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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 39
[Docket No. FAA-2024-0453; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-00068-R;
Amendment 39-22689; AD 2024-04-10]
RIN 2120-AA64
Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Helicopters Deutschland GmbH
(AHD) 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 all
Airbus Helicopters Deutschland GmbH (AHD) Model EC135P1, EC135P2,
EC135P2+, EC135P3, EC135T1, EC135T2, EC135T2+, EC135T2, EC135T3, and
EC635T2+ helicopters. This AD was prompted by a report of a separated
tail rotor (T/R) blade due to a crack which was caused by intergranular
corrosion. This AD requires repetitively inspecting certain part-
numbered T/R blades for a crack and, depending on the results, removing
any cracked T/R blade from service. This AD also prohibits installing
certain T/R blades on any helicopter unless certain requirements are
met. These actions are specified in a European Union Aviation Safety
Agency (EASA) emergency AD, which is incorporated by reference. The FAA
is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
DATES: This AD is effective March 19, 2024.
The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by
reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of March 19,
2024.
The FAA must receive comments on this AD by April 18, 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-2024-0453; 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 final rule, the EASA emergency 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 final rule, contact
Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999
000; email ADs@easa.europa.eu; website easa.europa.eu. You may find the
EASA material on the EASA website ad.easa.europa.eu.
You may view this material at the FAA, Office of the
Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, 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-2024-0453.
Other Related Service Information: For Airbus Helicopters service
information identified in this final rule, contact Airbus Helicopters,
2701 North Forum Drive, Grand Prairie, TX 75052; phone (972) 641-0000
or (800) 232-0323; fax (972) 641-3775; or at airbus.com/en/products-services/helicopters/hcare-services/airbusworld.
You may also view this
service information at the FAA contact information under Material
Incorporated by Reference above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan McCully, Aviation Safety Engineer,
FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone
(303) 342-1080; email william.mccully@faa.gov.
Comments Invited
The FAA invites you to send any written data, views, or arguments
about this final rule. Send your comments to an address listed under
ADDRESSES. Include ``Docket No. FAA-2024-0453; Project Identifier MCAI-
2024-00068-R'' at the beginning of your comments. The most helpful
comments reference a specific portion of the final rule, 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 final rule 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 final rule.
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 Dan
McCully, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410,
Westbury, NY 11590; telephone (303) 342-1080; email
william.mccully@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 Emergency AD
2024-0028-E, dated January 25, 2024 (EASA AD 2024-0028-E), to correct
an unsafe condition on Airbus Helicopters Deutschland GmbH Model EC135
P1, EC135 P2, EC135 P2+, EC135 P3, EC135 T1, EC135 T2, EC135 T2+, EC135
T3, EC635 P2+, EC635 P3, EC635 T1, EC635 T2+, and EC635 T3 helicopters.
This AD was prompted by a report of increased vibrations of the T/R
which was the result of a separated T/R blade due to a crack on the T/R
assembly. Further investigation determined that the affected parts can
be subject to intergranular corrosion, possibly leading to cracks. The
FAA is issuing this AD to detect and address cracks in the affected T/R
blades. The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in
separation of a T/R blade assembly and subsequent reduced control of
the helicopter.
You may examine the EASA AD in the AD docket at regulations.gov
under Docket No. FAA-2024-0453.
Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51
The FAA reviewed EASA AD 2024-0028-E, which specifies procedures
for repetitively inspecting affected T/R blades for a crack and if a
crack is detected, replacing the affected T/R blade with a serviceable
part as defined in EASA AD 2024-0028-E. EASA AD 2024-0028-E also
specifies that installing an affected part is allowed provided that it
is a serviceable part as defined in EASA AD 2024-0028-E. Lastly, EASA
AD 2024-0028-E also specifies that replacing an affected T/R blade
assembly with an eligible T/R blade assembly that is not an affected
part constitutes terminating action for certain repetitive inspections.
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 Airbus Helicopters Emergency Alert Service
Bulletin No. EC135-64-11-0001, Issue 001, dated January 25, 2024. This
service information specifies procedures for inspecting the T/R blade
for any crack and replacing the T/R blade if necessary. This service
information also specifies sending an affected T/R blade along with
certain information to Airbus Helicopters.
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 this State of Design
Authority, it has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in
the EASA emergency AD referenced above. The FAA is issuing this AD
after determining that the unsafe condition described previously is
likely to exist or develop on other products of the same type designs.
AD Requirements
This AD requires accomplishing the actions specified in EASA AD
2024-0028-E, 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
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,
EASA AD 2024-0028-E is incorporated by reference in this FAA final
rule. This AD, therefore, requires compliance with EASA AD 2024-0028-E
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 EASA AD 2024-0028-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 AD 2024-0028-E. Service information
referenced in EASA AD 2024-0028-E for compliance will be available at
regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-0453 after this final rule is
published.
Differences Between This AD and the EASA AD
EASA AD 2024-0028-E applies to Airbus Helicopters Model EC635 P2+,
EC635 P3, EC635 T1, and EC635 T3 helicopters, whereas this AD does not
because these models are not FAA type-certificated.
The service information referenced in EASA AD 2024-0028-E specifies
inspecting for cracks by performing either a dye-penetrant inspection,
eddy current inspection, or fluorescent penetrant inspection, whereas
this AD does not. Instead, this AD requires inspecting for cracks using
a fluorescent penetrant inspection or eddy current inspection,
performed by a Level II or Level III inspector certified in the FAA-
acceptable standards for nondestructive inspection personnel.
Where the service information referenced in EASA AD 2024-0028-E
specifies reporting certain information and returning an unserviceable
part to Airbus Helicopter, this AD does not require these actions.
Interim Action
The FAA considers that this AD is an interim action. If final
action is later identified, the FAA might consider further rulemaking
then.
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.
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 forgoing notice and comment prior to adoption of this rule
because each T/R blade is critical to the control of a helicopter and
the FAA also has no information pertaining to how quickly a cracked T/R
blade may propagate to failure. Additionally, affected T/R blades are
installed on high usage helicopters, which could increase the
likeliness of occurrence of a failure. In light of this, the initial
action required by this AD must be accomplished before further flight
or within 10 hours time-in-service for some helicopters, which is
shorter than the time necessary for the public to comment and for
publication of the final rule. Accordingly, notice and opportunity for
prior public comment are impracticable and contrary to the 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, for the same reasons the FAA found good cause to
forgo notice and comment.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (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 prior notice and
comment, RFA analysis is not required.
Costs of Compliance
The FAA estimates that this AD affects 363 helicopters of U.S.
registry. Labor costs are estimated at $85 per work-hour. Based on
these numbers, the FAA estimates the following costs to comply with
this AD.
Inspecting an affected T/R blade assembly for any crack takes up to
3 work-hours and parts cost approximately $50 for an estimated cost of
up to $3,050 per helicopter (there may be up to 10 affected T/R blades
per helicopter) and up to $1,107,150 for the U.S. fleet, per inspection
cycle. Replacing a T/R blade takes approximately 3 work-hours and parts
cost approximately $4,900 for an estimated cost of $5,155 per T/R
blade.
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
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 that this AD:
(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:
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