DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2019-0991; Product Identifier 2019-NM-179-AD; Amendment
39-19895; AD 2020-07-16]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Dassault Aviation Airplanes

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2016-16-09
and AD 2019-03-20, which applied to Dassault Aviation Model FALCON 7X
airplanes. Those ADs required 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. This AD requires 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 is incorporated by
reference. This AD was prompted by the FAA's determination that new or
more restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary. The FAA is
issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: This AD is effective May 18, 2020.
The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by
reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of May 18,
2020.
The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by
reference of a certain other publication listed in this AD as of April
2, 2019 (84 FR 6059, February 26, 2019).

ADDRESSES: For EASA material incorporated by reference (IBR) in this
AD, 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.
For Dassault Aviation material that was previously incorporated by
reference, contact Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation, Teterboro Airport,
P.O. Box 2000, South Hackensack, NJ 07606; telephone 201-440-6700;
internet https://www.dassaultfalcon.com.
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 final rule, any comments received, and other information. The
address for Docket Operations is U.S. Department of Transportation,
Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.

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; email
tom.rodriguez@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Discussion

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 (which
corresponds to FAA AD 2019-03-20, Amendment 39-19572 (84 FR 6059,
February 26, 2019) (``AD 2019-03-20'')).
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 AD therefore does not include those airplanes in the
applicability.
The FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14
CFR part 39 to supersede AD 2019-03-20 and AD 2016-16-09, Amendment 39-
18607 (81 FR 52752, August 10, 2016) (``AD 2016-16-09''). Those ADs
applied to Dassault Aviation Model FALCON 7X airplanes. AD 2019-03-20
specified that accomplishing the revision required by paragraph (g) of
that AD terminates all requirements of AD 2016-16-09. The NPRM
published in the Federal Register on December 31, 2019 (84 FR 72251).
The NPRM was prompted by the FAA's determination that new or more
restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary. The NPRM proposed
to require revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as
applicable, to incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness
limitations. The FAA is issuing 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.

Comments

The FAA gave the public the opportunity to participate in
developing this final rule. The following presents the comment received
on the NPRM and the FAA's response to that comment.

Request To Address Later Revisions of Service Information

Executive Jet Management, Inc. requested that the FAA address later
revisions of the service information. The commenter stated it
frequently sees a revision that is called out in an AD being outdated
by the time an AD becomes effective. The commenter noted it currently
has 3 ADs regarding this issue that have reached their effective date
that are still pending an alternative method of compliance (AMOC) and
another AD that was effective January 24, 2020. The commenter stated
this could be a non-issue for some of the ADs as the deadline is within
12 months after the effective date, which provides substantial time to
acquire an AMOC. For other ADs however, the commenter noted there is
considerably less time as the deadline is 30 days or 90 days after the
effective date. The commenter also noted that Chapter 5-40-00,
Airworthiness Limitations, DGT 107838, Revision 7, dated August 24,
2018, of the Dassault Falcon 7X Maintenance Manual (MM) has been
superseded and the current version is Revision 8, dated June 1, 2019,
and asked that it be reflected in the proposed rule.
The commenter stated it understands the FAA's restriction of not
being able to use the words ``or later approved revisions'' when
writing ADs. The commenter proposed adding wording to an AD that
requires operators to be at
``no less than'' a certain airworthiness limitation (AWL), which would
allow for full compliance with regulations while streamlining the
process for the owner/operator. The commenter stated that this approach
would still meet the intent of the proposed AD, without using ``or
later approved revisions'' wording.
The FAA acknowledges the commenters' concerns regarding needing
AMOCs for later approved revisions of mandated service information. In
the FAA's ongoing efforts to improve efficiency of the AD process, the
FAA worked with EASA and manufacturers to develop a process to use
certain EASA ADs as the primary source of information for compliance
with the requirements of corresponding FAA ADs. EASA ADs include the
approval of the use of later approved service information for
compliance with the applicable requirements. This AD was developed
using this process and it refers to EASA AD 2019-0257 as the primary
source of information. Therefore, operators are allowed to use the
referenced Airworthiness Limitations document (Chapter 5-40-00,
Airworthiness Limitations, DGT 107838, Revision 8, dated June 1, 2019,
of the Dassault Falcon 7X Maintenance Manual (MM)), or later approved
revisions as stated in the EASA AD, to show compliance with this AD,
without the use of the AMOC process specified in paragraph (m)(1) of
this AD.
Regarding the commenter's request to reference the current revision
of the airworthiness limitations, we note that Chapter 5-40-00,
Airworthiness Limitations, DGT 107838, Revision 7, dated August 24,
2018, of the Dassault Falcon 7X Maintenance Manual (MM), is only
referenced in paragraph (g) of this AD, which is a retained
requirement. It is not necessary to reference the current revision in
paragraph (g) of this AD because once operators have accomplished
paragraph (i) of this AD, then paragraph (g) of this AD is terminated.
Paragraph (i) of this AD refers to the MCAI, which refers to Dassault
Falcon 7X Aircraft Maintenance Manual, Chapter 5-40, DGT 107838,
Revision 8, dated June 1, 2019.
The FAA has not changed this AD regarding this issue.

Clarification of Paragraph (k) of This AD

Once a maintenance or inspection program is revised as required by
paragraph (i) of this AD, paragraph (k) of this AD does not allow for
the later use of alternative actions or intervals unless these
alternative actions or intervals are approved as specified in ``Ref.
Publications'' section of EASA AD 2019-0288. In paragraph (k) of the
proposed AD, the FAA proposed language using the word ``except.'' To
make the language consistent with the language in the ``Ref.
Publications'' section of EASA AD 2019-0288, the FAA has changed the
wording to ``unless they are approved.''

Clarification of Paragraph (l) of This AD

The FAA has revised paragraph (l) of this AD to reference paragraph
(g) of this AD as a terminating action for the requirements of
paragraph (q) of AD 2014-16-23, Amendment 39-17947 (79 FR 52545,
September 4, 2014) (``AD 2014-16-23''). As specified in AD 2019-03-20,
paragraph (g) of that AD is a terminating action for the requirements
of paragraph (q) of AD 2014-16-23. Paragraph (g) of this AD is a
restatement of paragraph (g) of AD 2019-03-20.

Conclusion

The FAA reviewed the relevant data, considered the comment
received, and determined that air safety and the public interest
require adopting this final rule as proposed, except for minor
editorial changes. The FAA has determined that these minor changes:
Are consistent with the intent that was proposed in the
NPRM for addressing the unsafe condition; and
Do not add any additional burden upon the public than was
already proposed in the NPRM.

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 also requires 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.

Costs of Compliance

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

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) 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.

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 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: