DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2021-0672; Project Identifier MCAI-2021-00304-R;
Amendment 39-21693; AD 2021-17-10]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Leonardo S.p.a Helicopters

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for
certain Leonardo S.p.a. Model A109A, A109A II, A109C, A109E, A109K2,
A109S, and AW109SP helicopters, having a certain rotor brake kit
installed. This AD was prompted by a report of un-commanded activation of the
rotor brake system before take-off due to a jammed rotor brake control cable and
subsequent partially open brake control valve. This AD requires
repetitive inspections of the rotor brake control cable and replacement
of the rotor brake control cable, if necessary, as specified in a
European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is incorporated
by reference. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe
condition on these products.

DATES: This AD becomes effective September 7, 2021.
The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by
reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of September 7,
2021.
The FAA must receive comments on this AD by October 4, 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 incorporated by reference (IBR) in this AD, contact
the EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; phone: +49
221 8999 000; email: ADs@easa.europa.eu; internet: www.easa.europa.eu.
You may find this material on the EASA website at https://ad.easa.europa.eu.
You may view this material 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. It is also available in the AD
docket on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for
and locating Docket No. FAA-2021-0672.

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-
0672; 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, 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: Darren Gassetto, Aerospace Engineer,
COS Program Management Section, Operational Safety Branch, FAA, 1600
Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: (516) 228-7323;
email: Darren.Gassetto@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the
European Union, has issued EASA AD 2021-0067, dated March 9, 2021 (EASA
AD 2021-0067), to correct an unsafe condition on Leonardo S.p.a.
(formerly Finmeccanica S.p.A., AgustaWestland S.p.A., Agusta S.p.A.,
Costruzioni Aeronautiche Giovanni Agusta) Model A109A, A109AII, A109C,
A109E, A109K2, A109S, and AW109SP helicopters with a certain rotor
brake kit installed.
EASA AD 2021-0067 was prompted by a report of un-commanded
activation of the rotor brake system before take-off due to a jammed
rotor brake control cable and subsequent partially open brake control
valve. This resulted in hydraulic pressure delivered to the rotor
brake, even with the rotor brake lever in the OFF position. To address
this condition, EASA AD 2021-0067 requires repetitive inspections of
the rotor brake control cable and replacement, if necessary. The FAA is
issuing this AD to address un-commanded activation of the rotor brake
system, which could lead to failure of the rotor brake system with
consequent damage to surrounding critical equipment, resulting in loss
of control of the helicopter.

Related IBR Material Under 1 CFR Part 51

EASA AD 2021-0067 specifies, within 50 hours and thereafter at
intervals not to exceed 100 hours, repetitively inspecting the rotor
brake control cable and replacing the control cable if the cylindrical
nipple does not rotate freely, if the control cable jams when running
inside the sheath, or if there is any damage or wear. EASA AD 2021-0067
also prohibits installing an affected rotor brake control cable on any
helicopter unless it first passes the required inspection and requires
reporting information to the manufacturer. 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 products 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 issuing this AD after
determining that the unsafe condition described previously is likely to
exist or develop on other products of these same type designs.

Requirements of This AD

This AD requires accomplishing the actions specified in EASA AD
2021-0067, described previously, as incorporated by reference, except
for any differences identified in the regulatory text of this 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 some 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 to use this process. As a result, EASA AD 2021-0067 is
incorporated by reference in this FAA final rule. This AD would,
therefore, require compliance with EASA AD 2021-0067 in its entirety,
through that incorporation, except for any differences identified in
the regulatory text of this 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 required by EASA AD 2021-0067 for compliance is
available on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov by searching
for and locating Docket No. FAA-2021-0672.

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 un-commanded activation of the rotor brake system due to a
jammed rotor brake control cable and subsequent partially open brake
control valve could lead to failure of the rotor brake system, with
consequent loss of control of the helicopter. In addition, the
compliance time for the required action is shorter than the time
necessary for the public to comment and for publication of the final
rule. Based on the average flight-hour utilization rates of these
helicopters, the initial corrective actions must be completed within
about two months. 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, 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.

Comments Invited

The FAA invites you to send any written relevant data, views, or
arguments about this AD. Send your comments to an address listed under
ADDRESSES. Include ``Docket No. FAA-2021-0672; Project Identifier MCAI-
2021-00304-R'' at the beginning of your comments. The most helpful
comments reference a specific portion of the AD, 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
AD 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 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 AD 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 AD, 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 AD. Submissions containing CBI should be sent to Darren
Gassetto, Aerospace Engineer, COS Program Management Section,
Operational Safety Branch, FAA, 1600 Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury,
NY 11590; phone: (516) 228-7323; email: Darren.Gassetto@faa.gov. Any
commentary that the FAA receives that is not specifically designated as
CBI will be placed in the public docket for this rulemaking.

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)

The requirements of the 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 153 helicopters of U.S.
registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this AD:

Estimated Costs for Inspection

The FAA estimates the following costs to do any on-condition
replacement that would be required based on the results of the
inspections. The FAA has no way of determining the number of
helicopters that might need this replacement:

Estimated Costs of On-Condition Actions *

The FAA has included all known costs in this cost estimate.
According to the manufacturer, however, some or all of the costs of
this AD may be covered under warranty, thereby reducing the cost impact
on affected operators.

Paperwork Reduction Act

A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not
required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to penalty for
failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of
information displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB
control number for this information collection is 2120-0056. Public
reporting for this collection of information is estimated to be
approximately 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, completing and reviewing the collection of
information. All responses to this collection of information are
mandatory. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other
aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this
burden to: Information Collection Clearance Officer, Federal Aviation
Administration, 10101 Hillwood Pkwy., Fort Worth, TX 76177-1524.

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 would not have federalism
implications under Executive Order 13132. This 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 regulation:
(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.

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 adding the following new airworthiness
directive: