DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2021-1060; Project Identifier MCAI-2021-00340-R;
Amendment 39-21851; AD 2021-25-08]
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 AW189 helicopters. This AD was prompted
by the determination that certain part-numbered fairings were never
introduced into the main rotor (MR) tip lights kit design definition
and were not certified for icing conditions. This AD requires replacing
affected parts. This AD also prohibits, after modification of the
helicopter as required, installing any affected part on any helicopter
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 January 4, 2022.
The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by
reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of January 4,
2022.
The FAA must receive comments on this AD by February 3, 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 above between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
For EASA material incorporated by reference (IBR) in this AD,
contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone
+49 221 8999 000; email ADs@easa.europa.eu; internet
www.easa.europa.eu. You may find this IBR 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 the EASA material at the FAA, call (817) 222-5110. The EASA material
is also available at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and
locating Docket FAA-2021-1060.

Examining the AD Docket

You may examine the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov by
searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2021-1060; 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 EASA AD,
any comments received, and other information. The street address for
Docket Operations is listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrea Jimenez, Aerospace Engineer,
COS Program Management Section, Operational Safety Branch, Compliance &
Airworthiness Division, FAA, 1600 Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY
11590; telephone (516) 228-7330; email andrea.jimenez@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the
European Union, has issued EASA AD 2021-0078, dated March 17, 2021
(EASA AD 2021-0078) to correct an unsafe condition for certain Leonardo
S.p.A. (formerly Finmeccanica S.p.A, AgustaWestland S.p.A., Agusta
S.p.A.; and AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation, formerly Agusta
Aerospace Corporation) Model AW189 helicopters.
EASA AD 2021-0078 was prompted by a design review which identified
that fairing part number (P/N) 8G3340A12532 left-hand (LH) and P/N
8G3340A12632 right-hand (RH) used during icing trials activity
conducted for the certification of Full Ice Protection System and
Limited Ice Protection System kits had never been introduced in the MR
tip light kit P/N 8G3340F00411 design definition. The MR tip light kit
P/N 8G3340F00411 is currently composed of two other fairing part
numbers, P/N 8G3340A12531 LH and P/N 8G3340A12631 RH installed in the
vicinity of each engine air intake. EASA AD 2021-0078 advises the
fairing part numbers that are currently installed could cause
significant ice accretion during operations in icing conditions.
The FAA is issuing this AD to address ice shedding ingestion by the
engines, which could lead to a double engine in-flight shut-down and consequent
loss of control of the helicopter. See EASA AD 2021-0078 for additional
background information.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

EASA AD 2021-0078 specifies procedures for installation of rescue
hoist kit removable parts (temporary actions) and replacement of
affected parts with serviceable parts in accordance with the
manufacturer's service information. EASA AD 2021-0078 prohibits
installing any affected part after modification as required by the EASA
AD. EASA AD 2021-0078 considers the modification a terminating action
for the temporary actions required by the EASA AD.
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.

Other Related Service Information

The FAA reviewed Leonardo Helicopters Alert Service Bulletin
No.189-265, dated March 4, 2021. This service information provides
instructions to install the rescue hoist kit ``removable'' parts as a
temporary action until modification of the helicopter. This service
information also provides instructions to install the MR tip light
fairing modification P/N 8G3340P02411.

FAA's Determination

These products have been approved by the aviation authority of
another country, and are approved for operation in the United States.
Pursuant to the FAA's bilateral agreement with the State of Design
Authority, the FAA has been notified of the unsafe condition described
in EASA AD 2021-0078 referenced above. The FAA is issuing this AD after
evaluating all pertinent information and determining that the unsafe
condition exists and is likely to exist or develop on other products of
the same type design.

Requirements of This AD

This AD requires accomplishing the actions specified in EASA AD
2021-0078, described previously, as incorporated by reference, except
for any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of
this AD and except as discussed under ``Differences Between this AD and
EASA AD 2021-0078.''

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 certain 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 2021-0078 is
incorporated by reference in this AD. This AD, therefore, requires
compliance with EASA AD 2021-0078 in its entirety, through that
incorporation, except for any differences identified as exceptions 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 specified in EASA AD 2021-0078 that is required for
compliance with EASA AD 2021-0078 is available on the internet at
https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No.
FAA-2021-1060.

Differences Between This AD and EASA AD 2021-0078

Service information referenced in EASA AD 2021-0078 specifies
sending compliance forms to the manufacturer; this AD does not.
Paragraph (2) of EASA AD 2021-0078 specifies a compliance time of 400
flight hours or 12 months, whichever occurs first. However, this AD
requires a compliance time of 400 hours time-in-service after the
effective date of this AD. This AD does not require compliance with
paragraph (1) or paragraph (4) of EASA AD 2021-0078. EASA AD 2021-0078
paragraph (4) considers modification of the helicopter a terminating
action for installing the rescue hoist kit ``removable'' parts on the
helicopter. As this AD does not require installing the rescue hoist kit
``removable'' parts, this AD does not provide a terminating action for
installing the rescue hoist ``removable'' parts.

Justification for Immediate Adoption and Determination of the Effective
Date

Section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5
U.S.C. 551 et seq.) 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 providing notice and seeking
comment prior to issuance. Further, section 553(d) of the APA
authorizes agencies to make rules effective in less than thirty days,
upon a finding of good cause.
There are currently no domestic operators of these products
affected by the unsafe condition addressed by this AD. Accordingly,
notice and opportunity for prior public comment are unnecessary,
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B). In addition, for the foregoing
reasons, 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- FAA-2021-1060; Project Identifier
MCAI-2021-00340-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 Andrea Jimenez, Aerospace Engineer,
COS Program Management Section, Operational Safety Branch, Compliance &
Airworthiness Division, FAA, 1600 Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY
11590; telephone (516) 228-7330; email andrea.jimenez@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

There are no costs of compliance with this AD because there are
currently no helicopters with this type certificate on the U.S.
Registry that are affected by the unsafe condition addressed by this
AD.

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 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: