DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2020-1169; Product Identifier MCAI-2020-01373-T]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Dassault Aviation Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD)
2020-07-16, which applies to certain Dassault Aviation Model FALCON 7X
airplanes. AD 2020-07-16 requires revising the existing maintenance or
inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more
restrictive airworthiness limitations. Since the FAA issued AD 2020-07-
16, the FAA has determined that new or more restrictive airworthiness
limitations are necessary. This proposed AD would require 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 proposed for incorporation by reference. 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 March 1, 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 material that will be incorporated by reference (IBR), contact
the EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49
221 8999 000; 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. You
may view this IBR material 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. It is also available in
the AD docket on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov by
searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-1169.

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-
1169; 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: Tom Rodriguez, Aerospace Engineer,
Large Aircraft Section, International Validation Branch, FAA, 2200
South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; telephone and fax 206-231-3226;
email tom.rodriguez@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 ADDRESSES. Include "Docket No. FAA-2020-1169; Product Identifier
MCAI-2020-01373-T" at the beginning of your comments. The most helpful
comments reference a specific portion of the proposal, 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
the proposal based on 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 FAA will also post a report summarizing each substantive
verbal contact the FAA receives 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 Tom
Rodriguez, Aerospace Engineer, Large Aircraft Section, International
Validation Branch, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198. Any
commentary that the FAA receives which is not specifically designated
as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this rulemaking.

Discussion

The FAA issued AD 2020-07-16, Amendment 39-19895 (85 FR 20405,
April 13, 2020) ("AD 2020-07-16"), for certain Dassault Aviation
Model FALCON 7X airplanes. AD 2020-07-16 requires revising the existing
maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or
more restrictive airworthiness limitations. AD 2020-07-16 resulted from
a determination that new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations
are necessary. The FAA issued AD 2020-07-16 to address reduced
structural integrity and reduced control of airplanes due to the
failure of system components. AD 2020-07-16 specifies that
accomplishing the revision required by paragraph (g) or (i) of that AD
terminates paragraph (q) of AD 2014-16-23.

Actions Since AD 2020-07-16 Was Issued

Since the FAA issued AD 2020-07-16, the FAA has determined that new
or more restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary.

The EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the
European Union, has issued EASA AD 2020-0214, dated October 6, 2020
(EASA AD 2020-0214) (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.

Airplanes with an original airworthiness certificate or original
export certificate of airworthiness issued after June 1, 2020 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.

This proposed AD was prompted by a determination that new or more
restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary. The FAA is
proposing 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.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

EASA AD 2020-0214 describes new or more restrictive airworthiness
limitations for airplane structures and safe life limits.
This AD would also require EASA AD 2019-0257, dated October 17,
2019, which the Director of the Federal Register approved for
incorporation by reference as of May 18, 2020 (85 FR 20405, April 13, 2020).

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.

FAA's Determination and Requirements of This 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 the State of Design Authority,
the FAA has been notified of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI
referenced above. The FAA is proposing this AD because the FAA has
evaluated all pertinent information and determined an unsafe condition
exists and is likely to exist or develop on other products of the same
type design.

Proposed AD Requirements

This proposed AD would retain the requirements of AD 2020-07-16.
This proposed AD would also require revising the existing maintenance
or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more
restrictive airworthiness limitations, which are specified in EASA AD
2020-0214 described previously, as incorporated by reference. Any
differences with EASA AD 2020-0214 are identified as exceptions in the
regulatory text of this AD.

This proposed AD would require revisions to certain operator
maintenance documents to include new actions (e.g., inspections) and
Critical Design Configuration Control
Limitations (CDCCLs). Compliance with these actions and CDCCLs 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 (n)(1) of this proposed AD.

Explanation of Required Compliance Information

In the FAA's ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency of the AD
process, the FAA initially worked with Airbus and EASA to develop a
process to use certain EASA ADs as the primary source of information
for compliance with requirements for corresponding FAA ADs. The FAA has
since coordinated with other manufacturers and civil aviation
authorities (CAAs) to use this process. As a result, EASA AD 2020-0214
will be incorporated by reference in the FAA final rule. This proposed
AD would, therefore, require compliance with EASA AD 2020-0214 in its
entirety, through that incorporation, except for any differences
identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this proposed AD.
Using common terms that are the same as the heading of a particular
section in the EASA AD does not mean that operators need comply only
with that section. For example, where the AD requirement refers to
"all required actions and compliance times," compliance with this AD
requirement is not limited to the section titled "Required Action(s)
and Compliance Time(s)" in the EASA AD.

Service information specified in EASA AD 2020-0214 that is required
for compliance with EASA AD 2020-0214 will be available on the internet
at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No.
FAA-2020-1169 after the FAA final rule is published.

Airworthiness Limitation ADs Using the New Process

The FAA's process of incorporating by reference MCAI ADs as the
primary source of information for compliance with corresponding FAA ADs
has been limited to certain MCAI ADs (primarily those with service
bulletins as the primary source of information for accomplishing the
actions required by the FAA AD). However, the FAA is now expanding the
process to include MCAI ADs that require a change to airworthiness
limitation documents, such as airworthiness limitation sections.

For these ADs that incorporate by reference an MCAI AD that changes
airworthiness limitations, the FAA requirements are unchanged.
Operators must revise the existing maintenance or inspection program,
as applicable, to incorporate the information specified in the new
airworthiness limitation document. The airworthiness limitations must
be followed according to 14 CFR 91.403(c) and 91.409(e).

The previous format of the airworthiness limitation ADs included a
paragraph that specified that no alternative actions (e.g.,
inspections), intervals, or CDCCLs may be used unless the actions,
intervals, and CDCCLs are approved as an alternative method of
compliance (AMOC) in accordance with the procedures specified in the
AMOCs paragraph under "Other FAA Provisions." This new format
includes a "New Provisions for Alternative Actions, Intervals, and
CDCCLs" paragraph that does not specifically refer to AMOCs, but
operators may still request an AMOC to use an alternative action,
interval, or CDCCL.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this proposed AD affects 122 airplanes of
U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with
this proposed AD:

The FAA estimates the total cost per operator for the retained
actions from AD 2020-07-16 to be $7,650 (90 work-hours x $85 per work-hour).

The FAA has determined that revising the existing 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 proposed 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

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:

a. Removing Airworthiness Directive 2020-07-16, Amendment 39-19895 (85
FR 20405, April 13, 2020); and

b. Adding the following new airworthiness directive: