DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2022-1238; Project Identifier MCAI-2022-00741-T]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Dassault Aviation Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD)
2022-09-15, which applies to all Dassault Aviation Model FALCON 2000
and FALCON 2000EX airplanes. AD 2022-09-15 requires relocating affected
servo-valves and revising the existing airplane flight manual (AFM) to
provide temporary information necessary to operate airplanes fitted
with at least one affected brake servo-valve. This AD was prompted by a
determination that replacing certain brake servo-valves is necessary to
address the unsafe condition. This proposed AD would continue to
require the actions in AD 2022-09-15 and would require replacing an
affected part with a serviceable part, as specified in a European Union
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is proposed for incorporation
by reference (IBR). This proposed AD would also limit or prohibit the
installation of affected brake servo-valves. 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 December 5,
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 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.
AD Docket: You may examine the AD docket at regulations.gov under
Docket No. FAA-2022-1238; 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 mandatory continuing airworthiness
information (MCAI), any comments received, and other information. The
street address for Docket Operations is listed above.
Material Incorporated by Reference:
For the EASA AD identified in this NPRM, you may contact
EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221
8999 000; email ADs@easa.europa.eu; website easa.europa.eu. You may
find this material on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu. It is also
available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2022-1238. Or,
You may view this service information at the FAA,
Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South
216th St., Des Moines, WA. For information on the availability of this
material at the FAA, call 206-231-3195.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Rodriguez, Aerospace Engineer,
Large Aircraft Section, FAA, International Validation Branch, 2200
South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; telephone 206-231-3226; email
Tom.Rodriguez@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-2022-1238; Project Identifier
MCAI-2022-00741-T'' 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
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 Tom
Rodriguez, Aerospace Engineer, Large Aircraft Section, FAA,
International Validation Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA
98198; telephone 206-231-3226; email Tom.Rodriguez@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

EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the
European Union, issued EASA Emergency AD 2022-0068-E, dated April 14,
2022 (EASA Emergency AD 2022-0068-E) (also referred to as the MCAI), to
correct an unsafe condition for all Dassault Aviation Model FALCON 2000
and FALCON 2000EX airplanes. The FAA issued corresponding AD 2022-09-
15, Amendment 39-22035 (87 FR 29217, May 13, 2022) (AD 2022-09-15), for
all Dassault Aviation Model FALCON 2000 and FALCON 2000EX airplanes. AD
2022-09-15 requires relocating affected servo-valves and revising the
existing AFM to provide temporary information necessary to operate
airplanes fitted with at least one affected brake servo-valve. The FAA
issued AD 2022-09-15 to prevent temporary failure of the brake servo-
valves, which could lead to reduced braking performance during landing
including degraded or dissymmetric braking, possibly resulting in
reduced control of the airplane, lateral excursion of the runway, and
consequent damage to the airplane.

Actions Since AD 2022-09-15 Was Issued

EASA Emergency AD 2022-0068-E requires the replacement of all
affected brake servo-valves within 12 months. The preamble to FAA AD
2022-09-15 explained that the planned compliance time for that
replacement would have allowed enough time to provide notice and
opportunity for prior public comment on the merits of the action.
Therefore, AD 2022-09-15 did not require the replacement, and was
considered to be interim action pending the FAA's consideration of
further rulemaking to mandate the replacement of all affected brake
servo-valves.
This proposed AD was prompted by a determination that replacing
certain brake servo-valves is necessary and reports of brake system
failures during landing. Subsequent investigation determined the root
cause to be a brake servo-valve failure. A batch of brake servo-valves
has been identified during airplane production and maintenance with an
internal oil type that does not meet the manufacturer's cold
temperature specifications, which can lead to their failure. The FAA is
proposing this AD to prevent temporary failure of the brake servo-
valves, which could lead to reduced braking performance during landing
including degraded or dissymmetric braking, possibly resulting in
reduced control of the airplane, lateral excursion of the runway, and
consequent damage to the airplane. See the MCAI for additional
background information.

Explanation of Retained Requirements

Although this proposed AD does not explicitly restate the
requirements of AD 2022-09-15, this proposed AD would retain all of the
requirements of AD 2022-09-15. Those requirements are referenced in
EASA Emergency AD 2022-0068-E, which, in turn, is referenced in
paragraph (g) of this proposed AD.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

This proposed AD would require EASA Emergency AD 2022-0068-E, which
was approved for incorporation by reference as of May 31, 2022 (87 FR
29217, May 13, 2022). 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 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, it has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described
in the MCAI referenced above. The FAA is issuing this NPRM after
determining that the unsafe condition described previously is likely to
exist or develop in other products of these same type designs.

Proposed AD Requirements in this NPRM

This proposed AD would retain all of the requirements of AD 2022-
09-15. This proposed AD would also require replacing affected brake
servo-valves.
EASA Emergency AD 2022-0068-E requires operators to ``inform all
flight crews'' of revisions to the AFM, and thereafter to ``operate the
aeroplane accordingly.'' However, this proposed AD would not
specifically require those actions as those actions are already
required by FAA regulations. FAA regulations require operators furnish
to pilots any changes to the AFM (for example, 14 CFR 121.137), and to
ensure the pilots are familiar with the AFM (for example, 14 CFR
91.505). As with any other flightcrew training requirement, training on
the updated AFM content is tracked by the operators and recorded in
each pilot's training record, which is available for the FAA to review.
FAA regulations also require pilots to follow the procedures in the
existing AFM including all updates. 14 CFR 91.9 requires that any
person operating a civil aircraft must comply with the operating
limitations specified in the AFM. Therefore, including a requirement in
this proposed AD to operate the airplane according to the revised AFM
would be redundant and unnecessary.

Explanation of Required Compliance Information

In the FAA's ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency of the AD
process, the FAA developed a process to use some civil aviation
authority (CAA) ADs as the primary source of information for compliance
with requirements for corresponding FAA ADs. The FAA has been
coordinating this process with manufacturers and CAAs. As a result, the
FAA proposes to retain the incorporation by reference of EASA Emergency
AD 2022-0068-E by reference in the FAA final rule. This proposed AD
would, therefore, require compliance with EASA Emergency AD 2022-0068-E
in its entirety through that incorporation, except for any differences
identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this proposed AD.
Using common terms that are the same as the heading of a particular
section in EASA Emergency AD 2022-0068-E 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 EASA Emergency
AD 2022-0068-E. Service information required by EASA Emergency AD 2022-
0068-E for compliance will be available at regulations.gov by searching
for and locating Docket No. FAA-2022-1238 after the FAA final rule is
published.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this proposed AD affects 441 airplanes of
U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with
this proposed AD:

Estimated Costs for Required Actions

According to the manufacturer, some or all of the costs of this
proposed AD may be covered under warranty, thereby reducing the cost
impact on affected individuals. The FAA does not control warranty
coverage for affected individuals. As a result, the FAA has included
all known costs in the cost estimate.

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:

a. Removing Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2022-09-15, Amendment 39-22035
(87 FR 29217, May 13, 2022); and

b. Adding the following new AD: