DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-2140; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-00242-T]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Embraer S.A. (Type Certificate
Previously Held by Yabor[atilde] Ind[uacute]stria Aeron[aacute]utica
S.A.; 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 adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD)
for all Embraer S.A. Model EMB-120, -120ER, -120FC, -120QC, and -120RT
airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a structural assessment,
which found that a fuselage longitudinal skin splice and panel between
certain frames is susceptible to cracking. This proposed AD would
require performing repetitive inspections of the fuselage center I
longitudinal skin splice and applicable corrective actions, as
specified in an Ag[ecirc]ncia Nacional de Avia[ccedil][atilde]o Civil
(ANAC) 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 November 1, 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-2024-2140; 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 AD, contact National
Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), Aeronautical Products Certification
Branch (GGCP), Rua Dr. Orlando Feirabend Filho, 230--Centro Empresarial
Aquarius--Torre B--Andares 14 a 18, Parque Residencial Aquarius, CEP
12.246-190--S[atilde]o Jos[eacute] 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 sistemas.anac.gov.br/
certificacao/DA/DAE.asp.

     You may view this material 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. It is also available at regulations.gov
under Docket No. FAA-2024-2140.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hassan Ibrahim, Aviation Safety
Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590;
phone: 206-231-3653; email: Hassan.M.Ibrahim@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 section. Include "Docket No. FAA-2024-2140; Project
Identifier MCAI-2024-00242-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 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
Hassan Ibrahim, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue,
Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: 206-231-3653; email:
Hassan.M.Ibrahim@faa.gov. Any commentary that the FAA receives that is
not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket
for this rulemaking.

Background

    ANAC, which is the aviation authority for Brazil, has issued ANAC
AD 2024-04-02R01, effective May 31, 2024 (ANAC AD 2024-04-02R01) (also
referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition for all
Embraer S.A. Model EMB-120, -120ER, -120FC, -120QC, and -120RT
airplanes. The MCAI states that a structural assessment found that the
fuselage center I longitudinal skin splice and panel between frames 22
and 23 is susceptible to cracking. The assessment found cracks
associated with damage at multiple sites that are typically too small
to be reliably detected with current inspection methods. Without
intervention, these cracks may grow,
and could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

    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-2024-2140.

Material Incorporated by Reference Under 1 CFR Part 51

    ANAC AD 2024-04-02R01 specifies initial and repetitive high-
frequency eddy current inspections for discrepancies (including cracks,
corrosion, scratches and nicks) of the fuselage center I longitudinal
skin splice and panel between frames 22 and 23, from the internal and
external sides of the fuselage. ANAC AD 2024-04-02R01 further specifies
corrective actions including obtaining and implementing instructions
for repair and reporting of the inspection results. 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 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
in 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 2024-04-02R01 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 ANAC AD 2024-04-02R01 by reference in the
FAA final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance
with ANAC AD 2024-04-02R01 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 2024-04-02R01
for compliance will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No.
FAA-2024-2140 after the FAA final rule is published.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would
affect 51 airplanes of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following
costs to comply with this proposed AD:

                                      Estimated Costs for Required Actions

    The FAA has received no definitive data on which to base the cost
estimates for the corrective actions specified in this proposed AD.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not
required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for
failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of
information displays a current valid OMB Control Number. The OMB
Control Number for this information collection is 2120-0056. Public
reporting for this collection of information is estimated to take
approximately 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the
collection of information. All responses to this collection of
information are mandatory. Send comments regarding this burden estimate
or any other aspect of this collection of information, including
suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Information Collection
Clearance Officer, Federal Aviation Administration, 10101 Hillwood
Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177-1524.

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: