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PROPOSED AD TEXTRON AVIATION INC.: Docket No. FAA-2020-0819; Project Identifier 2019-CE-027-AD.
(a) COMMENTS DUE DATE

    The FAA must receive comments  on this airworthiness directive (AD) by
    January 28, 2021.

(b) AFFECTED ADS

    This AD replaces AD 97-06-10,  Amendment 39-9967  (62 FR 12949,  March
    19, 1997) (AD 97-06-10).

(c) APPLICABILITY

    This AD applies to Textron Aviation  (type certificate previously held
    by Raytheon Aircraft Company, Hawker Beechcraft Corporation and Beech-
    craft Corporation) Model 76 airplanes,  serial numbers ME-1 through ME
    -437, certificated in any category, except airplanes with main landing
    gear  (MLG) "A"  frame assemblies  part  number  (P/N) 105-810023-0083
    (left) and P/N 105-810023-0084 (right) installed.

(d) SUBJECT

    Joint Aircraft System Component (JASC) Code 3200; Landing Gear.

(e) UNSAFE CONDITION

    This AD was prompted by cracks found in MLG "A" frame assemblies.  The
    FAA  is  issuing this  AD  to detect  and  correct cracks  in  the MLG
    assemblies, which, if  not addressed, could  result in failure  of the
    MLG assemblies  and lead  to loss  of control  of the  airplane during
    landing.

(f) COMPLIANCE

    Comply with this AD within the compliance times specified,  unless al-
    ready done.

(g) ACTIONS

    Within 100 hours time-in-service (TIS)  after  the  last dye penetrant
    inspection  required by  AD 97-06-10  or  within  12 months  after the
    effective date of  this AD, whichever  comes first, and  thereafter at
    intervals to not exceed 100  hours TIS or 12 months,  whichever occurs
    first, do a  magnetic particle inspection  for cracks on  the left MLG
    "A" frame assembly  P/N 105-810023-3, 105-810023-67,  or 105-810023-75
    and the right MLG "A" frame assembly P/N 105-810023-4,  105-810023-68,
    or  105-810023-76  and,  before  further  flight,  take  all necessary
    corrective actions.  Do all  actions by  following the  Accomplishment
    Instructions, paragraphs 4 through 13, of Beechcraft Mandatory Service
    Bulletin SB 32-4156, dated May 3, 2019.

(h) ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF COMPLIANCE (AMOCS)

(1) The  Manager,  Wichita ACO Branch,  FAA,  has the authority to approve
    AMOCs for this AD, if requested  using the procedures found in 14  CFR
    39.19. In  accordance with  14 CFR  39.19, send  your request  to your
    principal  inspector  or  local Flight  Standards District  Office, as
    appropriate. If  sending information  directly to  the manager  of the
    certification  office,  send  it  to  the  attention  of  the   person
    identified in Related Information.

(2) Before using any approved AMOC,  notify your appropriate principal in-
    spector,  or  lacking a principal inspector,  the manager of the local
    flight standards district office/certificate holding district office.

(i) RELATED INFORMATION

(1) For more information about this AD,  contact  Brian Adamson,  Aviation
    Safety Engineer, Wichita ACO Branch, FAA, 1801 Airport Road, Room 100,
    Wichita, Kansas 67209;  phone:  (316) 946-4193;  fax:  (316) 946-4107;
    email: brian.adamson@faa.gov or Wichita-COS@faa.gov.

(2) For  service  information  identified  in  this  AD,  contact  Textron
    Aviation Customer Service, P.O. Box 7706, Wichita, Kansas 67277; phone
    (316) 517-5800;  email customercare@txtav.com;  website https://txtav.
    com. You may view this referenced service information at the FAA, Air-
    worthiness 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.

Issued on December 8, 2020. Lance T Gant, Director, Compliance & Airworth-
iness Division, Aircraft Certification Service.

DATES: The FAA must receive comments  on this proposed AD  by  January 28,
2021.
PREAMBLE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2020-0819; Project Identifier 2019-CE-027-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Textron Aviation Inc. Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 97-
06-10, which applies to certain Raytheon Aircraft Company (type
certificate now held by Textron Aviation Inc. (Textron)) Model 76
airplanes. AD 97-06-10 requires repetitively inspecting the main
landing gear (MLG) "A" frame assemblies for cracks and replacing any
cracked assembly. Since the FAA issued AD 97-06-10, the replacement
parts have also experienced failure due to cracking. This proposed AD
would require magnetic particle inspections of the MLG "A" frame
assemblies for cracks and replacement of the affected parts if
necessary. 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 January 28,
2021.

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 Textron
Aviation Customer Service, P.O. Box 7706, Wichita, Kansas 67277; phone:
(316) 517-5800; email: customercare@txtav.com; website: https://txtav.com.
You may view this 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 at https://www.regulations.gov by
searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-0819; 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, any comments
received, and other information. The street address for Docket
Operations is listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Adamson, Aviation Safety
Engineer, Wichita ACO Branch, FAA, 1801 Airport Road, Room 100,
Wichita, Kansas 67209; phone: (316) 946-4193; fax: (316) 946-4107;
email: brian.adamson@faa.gov or Wichita-COS@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-2020-0819;
Project Identifier 2019-CE-027-AD" at the beginning of your comments.
The most helpful comments reference a specific portion of the final
rule, explain the reason for any recommended change, and include
supporting data. The FAA will consider all comments received by the
closing date and may amend this proposal 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 agency will also post a report summarizing each
substantive verbal contact received about this proposed AD.

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 Brian
Adamson, Aviation Safety Engineer, Wichita ACO Branch, FAA, 1801
Airport Rd., Wichita, KS 67209; phone: (316) 946-4193; fax: (316) 946-
4107; email: brian.adamson@faa.gov or Wichita-COS@faa.gov. Any
commentary that the FAA receives which is not specifically designated
as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this rulemaking.

Background

The FAA issued AD 97-06-10, Amendment 39-9967 (62 FR 12949, March
19, 1997) (AD 97-06-10), for Raytheon Aircraft Company (type
certificate now held by Textron) Model 76 airplanes, serial numbers ME-
1 through ME-437, that do not have both a part number (P/N) 105-810023-
75 (left) and P/N 105-810023-76 (right) MLG "A" frame assembly
installed. AD 97-06-10 requires repetitive visual and dye penetrant
inspections of the MLG "A" frame assemblies for cracks and
replacement of any assembly found cracked. AD 97-06-10 resulted from
Raytheon developing improved design MLG "A" frame assemblies (P/N
105-810023-75 and P/N 105-810023-76), and the FAA's determination that
Model 76 airplanes with these improved design assemblies installed on
both the left and right MLG should be exempt from the AD requirements.
The FAA issued AD 97-06-10 to prevent MLG failure because of a cracked
"A" frame assembly, which could result in loss of control of the
airplane during landing.

Actions Since AD 97-06-10 Was Issued

Since AD 97-06-10 was issued, the FAA received reports of P/N 105-
810023-75 and P/N 105-810023-76 "A" frame assemblies cracking and
failing, resulting in damage to the propeller and outboard wing area.
Analysis of the cracked parts identified fatigue cracking as the cause
of failure. In some cases, the failed parts had been subjected to
visual and dye penetrant inspections within 100 hours before the
failure. The FAA determined visual and dye penetrant inspections did
not adequately detect cracks in the MLG "A" frame assemblies, and
this proposed AD would require repetitive magnetic particle
inspections. Magnetic particle provides quicker results (after testing
setup) with improved accuracy.

Also, since AD 97-06-10 was issued, the type certificate for the
Model 76 airplane was transferred from Raytheon to Textron and Textron
designed new replacement parts, P/Ns 105-810023-0083 (left) and 105-
810023-0084 (right), that would not be subject to the repetitive
magnetic particle inspections proposed in this NPRM. However, the newly
designed MLG assemblies are still subject to the repetitive inspections
specified in the maintenance manual.

FAA's Determination

The FAA is issuing this NPRM after determining the unsafe condition
described previously is likely to exist or develop in other products of
the same type design.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

The FAA reviewed Beechcraft Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 32-4156,
dated May 3, 2019. The service information specifies a repetitive
magnetic particle inspection for fatigue cracks adjacent to the gussets
for the torque arm of each MLG "A" frame and destroying the assembly
if cracks are found. The service information also specifies procedures
for installing a replacement assembly or re-installing an assembly when
no cracks are found. 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.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

This proposed AD would retain none of the requirements of AD 97-06-
10. This proposed AD would require magnetic particle inspection of the
MLG "A" frame assemblies and provides new designed assemblies for
replacement, P/Ns 105-810023-0083 (left) and 105-810023-0084 (right).

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would affect 437
airplanes of U.S. registry.

The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this proposed AD:

Estimated Costs

Action
Labor cost
Parts cost
Cost per product
Cost on U.S. operators
Inspection of MLG "A" frame assembly 26 work-hours x $85 per hour = $2,210
Not applicable
$2,210
$965,770

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

On-Condition Costs

Action Labor cost Parts cost Cost per product
Replacement of assembly (NOTE: No additional labor cost since re-installation labor is included with the inspection cost). Not applicable $7,864 $7,864

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 that the proposed
regulation:

(1) Is not a "significant regulatory action" under Executive
Order 12866,

(2) Would not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, and

(3) Would 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:

a. Removing Airworthiness Directive 97-06-10, Amendment 39-9967 (62 FR
12949, March 19, 1997); and

b. Adding the following new airworthiness directive: