DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2021-0195; Project Identifier MCAI-2020-00262-R]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Helicopters

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)
2014-11-02 for Airbus Helicopters Model SA-365N, SA-365N1, AS-365N2,
and AS 365 N3 helicopters. AD 2014-11-02 requires repetitively
inspecting frame number (No.) 9 for a crack. Since the FAA issued AD
2014-11-02, Airbus Helicopters developed a modification that would
provide an optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections
required by AD 2014-11-02. This proposed AD would retain the
requirements of AD 2014-11-02, provide an optional terminating action
for the repetitive inspections, and reduce the applicability by
excluding certain post-modified helicopters. The actions of this
proposed AD are intended to address an unsafe condition on these
products.

DATES: The FAA must receive comments on this proposed AD by June 7,
2021.

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-2021-0195;
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 proposed AD, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD,
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 proposed 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 this referenced service information at the FAA, Office of the
Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Room 6N-321,
Fort Worth, TX 76177.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt Fuller, AD Program Manager,
General Aviation & Rotorcraft Unit, Airworthiness Products Section,
Operational Safety Branch, FAA, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Fort Worth, TX
76177; telephone (817) 222-5110; email matthew.fuller@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-2021-0195; Project Identifier
MCAI-2020-00262-R" 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
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 NPRM.

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 Matt
Fuller, AD Program Manager, General Aviation & Rotorcraft Unit,
Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 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 2014-11-02, Amendment 39-17852 (79 FR 33050, June
10, 2014) (AD 2014-11-02), for Airbus Helicopters (previously
Eurocopter France) Model SA-365N, SA-365N1, AS-365N2, and AS 365 N3
helicopters. AD 2014-11-02 requires, for helicopters that have a No. 9
frame that has had any repair or alteration made, within 10 hours time-
in-service (TIS) and thereafter at intervals not to exceed 110 hours
TIS, inspections of the left-hand (LH) and right-hand (RH) frame No. 9
for a crack in certain areas using a 10X or higher power magnifying
glass. For all other helicopters, the inspection is required within 110
hours TIS and thereafter in intervals not to exceed 110 hours TIS. If
there is a crack, AD 2014-11-02 requires repairing the frame before
further flight.

AD 2014-11-02 was prompted by EASA AD 2012-0108-E, dated June 15,
2012 (EASA AD 2012-0108-E), issued by EASA, which is the Technical
Agent for the Member States of the European Union. EASA advises that a
crack was discovered during the "T" inspection of an AS365
helicopter. The crack started at a rivet hole of a doubler that was in-
stalled on the frame No. 9 in accordance with Eurocopter Alert Service
Bulletin No. 53.00.42, dated January 31, 2001. EASA further states that
structural alteration of frame No. 9 by modifications or repairs can re-
sult in fatigue crack initiation under normal operational loads. According
to EASA, this condition, if not corrected, could lead to crack propagation
and failure of frame No. 9, which would adversely affect the structural
integrity of the helicopter. For these reasons, EASA AD 2012-0108-E
requires repetitive inspections of frame No. 9 for a crack in the area
of the doubler or any repair performed in the area of the latch support
and stretcher support.

Actions Since AD 2014-11-02 Was Issued

Since the FAA issued AD 2014-11-02, Airbus Helicopters introduced
an optional modification (MOD) that would provide terminating action
for the repetitive inspections. Consequently, EASA issued AD 2012-
0108R1, dated September 19, 2019 (EASA AD 2012-0108R1), to supersede
EASA AD 2012-0108-E. EASA AD 2012-0108R1 retains the requirements in
EASA AD 2012-0108-E and introduces the installation of an optional MOD
that calls for replacing the upper section of frame No. 9 with a
reinforced frame.

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 of the
unsafe condition described in its AD. The FAA is proposing this AD
after evaluating all known relevant information and determining that an
unsafe condition is likely to exist or develop on other helicopters of
these same type designs.

Differences Between This Proposed AD and the EASA AD

EASA AD 2012-0108R1 requires contacting Airbus Helicopters for
repair instructions if there is a crack, and the proposed AD does not.
EASA AD 2012-0108R1 applies to Airbus Helicopters Model 365-series
helicopters with a frame No. 9 on which certain doublers or repairs
have been accomplished, whereas this proposed AD would apply to those
model helicopters regardless of if those doublers or repairs have been
accomplished.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

Airbus Helicopters has co-published as one document Emergency Alert
Service Bulletin (EASB) No. 05.00.63, Revision 2, dated December 20,
2018 (EASB 05.00.63 Rev 2), for Model AS365-series helicopters and EASB
No. 05.00.30, Revision 2, dated December 20, 2018 (EASB 05.00.30 Rev
2), for non-FAA type certificated Model AS565-series helicopters. EASB
05.00.63 Rev 2 would be incorporated by reference in this proposed AD;
EASB 05.00.30 Rev 2 would not.

EASB 05.00.63 Rev 2 applies to helicopters with a frame No. 9 that
has not been modified by MOD 07 53C17, 07 53D21, 07 53D22, or 07 53D02,
and that has had doublers installed or repairs performed in accordance
with certain service instructions. EASB 05.00.63 Rev 2 describes
procedures for inspecting the frame No. 9 for a crack and specifies
contacting Airbus Helicopters for further procedures if there is a
crack.

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.

Other Related Service Information

Airbus Helicopter has also issued Service Bulletin No. AS365-
53.00.57, Revision 0, dated December 20, 2018 (SB AS365-53.00.57), for
Model AS365-series helicopters. SB AS365-53.00.57 specifies replacing
the upper section of the No. 9 frame with a reinforced version as an
option to terminate the visual inspections specified in EASB 05.00.63
Rev 2.

The FAA also reviewed Eurocopter EASB No. 05.00.63, Revision 1,
dated June 18, 2012 (EASB 05.00.63 Rev 1). EASB 05.00.63 Rev 1
specifies the same procedures as EASB 05.00.63 Rev 2; however, EASB
05.00.63 Rev 2 excludes helicopters with certain MODs installed from
its effectivity.

Proposed AD Requirements

This proposed AD would continue to require, for helicopters that
have a No. 9 frame that has had any repair or alteration made, within
10 hours TIS after the effective date of this AD and every 110 hours
TIS thereafter, inspecting the LH and RH frame No. 9 for a crack in the
areas of the latch support and stretcher support with a 10X or higher
power magnifying glass. For all other helicopters, this proposed AD
would require this inspection within 110 hours TIS after the effective
date of this AD and thereafter at intervals not to exceed 110 hours
TIS. If there is a crack, the proposed AD would also continue to
require, before further flight, repairing the crack. This proposed AD
would also provide an optional terminating action for the repetitive
inspections that would consists of installing Eurocopter MOD 53C17 or
MOD 53D02, or Airbus Helicopters MOD 07 53D21 or MOD 07 53D22, as
applicable to your helicopter.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this proposed AD would affect 33 helicopters
of U.S. Registry. The FAA estimates that operators may incur the
following costs in order to comply with this AD. At an average labor
rate of $85 per hour, inspecting the LH and RH frame No. 9 would
require about 3 work-hours, for a cost per helicopter of $255 and a
total cost to U.S. operators of $8,415 per inspection cycle. Repairing
a cracked frame No. 9 would require about 20 work-hours, and required
parts would cost about $15,000, for a cost per helicopter of $16,700.

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, 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 (AD) 2014-11-02, Amendment 39-17852
(79 FR 33050, June 10, 2014); and

b. Adding the following new AD: