DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-2020; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-00303-A]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Embraer S.A. 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)
2023-21-06, which applies to certain Embraer S.A. (Embraer) Model EMB-
505 airplanes. AD 2023-21-06 requires installing structural
reinforcements on certain monuments and replacing certain floor support
rivets. Since the FAA issued AD 2023-21-06, the FAA has determined that
certain airplanes need to be re-assigned to a different group and
certain re-identified floor support part numbers need to be corrected.
This proposed AD would require installing structural reinforcements on
monuments and replacing fasteners on the floor support, as specified in
an Agencia Nacional de Aviacao Civil (ANAC) 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 September 30, 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-2024-2020; 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 ANAC material identified in this proposed AD, contact
ANAC, Continuing Airworthiness Technical Branch (GTAC), Rua Doutor
Orlando Feirabend Filho, 230--Centro Empresarial Aquarius--Torre B--
Andares 14 a 18, Parque Residencial Aquarius, CEP 12.246-190--
Sao Jose dos Campos--SP, Brazil; phone: 55 (12) 3203-
6600; email: anac.gov.br">pac@anac.gov.br; website: anac.gov.br/en/. You may find
this material on the ANAC website at sistemas.anac.gov.br/certificacao/
DA/DAE.asp. It is also available at regulations.gov under Docket No.
FAA-2024-2020.

You may view this material 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: Jim Rutherford, Aviation Safety
Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590;
phone: (816) 329-4165; email: jim.rutherford@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-2024-2020; Project Identifier
MCAI-2024-00303-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 Jim
Rutherford, 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 2023-21-06, Amendment 39-22578 (88 FR 85093,
December 7, 2023) (AD 2023-21-06), for certain serial-numbered Embraer
Model EMB-505 airplanes. AD 2023-21-06 was prompted by an MCAI
originated by ANAC, which is the aviation authority for Brazil. ANAC
issued ANAC AD 2023-05-03, effective June 2, 2023 (ANAC AD 2023-05-03)
to correct an unsafe condition.

AD 2023-21-06 requires installing structural reinforcements on
certain monuments and replacing certain floor support rivets. The FAA
issued AD 2023-21-06 to address certain monuments (the right-hand
refreshment center and left-hand forward cabinet) that might not
withstand the loads expected for specific emergency landing conditions,
which may cause the detachment of mass items and result in injuries to
the airplane occupants.

Actions Since AD 2023-21-06 Was Issued

Since the FAA issued AD 2023-21-06, ANAC superseded ANAC AD 2023-
05-03 and issued ANAC AD 2023-05-03R01, effective March 8, 2024 (ANAC
AD 2023-05-03R01) for certain serial-numbered Embraer Model EMB-505
airplanes. ANAC AD 2023-05-03R01 states it was issued to incorporate
Embraer Service Bulletin SB505-25-0046, Revision 02, dated February 19,
2024, which updates effectivity information, compliance information,
and part number information.

ANAC superseded ANAC AD 2023-05-03R01 and issued ANAC AD 2023-05-
03R02, effective May 17, 2024 (ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02) (also referred to
as the MCAI) for certain serial-numbered Embraer Model EMB-505
airplanes. The MCAI states it was issued to incorporate Embraer Service
Bulletin SB505-25-0046, Revision 03, dated May 6, 2024 (actual date May
7, 2024), which includes additional actions for certain airplane groups
that had complied with the requirements of ANAC AD 2023-05-03R01 but
had not yet installed part number (P/N) 506-66837-001 and updates the
effectivity information, compliance information, and part number
information.

The FAA is issuing this AD to address certain monuments that might
not withstand the loads expected for specific emergency landing
conditions, which may cause the detachment of mass items and result in
injuries to the airplane occupants.

You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under
Docket No. FAA-2024-2020.

Material Incorporated by Reference Under 1 CFR Part 51

The FAA reviewed ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02, which specifies procedures
for installing structural reinforcements on certain monuments and
replacing certain fasteners on the floor support.

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.

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 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 ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02 described previously, 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 MCAI."

Differences Between This Proposed AD and the MCAI

The material specified in ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02 allows the use of
alternative or similar parts in place of the ones specified in the
kits, provided these alternative or similar parts are approved by
Embraer, but this proposed AD would require approval from either the
Manager, International Validation Branch, FAA; ANAC; or ANAC's
authorized Designee. If approved by the ANAC Designee, the approval
must include the Designee's authorized signature.

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 ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02 by reference in the
FAA final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance
with ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02 in its entirety through that incorporation,
except for any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory
text of this proposed AD. Material required by ANAC AD 2023-05-03R02
for compliance will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No.
FAA-2024-2020 after the FAA final rule is published.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would
affect 208 airplanes of U.S. registry.

The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this proposed AD:

Estimated Costs

The FAA estimates the following costs for the additional work that
operators would be required to do for compliance with this proposed AD
if they completed the actions in the original version of Embraer
Service Bulletin SB505-25-0046, dated March 31, 2021; Service Bulletin
SB505-25-0046, Revision 01, dated May 8, 2023; or Service Bulletin
SB505-25-0046, Revision 02, dated February 19, 2024. The agency has no
way of determining the number of airplanes that might need these
actions:

Estimated Costs

The FAA has included all known costs in its cost estimate.
According to the manufacturer, however, all of the costs of this
proposed AD may be covered under warranty, thereby reducing the cost
impact on affected operators.

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 2023-21-06, Amendment 39-22578 (88
FR 85093, December 7, 2023); and

b. Adding the following new airworthiness directive: