DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2023-0426; Project Identifier MCAI-2022-01324-A]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. 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)
2021-10-28, which applies to all Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. (Pilatus) Model
PC-24 airplanes. AD 2021-10-28 requires incorporating new revisions to
the airworthiness limitations section (ALS) of the existing airplane
maintenance manual (AMM) or Instructions for Continued Airworthiness
(ICA) to incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations.
Since the FAA issued AD 2021-10-28, the FAA has determined that new or
more restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary. This proposed
AD would require revising the ALS of the existing AMM or ICA for your
airplane, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) 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 NPRM by April 24, 2023.

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-2023-0426; 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 material that is proposed for IBR in this NPRM,
contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; phone:
+49 221 8999 000; email: ADs@easa.europa.eu; website: easa.europa.eu.
You may find this material on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu.
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: Doug Rudolph, Aviation Safety
Engineer, General Aviation & Rotorcraft Section, International
Validation Branch, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, MO 64106; phone:
(816) 329-4059; email: doug.rudolph@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-2023-0426; Project Identifier
MCAI-2022-01324-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 Doug
Rudolph, Aviation Safety Engineer, General Aviation & Rotorcraft
Section, International Validation Branch, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas
City, MO 64106. 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 2021-10-28, Amendment 39-21561 (86 FR 30763, June
10, 2021) (AD 2021-10-28), for all Pilatus Model PC-24 airplanes. AD
2021-10-28 was prompted by MCAI originated by EASA, which is the
Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Union. EASA
issued AD 2020-0202, dated September 22, 2020 (EASA AD 2020-0202) to
prevent reduction in the structural integrity of the airframe and
components, as well as an unrecognized failure of the manual pitch
trim, which could lead to loss of control of the airplane. This
prompted the FAA to issue AD 2021-10-28.
AD 2021-10-28 requires incorporating new revisions to the ALS of
the existing AMM or ICA to incorporate new tasks for the control column
sprocket gear assembly and control wheel column assembly, to address
the new limit of validity and update the usage assumptions and
conditions for operations on unpaved and grass runways, and to correct
an error in the horizontal stabilizer primary trim system secondary
power source operational test.

Actions Since AD 2021-10-28 Was Issued

Since the FAA issued AD 2021-10-28, EASA superseded EASA AD 2020-
0202 and issued EASA AD 2022-0207, dated October 10, 2022 (EASA AD
2022-0207) (referred to after this as the MCAI), for all Pilatus Model
PC-24 airplanes. The MCAI states that new or more restrictive tasks and
limitations have been developed. These new or more restrictive
airworthiness limitations include introducing new Certification
Maintenance Requirement (CMR) Task AL-24-60-004, Emergency Power
Contactor 2, by converting the existing Scheduled Maintenance Task SM-
24-60-0004, Emergency Contactor 2 Test (EC2 Test) into that CMR task.
The FAA is issuing this AD to address failure of certain parts, which
could result in loss of control of the airplane. Additionally, the
actions required to address the unsafe condition in AD 2021-10-28 are
included in ``the applicable ALS,'' as defined in EASA AD 2022-0207.
You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under
Docket No. FAA-2023-0426.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

EASA AD 2022-0207 requires certain actions and associated
thresholds and intervals, including life limits and maintenance tasks.
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 is approved for operation in the United States.
Pursuant to the FAA's bilateral agreement with the State of Design
Authority, it has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in
the MCAI described 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 retain none of the requirements of AD 2021-
10-28. This proposed AD would require revising the ALS of the existing
AMM or ICA for your airplane as specified in EASA AD 2022-0207,
described previously. The owner/operator (pilot) holding at least a
private pilot certificate may revise the ALS of the existing AMM
or ICA for your airplane, and performance of this incorporation must be
entered into the aircraft records showing compliance with this AD in
accordance with 14 CFR 43.9(a) and 14 CFR 91.417(a)(2)(v). The record
must be maintained as required by 14 CFR 91.417, 121.380, or 135.439.

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 EASA AD 2022-0207 by reference in the FAA
final rule. Service information required by the EASA AD for compliance
will be available at regulations.gov by searching for and locating
Docket No. FAA-2023-0426 after the FAA final rule is published.

Differences Between This Proposed AD and EASA AD 2022-0207

Paragraph (2) of EASA AD 2022-0207 requires corrective action in
accordance with the applicable Pilatus maintenance documentation or
contacting Pilatus for approved instructions and accomplishing those
instructions accordingly. Paragraph (3) of EASA AD 2022-0207 requires
revising the approved aircraft maintenance program. Paragraph (4) of
EASA AD 2022-0207 provides credit for performing actions in accordance
with previous revisions of the Pilatus AMM. Paragraph (5) of EASA AD
2022-0207 explains that after revision of the approved aircraft
maintenance program, it is not necessary to record accomplishment of
individual actions for demonstration of AD compliance. This proposed AD
would not require compliance with paragraphs (2) through (5) of EASA AD
2022-0207.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would
affect 73 airplanes of U.S. registry. Labor rates are estimated at $85
per work-hour. Based on these figures, the FAA estimates that revising
the ALS of the existing AMM or ICA for your airplane would require
about 1 work-hour for an estimated cost on U.S. operators of $6,205 or
$85 per airplane.

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 (AD) 2021-10-28, Amendment 39-21561
(86 FR 30763, June 10, 2021); and

b. Adding the following new AD: