DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2020-0473; Product Identifier 2018-CE-058-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze Sp. z o.o.
Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD)
for certain Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze Sp. z o.o. Model PZL M28 05
airplanes. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing
airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of
another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an
aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as defective
thermo-shrinkable tubes installed on the electrical harnesses located
in the fuel tanks. 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 June 29, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments 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 proposed AD, contact
Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze Sp. z o.o., Wojska Polskiego 3, 39-300 Mielec,
Poland, +48 17 743 1901, email: pzl.lm@lmco.com, internet:
www.pzlmielec.pl. You may review this referenced service information at
the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 901
Locust, Kansas City, Missouri 64106. For information on the
availability of this material at the FAA, call (816) 329-4148.

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-2020-0473;
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 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: Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, FAA,
Small Airplane Standards Branch, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City,
Missouri 64106; telephone: (816) 329-4059; fax: (816) 329-4090; email:
doug.rudolph@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

The FAA invites you to send any written relevant data, views, or
arguments about this proposed AD. Send your comments to an address
listed under the ADDRESSES section. Include "Docket No. FAA-2020-0473;
Product Identifier 2018-CE-058-AD" at the beginning of your comments.
The FAA specifically invites comments on the overall regulatory,
economic, environmental, and energy aspects of this proposed AD. The
FAA will consider all comments received by the closing date and may
amend this proposed AD because of those comments.

The FAA will post all comments we receive, without change, to
https://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.

Discussion

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical
Agent for the Member States of the European Community, has issued AD
No. 2018-0242, dated October 8, 2018 (referred to after this as "the
MCAI"), to correct an unsafe condition for the specified products. The
MCAI states:

During accomplishment of maintenance on an M28 05 military
version airplane, torn pieces of thermo-shrinkable tubes were found
in the header section of the main fuel tank. These tubes are
installed on electrical harnesses located in the fuel tanks and
serve as marking and protection devices against mechanical damage
during manufacturing and servicing. Pieces of these tubes may travel
with the fuel flow and may block the jet pump or reduce its
performance, particularly in the centre-wing fuel tank, in which the
jet pump is the only way of further transfer of fuel to the engine.
Subsequent investigation determined that degradation of the tube
material was caused by a manufacturing deficiency, leading to
insufficient material resistance against mechanical damage when a
tube is located in a fuel.

This condition, if not detected and corrected, could lead to
reduced fuel supply to the engines, inability to use all the fuel in
fuel tanks and reduced available engine power, resulting in reduced
aeroplane performance.

To address this potentially unsafe condition, PZL identified the
batch of aeroplanes that are potentially equipped with thermo-
shrinkable tubes having this manufacturing defect, and issued the
[service bulletin] SB providing inspection and replacement
instructions.

For the reasons described above, this [EASA] AD requires a one-
time inspection of the electrical harnesses located in the fuel
tanks and, depending on findings, replacement of the affected
harness.

Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze Sp. z o.o. informed us the potential for
damage to the thermo-shrinkable tubes does not progress with time.
Therefore, we determined repetitive inspections are not required. You
may examine the MCAI on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov by
searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-0473.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze Sp. z o.o. has issued Service Bulletin No.
E/12.141/2018, dated May 15, 2018. The service information contains
procedures for inspecting the thermo-shrinkable tubes on the electrical
harnesses in the center and outer wing fuel tanks for damage and
replacing any electrical harness with damaged thermo-shrinkable tubes.
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 and Requirements of the 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 this State of Design Authority,
it has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI
and service information referenced above. The FAA is proposing this AD
because it evaluated all information and determined the unsafe
condition exists and is likely to exist or develop on other products of
the same type design.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 15 products of
U.S. registry. The FAA also estimates that it would take about 3 work-
hours per product to comply with the basic inspection requirement of
this proposed AD. The average labor rate is $85 per work-hour.

Based on these figures, the FAA estimates the cost of the proposed
AD on U.S. operators to be $3,825, or $255 per product.

In addition, the FAA estimates that any necessary follow-on
replacement action would take about 60 work-hours and require parts
costing $5,000, for a cost of $10,100 per electrical harness. The FAA
has no way of determining the number of products that may need these
actions.

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.

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):