DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2021-0216; Project Identifier 2018-CE-061-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation 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 all Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (Gulfstream) Models GV and GV-
SP airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by the omission of a life
limit in the airworthiness limitations section (ALS) of the maintenance
manual for a certain main landing gear (MLG) trunnion pin. This
proposed AD would require revising the ALS of your existing
instructions for continued airworthiness (ICA) or inspection program
for the airplane to establish a life limit of 20,000 flight cycles for
the affected MLG trunnion pin. 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 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 service information identified in this NPRM, contact Gulfstream
Aerospace Corporation, Technical Publications Dept., 500 Gulfstream
Road, Savannah, GA 31402-2206; phone: (800) 810-4853; fax: (912) 965-
3520; email: pubs@gulfstream.com; website: https://www.gulfstream.com/en/
customer-support/. You may view this service information at the FAA,
Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 901 Locust,
Kansas City, MO 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-2021-0216; 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: Miral Patel, Aviation Safety Engineer,
Atlanta ACO Branch, FAA, 1701 Columbia Avenue, College Park, GA 30337;
phone: (404) 474-5590; fax: (404) 474-5606; email: miral.patel@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-2021-0216; Project Identifier
2018-CE-061-AD" 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 Miral Patel, Aviation Safety Engineer, Atlanta ACO
Branch, FAA, 1701 Columbia Avenue, College Park, GA 30337. Any
commentary that the FAA receives which is not specifically designated
as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this rulemaking.

Background

Gulfstream notified the FAA that a life limit for replacing MLG
trunnion pin part number (P/N) 1159SCL566-15 had been omitted from the
ALS of the maintenance manual for Models GV and GV-SP airplanes.
Gulfstream revised the ALS for the applicable airplanes to establish a
life limit of 20,000 flight cycles for the affected MLG trunnion pin. A
trunnion pin remaining in service beyond its fatigue life could lead to
fracture and failure of the trunnion pin. This condition, if
unaddressed, could result in MLG failure and could lead to a runway
excursion.

FAA's Determination

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

Related Service Information

The FAA reviewed Gulfstream GV Aircraft Maintenance Manual,
Revision 53, dated March 15, 2021; Gulfstream G550 Aircraft Maintenance
Manual, Revision 34, dated March 15, 2021; and Gulfstream G500-5000
Aircraft Maintenance Manual, Revision 34, dated March 15, 2021. For the
applicable marketing designation specified on each document, the
revised service information adds a life limit for MLG trunnion pin P/N
1159SCL566-15.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

This proposed AD would require revising the ALS of the existing ICA
or inspection program for the airplane to establish a life limit of
20,000 flight cycles for MLG trunnion pin P/N 1159SCL566-15.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would
affect 516 airplanes of U.S. registry.

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

Estimated Costs

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) 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 adding the following new airworthiness
directive: