DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2020-0793; Project Identifier MCAI-2020-00976-R;
Amendment 39-21243; AD 2020-19-02]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Helicopters

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2000-22-19
for Eurocopter France (now Airbus Helicopters) Model SA330F, G, and J
helicopters. AD 2000-22-19 required repetitively inspecting certain
tail rotor (T/R) blades for skin debonding and a crack. Since the FAA
issued AD 2000-22-19, the inspection procedures have been revised.
Additionally, the FAA is adding an affected part-numbered T/R blade and
the FAA-validation for Model SA330F and G helicopters has been
cancelled. This new AD revises the applicability, requires repetitively
inspecting affected T/R blades with the new inspection procedures, and
depending on the inspection results, repairing or replacing the T/R
blade. This new AD also prohibits installing an affected T/R blade
unless it has passed the inspections. The actions of this AD are
intended to address an unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: This AD becomes effective October 7, 2020.
The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by
reference of a certain document listed in this AD as of October 7,
2020.
The FAA must receive comments on this AD by November 6, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Docket: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for sending your comments electronically.
Fax: 202-493-2251.
Mail: Send comments to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery: Deliver to the ``Mail'' address between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

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-
0793; 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 AD, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) (now European Union
Aviation Safety Agency) AD, any service information that is
incorporated by reference, 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 service information identified in this final rule, contact
Airbus Helicopters, 2701 N Forum Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75052;
telephone 972-641-0000 or 800-232-0323; fax 972-641-3775; or at https://www.airbus.com/helicopters/services/technical-support.html. You may
view the referenced service information at the FAA, Office of the
Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Room 6N-321,
Fort Worth, TX 76177. It is also available on the internet at https://www.
regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2020-0793.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt Fuller, AD Program Manager,
Continued Operational Safety Branch, Airworthiness Products Section,
General Aviation and Rotorcraft Unit, FAA, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Fort
Worth, TX 76177; telephone 817-222-5110; email matthew.fuller@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

This AD is a final rule that involves requirements affecting flight
safety, and the FAA did not provide you with notice and an opportunity
to provide your comments prior to it becoming effective. However, the
FAA invites you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting written
comments, data, or views. The most helpful comments reference a
specific portion of the AD, 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 them only one time.
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 file in the docket all
comments received, as well as a report summarizing each substantive
public contact with FAA personnel concerning this rulemaking during the
comment period. The FAA will consider all the comments received and may
conduct additional rulemaking based on those comments.

Confidential Business Information

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 final rule 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 final rule, 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 final rule. Submissions
containing CBI should be sent to Matt Fuller, AD Program Manager,
Continued Operational Safety Branch, Airworthiness Products Section,
General Aviation and Rotorcraft Unit, FAA, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Fort
Worth, TX 76177; telephone 817-222-5110; email matthew.fuller@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.

Discussion

The FAA issued AD 2000-22-19, Amendment 39-11967 (65 FR 68071,
November 14, 2000) (``AD 2000-22-19''), for Eurocopter France (now
Airbus Helicopters) Model SA330F, G, and J helicopters with a T/R blade
part number (P/N) 330A12-0000-(all dash numbers), 330A12-0000-(all dash
numbers), or 330A12-0006-(all dash numbers), installed.
AD 2000-22-19 required, within a compliance time interval based on
whether a de-icing system was installed, repetitively inspecting each
T/R blade for skin debonding and eddy current inspecting for a crack.
The FAA issued AD 2000-22-19 to prevent fatigue cracking of a T/R
blade, failure of a T/R blade, and subsequent loss of control of the
helicopter.

Actions Since AD 2000-22-19 Was Issued

Since the FAA issued AD 2000-22-19, EASA, which is the Technical
Agent for the Member States of the European Union, issued EASA AD No.
2016-0059-E, dated March 22, 2016 (EASA AD 2016-0059-E), to correct an
unsafe condition for Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter,
Eurocopter France, Aerospatiale) Model SA 330 J helicopters. EASA AD
2016-0059-E retains the requirements of Direction
G[eacute]n[eacute]rale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC) France AD 87-032-
052(B)R3, dated January 23, 1991, which it supersedes, and also
mandates improved service instructions.
Airbus Helicopters issued the improved service instructions in
Emergency Alert Service Bulletin No. 05.101, Revision 0, dated March
21, 2016, to extend the eddy current inspection area and specify new
tooling to inspect the extended area.
Also, since the FAA issued AD 2000-22-19, it was identified that AD
2000-22-19 inadvertently listed T/R blade P/N 330A12-0000-(all dash
numbers) twice in its applicability and omitted T/R blade P/N 330A12-
0005-(all dash numbers). This final rule removes T/R blade P/N 330A12-
0000-(all dash numbers) altogether from the applicability because these
part-numbered T/R blades have been retired from the fleet and expands
the applicability by adding helicopters with T/R blade P/N 330A12-0005-
(all dash numbers) installed.
Additionally, at the request of Airbus Helicopters, Model SA330F
and G helicopters have been removed from the FAA Type Certificate Data
Sheet (TCDS). According to Airbus Helicopters, none of these aircraft
models are in existence. EASA, the state of design, has also removed
these models from its TCDS. As a result, the FAA is removing these
models from the applicability.

FAA's Determination

These helicopters have been approved by EASA and are approved for
operation in the United States. Pursuant to the FAA's bilateral
agreement with the European Union, EASA has notified the FAA about the
unsafe condition described in its AD. The FAA is issuing this AD after
evaluating all of the information provided by EASA and determining the
unsafe condition exists and is likely to exist or develop on other
helicopters of the same type design.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

Airbus Helicopters has issued Emergency Alert Service Bulletin No.
05.101, Revision 0, dated March 21, 2016, for Model SA330J helicopters
with certain T/R blades with and without a de-icing system installed.
This service information specifies procedures for a visual and in-depth
inspection of the T/R blades for skin debonding and an eddy current
inspection of the T/R blades for a crack using various crack detectors.
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.

AD Requirements

This AD requires within 30 hours time-in-service (TIS) after the
effective date of this AD or within 30 hours TIS after last inspecting
the T/R blades as required by paragraph (a) of AD 2000-22-19, whichever
occurs first, and thereafter at intervals not to exceed 15 hours TIS
for blades with de-icing systems installed or 30 hours TIS for blades
without de-icing systems installed:
Accomplishing a visual and in-depth inspection of each T/R
blade for debonding. If there is debonding within allowable limits,
this AD requires repairing or replacing the T/R blade before further
flight. If there is debonding that exceeds allowable limits, this AD
requires replacing the T/R blade before further flight.
Eddy current inspecting each blade for a crack. If there
is a crack, this AD requires replacing the T/R blade before further
flight.
This AD also prohibits installing an affected T/R blade on any
helicopter unless it passes the inspections required by this AD.

Differences Between This AD and the EASA AD

The EASA AD requires returning a T/R blade with debonding that
exceeds allowable limits or a crack to Airbus Helicopters, whereas this
AD requires replacing the T/R blade instead.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) do not
apply when an agency finds good cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 to adopt
a rule without prior notice and comment. Because the FAA has determined
that it has good cause to adopt this rule without notice and comment,
RFA analysis is not required.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD affects 15 helicopters of U.S.
Registry. Labor rates are estimated at $85 per work-hour. Based on
these numbers, the FAA estimates that operators may incur the following
costs in order to comply with this AD.
Inspecting the T/R blades for debonding takes about 0.75 work-hour
for an estimated cost of $64 per helicopter and $960 for the U.S.
fleet, per inspection cycle. Eddy current inspecting the T/R blades for
a crack takes about 1.75 work-hours for an estimated cost of $149 per
helicopter and $2,235 for the U.S. fleet, per inspection cycle.
If required, replacing a T/R blade takes about 4 work-hours and
parts cost about $19,000, for an estimated cost of $19,340.

FAA's Justification and Determination of the Effective Date

Section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.)
authorizes agencies to dispense with notice and comment procedures for
rules when the agency, for ``good cause'' finds that those procedures
are ``impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.''
Under this section, an agency, upon finding good cause, may issue a
final rule without seeking comment prior to the rulemaking.
An unsafe condition exists that requires the immediate adoption of
this AD without providing an opportunity for public comments prior to
adoption. The FAA has found that the risk to the flying public
justifies waiving notice and comment prior to adoption of this rule
because fatigue cracking in a T/R blade could lead to failure of a T/R
blade and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter. This type of
fatigue cracking in a T/R blade could cause a pilot to perform an
emergency landing. Because these helicopters primarily conduct
operations over water or forested mountains, the FAA determined the
corrective action must be completed within 30 hours TIS, a time period
of up to approximately two months based on the average flight-hour
utilization rates of these helicopters. Therefore, notice and
opportunity for prior public comment are impracticable and contrary to
public interest pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B). In addition, for the
reasons stated above, the FAA finds that good cause exists pursuant to
5 U.S.C. 553(d) for making this amendment effective in less than 30
days.

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 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, I certify that this AD:
1. Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive Order
12866, and
2. Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska.

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:

a. Removing Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2000-22-19, Amendment 39-11967
(65 FR 68071, November 14, 2000); and

b. Adding the following new AD: