DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-1470; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-01284-T]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; MHI RJ Aviation ULC (Type Certificate
Previously Held by Bombardier, Inc.) Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD)
for certain MHI RJ Aviation ULC Model CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series
700, 701 & 702), CL-600-2D15 (Regional Jet Series 705), and CL-600-2D24
(Regional Jet Series 900) airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a
report that the electrical harnesses in the overhead bin above the
class divider may have insufficient or no separation with the class
divider mounting plate. This proposed AD would require inspecting the
overhead bin electrical harnesses at the class dividers, and modifying
the class divider mounting plate assembly or accomplishing a temporary
repair if necessary; and, eventually modifying the class divider
mounting plate assembly if a modification was not done after
accomplishing the inspection, as specified in a Transport Canada AD,
which is proposed for incorporation by reference (IBR). 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 July 15,
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-2024-1470; 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 Transport Canada material, contact Transport Canada,
Transport Canada National Aircraft Certification, 159 Cleopatra Drive,
Nepean, Ontario K1A 0N5, Canada; telephone 888-663-3639; email
TC.AirworthinessDirectives-Consignesdenavigabilite.TC@tc.gc.ca. You may
find this material on the Transport Canada website tc.canada.ca/en/
aviation.
You may view this service information at the FAA,
Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South
216th Street, Des Moines, WA. For information on the availability of
this material at the FAA, call 206-231-3195.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fatin Saumik, Aviation Safety
Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590;
telephone 516-228-7300; email: 9-avs-nyaco-cos@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-2024-1470; Project Identifier
MCAI-2023-01284-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
the 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 Fatin
Saumik, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410,
Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 516-228-7300; email: 9-avs-nyaco-cos@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

Transport Canada, which is the aviation authority for Canada, has
issued Transport Canada AD CF-2023-79, dated December 21, 2023
(Transport Canada AD CF-2023-79) (also referred to after this as the
MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition on certain MHI RJ Aviation ULC
Model CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series 700, 701 & 702), CL-600-2D15
(Regional Jet Series 705), and CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900)
airplanes. The MCAI states that the electrical harnesses in the
overhead bin above the class divider may have insufficient or no
separation with the class divider mounting plate. This condition, if
not corrected, could result in the electrical harnesses becoming
chafed, which could affect the following aircraft systems: ordinance
signs, emergency lights/signs, passenger oxygen, and passenger address
and air conditioning systems.
The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on
these products.
You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under
Docket No. FAA-2024-1470.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

Transport Canada AD CF-2023-79 specifies procedures for inspecting
the left-hand and right-hand overhead bin electrical harnesses at the
class divider for damage (e.g., chafing), and if damage is found,
modifying the class divider mounting plate assembly to improve the
overhead bin harnesses protection or accomplishing a temporary repair.
Transport Canada AD CF-2023-79 also specifies procedures for eventually
modifying the class divider mounting plate assembly if a modification
was not done after accomplishing the inspection (i.e., if a temporary
repair was done or if no damage was found after accomplishing the
inspection). 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

This product has been approved by the aviation authority of another
country and is 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 MCAI
referenced above. The FAA is issuing this NPRM after determining that
the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop
on other products of the same type design.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified
in the Transport Canada AD CF-2023-79 described previously, except for
any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this
proposed 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 Transport Canada AD CF-2023-79 by reference
in the FAA final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require
compliance with Transport Canada AD CF-2023-79 in its entirety through
that incorporation, except for any differences identified as exceptions
in the regulatory text of this proposed AD. Service information
required by Transport Canada AD CF-2023-79 for compliance will be
available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-1470 after the
FAA final rule is published.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would
affect 246 airplanes of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following
costs to comply with this proposed AD:

Estimated Costs for Required Actions

The FAA estimates the following costs to do any necessary on-
condition actions that would be required based on the results of any
required actions. The FAA has no way of determining the number of
aircraft that might need these on-condition actions:

Estimated Costs of On-Condition Actions *

* The FAA has received no definitive data on which to base the cost
estimates for the on-condition optional temporary repair specified in
this proposed 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 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: