DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 39
[Docket No. FAA-2020-0843; Product Identifier 2020-NM-073-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64
Airworthiness Directives; Bombardier, Inc., Airplanes
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive
(AD)
for certain Bombardier, Inc., Model BD-700-1A10 airplanes. This
proposed AD was prompted by a report of smoke and signs of an
overheating condition from the emergency light battery (ELB) due to
excessive corrosion surrounding the internal lead acid batteries, which
caused an electrical short circuit that led to the smoke and
overheating condition. This proposed AD would require an inspection to
determine the last replacement date of the ELB, and replacement if
necessary. This proposed AD would also require the incorporation of a
new maintenance task into the aircraft maintenance schedule. 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 November
2,
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: 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
Bombardier, Inc., 400 Cote-Vertu Road West, Dorval, Quebec
H4S 1Y9, Canada; telephone 514-855-5000; fax 514-855-7401; email
thd.crj@aero.bombardier.com; internet https://www.bombardier.com. You
may view this service information at the FAA, Airworthiness Products
Section, Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines,
WA. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA,
call 206-231-3195.
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-2020-0843;
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. Comments will be
available in the AD docket shortly after receipt.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Niczky, Aerospace Engineer,
Avionics and Electrical Systems Section, FAA, New York ACO Branch, 1600
Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 516-228-7347;
fax 516-794-5531; email 9-avs-nyaco-cos@faa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
The FAA invites you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting
written comments, data, or views about this proposal. The most helpful
comments reference a specific portion of the proposal, explain the
reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data. To
ensure the docket does not contain duplicate comments, commenters
should send only one copy of written comments, or if comments are filed
electronically, commenters should submit only one time. Send your
comments to an address listed under the ADDRESSES section. Include
"Docket No. FAA-2020-0843; Product Identifier 2020-NM-073-AD" at the
beginning of your 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, as well
as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA
personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this
proposal, the FAA will consider all comments received by the closing
date for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed after the
comment period has closed if it is possible to do so without incurring
expense or delay. The FAA may change this NPRM because of those
comments.
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 the
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. Any
commentary that the FAA receives which is not specifically designated
as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this rulemaking.
Discussion
Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA), which is the aviation
authority for Canada, has issued Canadian AD CF-2020-07, dated March
17, 2020 (referred to after this as the Mandatory Continuing
Airworthiness Information, or "the MCAI"), to correct an unsafe
condition for certain Bombardier, Inc., Model BD-700-1A10 airplanes.
You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket on the internet at https://www.
regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-0843.
This proposed AD was prompted by a report of smoke and signs of an
overheating condition from the ELB due to excessive corrosion
surrounding the internal lead acid batteries, which caused an
electrical short circuit that led to the smoke and overheating
condition. The FAA is proposing this AD to address such conditions,
which could cause fire onboard the airplane. See the MCAI for
additional background information.
Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51
Bombardier has issued Service Bulletin 700-33-024, dated May 13,
2019. This service information describes procedures for an inspection
to determine the last battery replacement date of the ELB, and
replacement if necessary.
Bombardier also issued following service information.
Supplemental Time Limits/Maintenance Checks (STLMC)
Temporary Revision (TR) 05-19091701, dated September 17, 2019.
STLMC TR 05-19091704, dated September 17, 2019.
STLMC TR 05-19091705, dated September 17, 2019.
These documents describe amendments to the aircraft maintenance
schedule for the ELB restoration and are distinct since they apply to
different airplane serial numbers.
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
This product has been approved by the aviation authority of another
country, and is approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant
to our bilateral agreement with the State of Design Authority, the FAA
has been notified of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI and
service information referenced above. The FAA is proposing this AD
because the FAA evaluated all the relevant information and determined
the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop
on other products of the same type design.
Proposed Requirements of This NPRM
This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified
in Bombardier Service Bulletin 700-33-024, dated May 13, 2019,
described previously.
This proposed AD would also require the incorporation of a new
maintenance task into the aircraft maintenance schedule.
This proposed AD would require revisions to certain operator
maintenance documents to include new actions (e.g., inspections).
Compliance with these actions 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 (l)(1) of this
proposed AD.
Costs of Compliance
The FAA estimates that this proposed AD affects 69 airplanes of
U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with
this proposed AD:
Estimated Costs for Required Actions
Labor cost
|
Parts cost
|
Cost per
product
|
Cost on
U.S. operators
|
3 work-hours x $85 per hour =
$255 |
$11,308
|
$11,563
|
$797,847
|
The FAA has determined that revising
the maintenance or inspection
program takes an average of 90 work-hours per operator, although the
FAA recognizes that this number may vary from operator to operator.
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. Therefore, the
FAA estimates the total cost per operator 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
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):
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