DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2021-1078; Project Identifier MCAI-2020-01574-R]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Bell Textron Canada Limited Helicopters

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 Bell Textron Canada Limited Model 429 helicopters. This
proposed AD was prompted by in-service reports of the loss of display
and subsequent recovery of certain display units (DUs). This proposed
AD would require revising the existing rotorcraft flight manual
supplement (RFMS) for your helicopter and disabling the traffic alert
and collision avoidance system (TCAS) POP-UP feature for certain DUs.
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 February
11, 2022.

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 between 9 a.m. and
5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
For service information identified in this NPRM, contact Bell
Textron Canada Limited, 12,800 Rue de l'Avenir, Mirabel, Quebec J7J
1R4, Canada; telephone 1-450-437-2862 or 1-800-363-8023; fax 1-450-433-
0272; email productsupport@bellflight.com; or at https://www.bellflight.com/support/
contact-support. You may view this service
information at the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, Southwest
Region, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Room 6N-321, Fort Worth, TX 76177. For
information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call (817)
222-5110.

Examining the AD Docket

You may examine the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov by
searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2021-1078; 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, the
Transport Canada AD, any comments received, and other information. The
street address for Docket Operations is listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Darren Gassetto, Aerospace Engineer,
COS Program Management Section, FAA, Operational Safety Branch, 1600
Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone (516) 228-
7323; email Darren.Gassetto@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-2021-1078; Project Identifier
MCAI-2020-01574-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
Darren Gassetto, Aerospace Engineer, COS Program Management Section,
FAA, Operational Safety Branch, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410,
Westbury, NY 11590; telephone (516) 228-7323; email
Darren.Gassetto@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.

Background

Transport Canada, which is the aviation authority for Canada, has
issued Transport Canada AD CF-2020-18R1, dated November 27, 2020
(Transport Canada AD CF-2020-18R1), to correct an unsafe condition for
Bell Textron Canada Limited Model 429 helicopters, serial numbers 57001
through 57369, 57371, and 57373. Transport Canada advises that it has
received in-service reports of the loss of display and subsequent
recovery of the DU manufactured by Rogerson Kratos (RK). During an
instrument flight rules approach, a Bell Textron Canada Limited Model
429 helicopter lost its center DU display, which then rebooted, and
subsequently lost its right-hand side (RHS) DU display, which then also
rebooted. Investigation revealed that the DUs' power cycle occurred
while in Map-Mode, which was caused by the RK DUs' limited processing
capability for excessive null waypoints generated by the Garmin GTN
750/650 GPS/NAV/COMM/MFD.
Transport Canada also advises that the use of Map-Mode to the
center DU should be limited only for Bell Textron Canada Limited Model
429 helicopters equipped with RK DUs and Garmin GTN 750/650 main
software version 6.21 or later and that the use of Map-Mode should be
prohibited on both the RHS DU and left-hand side DU, if installed. In
addition, Transport Canada advises that a new emergency and malfunction
procedure in the event of center DU failure should be implemented.
If not addressed, a DU power cycle occurring during flight and
consequent momentary loss of display information on the primary flight
display and other DUs could result in the unexpected loss of display of
important flight parameters to the pilots, including attitude,
approach, airspeed, altitude, flight director information, navigation
system cues, as well as engine and rotor drive system indications.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

The FAA reviewed Bell Alert Service Bulletin 429-20-51, Revision B,
dated July 17, 2021, which specifies procedures for disabling the TCAS
POP-UP feature for certain DUs. 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

These helicopters have been approved by the aviation authority of
Canada and are approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant to
the FAA's bilateral agreement with Canada, Transport Canada, its
technical representative, 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 the unsafe condition
described previously is likely to exist or develop on other helicopters
of the same type design.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

This proposed AD would require revising the existing RFMS for your
helicopter and disabling the TCAS POP-UP feature for certain DUs.

Differences Between This Proposed AD and the Transport Canada AD

Transport Canada AD CF-2020-18R1 requires operators to ``advise all
flight crews'' of the changes introduced by the RFMS revision. However,
this proposed AD would not specifically require that action. 14 CFR
91.9 requires that no person may operate a civil aircraft without
complying with the operating limitations specified in the RFMS.
Therefore, including a requirement in this AD to operate the helicopter
according to the revised RFMS would be redundant and unnecessary.
Further, compliance with such a requirement in an AD would be
impracticable to demonstrate or track on an ongoing basis; therefore, a
requirement to operate the helicopter in such a manner would be
unenforceable. The flight manual supplement changes proposed in this AD
would also apply to the emergency and malfunction procedures section of
the existing RFMS for your helicopter. FAA regulations mandate
compliance only with the operating limitations section of the flight
manual. Nonetheless, the FAA recommends that flight crews of the
helicopters listed in the applicability operate in accordance with the
revised emergency and malfunction procedures specified in this proposed AD.
This proposed AD would also propose to require disabling the TCAS
POP-UP feature for certain DUs, which is not required in Transport
Canada AD CF-2020-18R1. The FAA has coordinated this requirement with
Transport Canada, and Transport Canada stated that it is planning to
include this action in a future rulemaking action.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would
affect 88 helicopters of U.S. Registry. Labor rates are estimated at
$85 per work-hour. Based on these numbers, the FAA estimates the
following costs to comply with this proposed AD.
Revising the RFMS for your helicopter takes about 1 work-hour for
an estimated cost of $85 per helicopter and $7,480 for the U.S. fleet.
Disabling the TCAS POP-UP feature for your helicopter takes about
0.5 work-hours for an estimated cost of $43 per helicopter and $3,784
for the U.S. fleet.

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) 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: