 42000125 with SB-420-55-001, Model HA-420, Part No.: HJ1-29001-
003-001, Revision B1, dated December 12, 2019. For the specific
airplane serial numbers specified on each document, these pages are
revised pages to the AFMs that provide procedures for the flight crew
when the braking anti-skid system fails.
The FAA also reviewed Page A-126 and Page A-127 from HondaJet,
Model HA-420, HJ1-29000-007-001, Volume 1 of 2, Effectivity 42000012
through 42000125, Quick Reference Handbook, Normal Procedures, Revision
D, dated December 12, 2019; Page A-124 and Page A-125 from HondaJet,
Model HA-420, HJ1-29001-007-001, HondaJet ELITE, Effectivity: 42000011,
42000126 and after, HondaJet APMG, Effectivity: 42000012 through
42000125 with SB-420-55-001, Quick Reference Handbook, Revision B,
dated December 12, 2019. For the specific airplane serial numbers
specified on each document, these pages are revised pages to the QRHs
that provide procedures for the flight crew when the braking anti-skid
system fails.
The FAA also reviewed Honda Aircraft Company Service Bulletin Alert
SB-420-32-008, Revision B, dated November 16, 2019 (Honda SB-420-32-
008, Revision B). This service document contains procedures for
inspecting the condition of the WST wiring harness, replacing the
wiring harness if necessary, installing wiring hardware, and rerouting
the WST wiring harness on both the left and right brake assemblies.
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

The FAA is issuing this AD because the FAA 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 replacing the revised pages in the AFMs and QRHs
applicable to your airplane. This AD also requires accomplishing the
actions specified in Honda SB-420-32-008, Revision B described
previously.

Interim Action

The FAA considers this AD, which addresses anti-skid braking system
failures, an interim action. Honda is developing software changes to
revise the WST logic from the ANTI-SKID FAIL CAS to the NORMAL BRAKES
FAIL CAS. Once this action is developed, approved, and available, the
FAA may consider additional rulemaking.

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 the damage to WST wiring harness is
possible on all affected airplanes due to slack in the harness by type
design and may worsen rapidly after each landing cycle and result in
loss of normal braking if left uncorrected. Additionally, incorrect AFM
and QRH procedures instruct the pilot to use normal braking when it is
unavailable instead of using emergency braking. The FAA has determined
that certain corrective action is necessary before further flight to
address the wiring harness damage that results in loss of normal
braking and to provide pilot notification and guidance on what to
expect and how to react to the ANTI-SKID FAIL CAS message coupled with
the loss of normal brakes. Therefore, the FAA finds good cause that
notice and opportunity for prior public comment are impracticable. In
addition, for the reasons stated above, the FAA finds 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, the FAA invites 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-2020-
0195 and Product Identifier 2019-CE-052-AD at the beginning of your
comments. The FAA specifically invites comments on the overall
regulatory, economic, environmental, and energy aspects of this final
rule. The FAA will consider all comments received by the closing date
and may amend this final rule because of those comments.
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 the FAA receives about this final rule.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD affects 116 airplanes of U.S. registry.
The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this AD:

Estimated Costs

The FAA estimates the following costs to do any necessary
replacements that would be required based on the results of the
inspection. The FAA has no way of determining the number of aircraft
that might need these replacements:

On-Condition Costs

* Note: Since all operators are required to install wiring hardware and reroute the WST wiring harness, there is
no additional labor cost associated with replacing the WST wiring harness.

According to the manufacturer, some of the costs of this AD may be
covered under warranty, thereby reducing the cost impact on affected
individuals. We do not control warranty coverage for affected
individuals. As a result, we have included all costs in our cost
estimate.

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 small airplanes, gliders,
balloons, airships, domestic business jet transport airplanes, and
associated appliances to the Director of the Policy and Innovation
Division.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) do not
apply when an agency finds good cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 to adopt
a rule without prior notice and comment. Because FAA has determined
that it has good cause to adopt this rule without notice and comment,
RFA analysis is not required.

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, and
(2) Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska.

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):