DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-0236; Project Identifier MCAI-2022-00066-R]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Leonardo S.p.a. 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 all Leonardo S.p.a. Model AW189 helicopters. This proposed AD was
prompted by a report of abnormal oscillatory behavior during automated
glide slope approaches, due to sealant on the glide slope (G/S) antenna
coaxial connectors. This proposed AD would require visually inspecting
certain G/S antennas and G/S antenna coaxial connectors for the
presence of any sealant; cleaning parts and removing any sealant;
performing an external G/S acceptance test procedure (ATP); and taking
corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD would also prohibit
installing certain G/S antennas and G/S antenna coaxial connecters.
These actions are specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) AD, which is proposed for incorporation by reference. The FAA is
proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: The FAA must receive comments on this NPRM by April 12, 2024.

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-2024-0236; 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 EASA AD, any comments received, and
other information. The street address for Docket Operations is listed
above.
Material Incorporated by Reference:
For EASA material identified in this NPRM, contact EASA,
Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999
000; email ADs@easa.europa.eu; internet easa.europa.eu. You may find
the EASA material on the EASA website at 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. The EASA material is also
available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-0236.
Other Related Service Information: For Leonardo Helicopters service
information identified in this NPRM, contact Leonardo S.p.A., Emanuele
Bufano, Head of Airworthiness, Viale G. Agusta 520, 21017 C. Costa di
Samarate (Va) Italy; telephone (+39) 0331-225074; fax (+39) 0331-
229046; or at customerportal.leonardocompany.com/en-US/. You may also
view this service information at the FAA contact information under
Material Incorporated by Reference above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sungmo Cho, Aviation Safety Engineer,
FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone (781)
238-7241; email: Sungmo.D.Cho@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-2024-0236; Project Identifier
MCAI-2022-00066-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
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
Sungmo Cho, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite
410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone (781) 238-7241; email:
Sungmo.D.Cho@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, has issued EASA AD 2022-0010, dated January 20, 2022
(EASA AD 2022-0010), to correct an unsafe condition on Leonardo S.p.A.
Model AW189 helicopters.
This proposed AD was prompted by a report of abnormal oscillatory
behavior during automated glide slope
approaches. Subsequent investigations identified sealant on the G/S
antenna coaxial connectors, which isolated it from its grounding plane.
The FAA is proposing this AD to detect and address the presence of
sealant on or around the G/S antenna, which if not addressed, could
lead to erratic signals from the G/S antenna and reduced capability of
the helicopter to perform safe automated approaches. See EASA AD 2022-
0010 for additional background information.
You may examine the EASA AD in the AD docket at regulations.gov
under Docket No. FAA-2024-0236.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

EASA AD 2022-0010 requires visually inspecting G/S antenna part
number (P/N) 6208-88-62 and G/S antenna coaxial connectors P/N PE4958,
which are both parts of G/S antenna kit P/N 8G3430F00111, for any
sealant. If any sealant is found, EASA AD 2022-0010 requires removing
any sealant, and performing further inspections and corrective actions.
EASA AD 2022-0010 also requires performing an ATP and depending on
the results, replacing and removing certain parts, and additional
tests. EASA AD 2022-0010 allows the affected G/S antenna and G/S
antenna coaxial connectors to be installed on a helicopter if certain
requirements are met.
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 ADDRESSES.

Other Related Service Information

The FAA also reviewed Leonardo Helicopters Alert Service Bulletin
No. 189-295, dated November 29, 2021. This service information
specifies procedures for visually inspecting the G/S antenna for the
presence of sealant; removing any sealant that is detected; removing
and replacing any affected parts; performing any corrective actions if
necessary, performing an ATP, which includes verifying flight display,
decibel milliwatts, and pass/fail information; and reporting certain
information to the manufacturer.

FAA's Determination

These helicopters 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 proposing this AD
after 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 accomplishing the actions specified
in EASA AD 2022-0010, described previously, as incorporated by
reference, except for any differences identified as exceptions in the
regulatory text of this proposed AD and except as discussed under
``Differences Between this Proposed AD and the EASA AD.''

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 incorporate EASA AD 2022-0010 by reference in the FAA
final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with
EASA AD 2022-0010 AD 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 AD 2022-0010 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 AD 2022-
0010. Service information referenced in EASA AD 2022-0010 for
compliance will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-
2024-0236 after the FAA final rule is published.

Differences Between This Proposed AD and the EASA AD

If any discrepancy is found during the ATP, EASA AD 2022-0010
requires replacing each affected part with a serviceable part, whereas
this proposed AD would require removing each affected part from service
and replacing it with a serviceable part.
Service information referenced in EASA AD 2022-0010 contains an
inspection report (ANNEX B), whereas this proposed AD would not require
completing that information.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would
affect 4 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.
Visually inspecting for sealant around the G/S antenna would take
about 5 work-hours for an estimated cost of $425 per helicopter and up
to $1,700 for the U.S. fleet.
If required, removing any sealant and cleaning any part would take
about 0.5 work-hour for an estimated cost of $43 per helicopter.
Performing an ATP would take about 1 work-hour for an estimated
cost of $85 per helicopter and up to $340 for the U.S. fleet.
If required, removing and replacing a G/S antenna, to include
removing and replacing the connectors would take about 3 work-hours and
parts would cost about $100,100 for an estimated cost of $100,355 per
helicopter.

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: