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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 39
[Docket No. FAA-2024-1480; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-00930-A]
RIN 2120-AA64
Airworthiness Directives; DAHER (Type Certificate Previously Held
by SOCATA) Airplanes
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive
(AD)
2016-08-08, which applies to all SOCATA (type certificate now held by
DAHER) Model MS 880B, MS 885, MS 892A-150, MS 892E-150, MS 893A, MS
893E, MS 894A, MS 894E, Rallye 100S, Rallye 150ST, Rallye 150T, Rallye
235C, and Rallye 235E airplanes. AD 2016-08-08 requires doing
repetitive detailed visual inspections of the intersection between the
axle radius and the nose landing gear (NLG) fork area for chafing;
doing repetitive dye penetrant inspections on the NLG wheel axle for
cracks, distortion, and nicks or wear; doing corrective actions if
necessary; and replacing the NLG wheel axle attachment screws with new
screws. Since the FAA issued AD 2016-08-08, the European Union Aviation
Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical Agent for the Member
States of the European Union, superseded the previous EASA AD to
introduce a new inspection method and a new design for the affected NLG
wheel axle that provides terminating action for the repetitive
inspections, as specified in updated service information published by
the manufacturer. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe
condition on these products.
DATES: The FAA must receive comments on this NPRM by July 19, 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-2024-1480; 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 service information, contact Daher Aerospace, Customer
Support, Airplane Division, 65921 Tarbes Cedex 9, France; phone: 33
(0)5 62.41.73.00; email: daher.com">tbmcare@daher.com; website: daher.com.
You may view this service information at the FAA,
Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 901 Locust,
Kansas City, MO 64106. For information on the availability of this
material at the FAA, call (817) 222-5110.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fred Guerin, Aviation Safety Engineer,
FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: (206)
231-2346; email: fred.guerin@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-2024-1480; Project Identifier
MCAI-2023-00930-A'' 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 Fred
Guerin, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410,
Westbury, NY 11590. Any commentary that the FAA receives which is not
specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for
this rulemaking.
Background
The FAA issued AD 2016-08-08, Amendment 39-18484 (81 FR 21711,
April 13, 2016) (AD 2016-08-08), for SOCATA (type certificate now held
by DAHER) Model MS 880B, MS 885, MS 892A-150, MS 892E-150, MS 893A, MS
893E, MS 894A, MS 894E, Rallye 100S, Rallye 150ST, Rallye 150T, Rallye
235C, and Rallye 235E airplanes. AD 2016-08-08 was prompted by MCAI
originated by EASA. EASA issued AD 2015-0203, dated October 7, 2015
(EASA AD 2015-0203) to correct an unsafe condition identified as
fatigue failure of the NLG wheel axle. EASA AD 2015-0203 required
retaining the requirements of Direction G[eacute]n[eacute]rale de
l'Aviation Civile (DGAC) France AD 91-
163(A)R2, dated March 30, 1994, which was superseded, but required
those actions to be accomplished within reduced intervals.
AD 2016-08-08 requires doing repetitive detailed visual inspections
of the intersection between the axle radius and the NLG fork area for
chafing; doing repetitive dye penetrant inspections on the NLG wheel
axle for cracks, distortion, and nicks or wear; corrective actions if
necessary; and replacing the NLG wheel axle attachment screws with new
screws. The FAA issued AD 2016-08-08 to address chafing and cracking of
the NLG wheel axle, which could lead to failure of the NLG with
consequent damage to the airplane and/or injury to occupants.
Actions Since AD 2016-08-08 Was Issued
Since the FAA issued AD 2016-08-08, EASA superseded EASA AD 2015-
0203 and issued EASA AD 2023-0080, dated April 17, 2023 (EASA AD 2023-
0080) (also referred to as the MCAI) to correct an unsafe condition for
all DAHER AEROSPACE Model MS 880 B, MS 880 B-D, MS 881, MS 883, MS 884,
MS 885, MS 886, MS 887, MS 890 A, MS 890 B, MS 892 A.150, MS 892 B.150,
MS 892 E.150, MS 892 E-D.150, MS 893 A, MS 893 B, MS 893 E, MS 893 E-D,
MS 894 A, MS 894 E, RALLYE 100 S, RALLYE 100 S-D, RALLYE 100 ST, RALLYE
100 ST-D, RALLYE 110 ST, RALLYE 150 ST, RALLYE 150 ST-D, RALLYE 150 T,
RALLYE 150 T-D, RALLYE 150 SV, RALLYE 150 SVS, RALLYE 180 T, RALLYE 180
TS, RALLYE 180 T-D, RALLYE 235 A, RALLYE 235 F, RALLYE 235 E, and
RALLYE 235 E-D airplanes.
The MCAI states that it retains the requirements of EASA AD 2015-
0203 but introduces a new inspection method and a new design of the NLG
wheel axle as a terminating action for the repetitive detailed
inspections. The FAA is issuing this AD to address chafing and cracking
of the NLG wheel axle, which could lead to failure of the NLG with
consequent damage to the airplane and injury to occupants.
You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under
Docket No. FAA-2024-1480.
Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51
The FAA reviewed Daher Service Bulletin SB 150-32, Revision 4,
dated January 2023. This service information specifies procedures for
preparing, inspecting, replacing, and reconditioning the NLG wheel
axle. This service information also specifies procedures for replacing
the NLG wheel axle attachment screws.
This service information is reasonably available because the
interested parties have access to it through their normal course of
business or by the means identified in ADDRESSES.
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 MCAI and service information 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 retain none of the requirements of AD 2016-
08-08. This proposed AD would require repetitively inspecting the NLG
wheel axle and, if chafing, cracking, or damage is found, installing
the newly designed NLG wheel axle, which would terminate the need for
the repetitive inspections. This proposed AD would also require
repetitively replacing the NLG wheel axle attachment screws.
Differences Between This Proposed AD and the MCAI
The applicability of the MCAI includes DAHER AEROSPACE Model MS
886, MS 887, MS 890 A, MS 890 B, MS 892 B.150, MS 892 E-D.150, MS 893
B, MS 893 E-D, RALLYE 100 S-D, RALLYE 100 ST, RALLYE 100 ST-D, RALLYE
110 ST, RALLYE 150 ST-D, RALLYE 150 T-D, RALLYE 150 SV, RALLYE 150 SVS,
RALLYE 180 T, RALLYE 180 TS, RALLYE 180 T-D, RALLYE 235 A, RALLYE 235
F, and RALLYE 235 E-D airplanes and the applicability of this proposed
AD would not because these models do not have an FAA type certificate.
Costs of Compliance
The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would
affect 32 airplanes of U.S. registry.
The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this proposed
AD:
Estimated Costs
| Action |
Labor cost |
Parts cost |
Cost per product |
Cost on U.S. operators |
| Magnetic particle inspection |
1 work-hour x $85 per hour =
$85 |
$100 |
$185 |
$5,920 |
| Inspection of the NLG wheel
bearing and axle surface
and attachment
screws |
2 work-hours x $85 per hour =
$170 (per inspection cycle) |
$100 |
$270 (per inspection
cycle) |
$8,640 |
| NLG wheel axle attachment screw
replacement |
1 work-hour x $85 per hour =
$85 (per cycle) |
$50 (per cycle) |
$135 (per cycle) |
$4,320 (per cycle) |
The FAA estimates the following costs
to do any necessary actions
that would be required based on the results of the proposed
inspections. The agency has no way of determining the number of
airplanes that might need these actions:
On-Condition Costs
|
Action
|
Labor cost
|
Parts cost
|
Cost per
product
|
| Installation of a nose gear wheel
axle (including NLG wheel spacer) |
2 work-hours x $85 per hour =
$170
|
$1,000
|
$1,170
|
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 that the 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 2016-08-08, Amendment 39-18484 (81
FR 21711, April 13, 2016); and
b. Adding the following new airworthiness directive:
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