Airworthiness Directives; Pilatus Britten-Norman Limited BN-2, BN-2A, BN-2B, and BN-2T Series Airplanes

[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 29 (Tuesday, February 12, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6388-6390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-2946]



[[Page 6388]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 2001-CE-38-AD; Amendment 39-12638; AD 2002-02-10]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Pilatus Britten-Norman Limited BN-2, 
BN-2A, BN-2B, and BN-2T Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

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

SUMMARY: This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) that 
applies to certain Pilatus Britten-Norman Limited (Pilatus Britten-
Norman) BN-2, BN-2A, BN-2B, and BN-2T series airplanes. This AD 
requires you to repetitively inspect the inboard brackets of the 
elevator outboard hinge for loose rivets, structural damage, or cracks 
and replace any suspect bracket. This AD also requires you to replace 
the hinge bracket at a certain time period if no discrepancies are 
found. This replacement includes modifying this area and installing 
modified brackets. This replacement allows you to increase the time 
period between inspections (reduce the number of repetitive 
inspections). This AD is the result of mandatory continuing 
airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the airworthiness authority 
for the United Kingdom. The actions specified by this AD are intended 
to detect and correct inboard brackets of the elevator outboard hinge 
with loose rivets, structural damage, or cracks. Such conditions could 
cause the outboard elevator to become loose with a consequent reduction 
in elevator and airplane control.

DATES: This AD becomes effective on March 25, 2002.
    The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by 
reference of certain publications listed in the regulations as of March 
25, 2002.

ADDRESSES: You may get the service information referenced in this AD 
from Pilatus Britten-Norman Limited, Bembridge, Isle of Wight, United 
Kingdom PO35 5PR; telephone: +44 (0) 1983 872511; facsimile: +44 (0) 
1983 873246. You may view this information at the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA), Central Region, Office of the Regional Counsel, 
Attention: Rules Docket No. 2001-CE-38-AD, 901 Locust, Room 506, Kansas 
City, Missouri 64106; or at the Office of the Federal Register, 800 
North Capitol Street, NW, suite 700, Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doug Rudolph, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, 
Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, Missouri 
64106; telephone: (816) 329-4059; facsimile: (816) 329-4090.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Discussion

What Events Have Caused This AD?

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which is the airworthiness 
authority for the United Kingdom, recently notified FAA that an unsafe 
condition may exist on BN-2, BN-2A, BN-2B, and BN-2T series airplanes. 
The United Kingdom CAA reports several instances where the inboard 
brackets of the elevator outboard hinge had loose rivets, structural 
damage, or cracks.
    These inboard brackets of the elevator outboard hinge incorporate 
part number NB-31-0077.

What Is the Potential Impact if FAA Took No Action?

    Loose rivets, structural damage, or cracks in the inboard brackets 
of the elevator outboard hinge, if not detected and corrected, could 
cause the outboard elevator to become loose with a consequent reduction 
in elevator and airplane control.

Has FAA Taken Any Action to This Point?

    We issued a proposal to amend part 39 of the Federal Aviation 
Regulations (14 CFR part 39) to include an AD that would apply to 
certain Pilatus Britten-Norman Limited (Pilatus Britten-Norman) BN-2, 
BN-2A, BN-2B, and BN-2T series airplanes. This proposal was published 
in the Federal Register as a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on 
November 28, 2001 (66 FR 59378). The NPRM proposed to require you to 
repetitively inspect the inboard brackets of the elevator outboard 
hinge for loose rivets, structural damage, or cracks; and replace the 
hinge bracket prior to further flight or at a certain time, depending 
on whether loose rivets, structural damage, or cracks are found during 
an inspection. This replacement includes modifying this area and 
installing modified brackets, part number NB-31-0901.

Was the Public Invited to Comment?

    The FAA encouraged interested persons to participate in the making 
of this amendment. We did not receive any comments on the proposed rule 
or on our determination of the cost to the public.

FAA's Determination

What Is FAA's Final Determination on This Issue?

    After careful review of all available information related to the 
subject presented above, we have determined that air safety and the 
public interest require the adoption of the rule as proposed except for 
minor editorial corrections. We have determined that these minor 
corrections:

Provide the intent that was proposed in the NPRM for correcting the 
unsafe condition; and
Do not add any additional burden upon the public than was already 
proposed in the NPRM.

Are There Differences Between This AD, the Service Information, and the 
CAA AD?

    This AD requires you to replace/modify the hinge bracket at a 
certain time period if no discrepancies are found to increase the time 
period between inspections (reduce the number of repetitive 
inspections). BN Bulletin Number BN2/SB 259 and CAA AD Number 002-07-
2000 do not specify this provision; they both specify this replacement/
modification only if a suspect bracket is found during an inspection. 
This provision of incorporating the replacement/modification regardless 
of whether a suspect bracket is found is consistent with FAA's aging 
commuter aircraft policy, which briefly states that, when a 
modification exists that could eliminate or reduce the number of 
required critical inspections, the modification should be incorporated. 
This policy is based on our determination that reliance on critical 
repetitive inspections on airplanes utilized in commuter service 
carries an unnecessary safety risk when a design change exists that 
could eliminate or, in certain instances, reduce the number of those 
critical inspections.
    The alternative to incorporating this replacement/modification 
would be to repetitively inspect this area every 100 hours time-in-
service (TIS) for the life of the airplane instead of every 1,000 hours 
TIS.

Cost Impact

How Many Airplanes Does This AD Impact?

    We estimate that this AD affects 118 airplanes in the U.S. 
registry.

What Is the Cost Impact of This AD on Owners/Operators of the Affected 
Airplanes?

    We estimate the following costs to accomplish each inspection:

[[Page 6389]]



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                                                                                                   Total cost on
             Labor cost                        Parts cost              Total cost per airplane    U.S. operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 workhour at $60 per hour = $60....  No parts necessary to         $60 per airplane............          $7,080
                                       accomplish the inspection.
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    We estimate the following costs to accomplish the replacement/
modification:

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                                                                                                   Total cost on
             Labor cost                        Parts cost              Total cost per airplane    U.S. operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 workhours at $60 per hour = $600.  $240 per airplane...........  $840 per airplane...........         $99,120
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Regulatory Impact

Does This AD Impact Various Entities?

    The regulations adopted herein will 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. Therefore, it 
is determined that this final rule does not have federalism 
implications under Executive Order 13132.

Does This AD Involve a Significant Rule or Regulatory Action?

    For the reasons discussed above, I certify that this action (1) is 
not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive Order 12866; 
(2) is not a ``significant rule'' under DOT Regulatory Policies and 
Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979); and (3) will not have a 
significant economic impact, positive or negative, on a substantial 
number of small entities under the criteria of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act. A copy of the final evaluation prepared for this 
action is contained in the Rules Docket. A copy of it may be obtained 
by contacting the Rules Docket at the location provided under the 
caption ADDRESSES.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Incorporation by 
reference, Safety.

Adoption of the Amendment

    Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the 
Administrator, the Federal Aviation Administration amends part 39 of 
the Federal Aviation Regulations (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. FAA amends Sec. 39.13 by adding a new AD to read as follows:

2002-02-10  Pilatus Britten Norman Ltd.: Amendment 39-12638; Docket 
No. 2001-CE-38-AD.

    (a) What airplanes are affected by this AD? This AD affects 
Models BN-2, BN-2A, BN-2A-2, BN-2A-3, BN-2A-6, BN-2A-8, BN-2A-9, BN-
2A-20, BN-2A-21, BN-2A-26, BN-2A-27, BN-2B-20, BN-2B-21, BN-2B-26, 
BN-2B-27, BN-2T, and BN-2T-4R airplanes, all constructor numbers, 
that are certificated in any category and do not have one of the 
following incorporated:
    (1) BN Modification NB-M-1695. This modification is incorporated 
at production and includes different designs in the area of the 
inboard brackets of the elevator outboard hinge. This modification 
is not available as a field installation. The maintenance manual for 
these production airplanes specifies 1,000-hour time-in-service 
(TIS) interval repetitive inspections. Owners/operators of airplanes 
with this production modification should be accomplishing these 
inspections or an FAA-approved equivalent; or
    (2) Reinforcing plates installed at manufacture. These plates 
were installed on Constructor Number C2298 of the Model BN-2B 
airplanes.
    (b) Who must comply with this AD? Anyone who wishes to operate 
any of the airplanes identified in paragraph (a) of this AD must 
comply with this AD.

    (c) What problem does this AD address? The actions specified by 
this AD are intended to detect and correct inboard brackets of the 
elevator outboard hinge with loose rivets, structural damage, or 
cracks. Such conditions could cause the outboard elevator to become 
loose with a consequent reduction in elevator and airplane control.
    (d) What actions must I accomplish to address this problem? To 
address this problem, you must accomplish the following:

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               Actions                              Compliance                            Procedures
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) For airplanes that do not have     Initially inspect within the next     In accordance with BN Bulletin
 modified inboard brackets of the       100 hours time-in-service (TIS)       Number BN2/SB.259, Issue 1, dated
 elevator outboard hinge installed      after March 25, 2002 (the effective   July 1, 2000.
 (part number NB-31-0901 installed in   date of this AD), and thereafter at
 accordance with Part 2 of the          intervals not to exceed 100 hours
 service bulletin), accomplish the      TIS until the replacement/
 following:                             modification required by paragraph
(i) Repetitively inspect the inboard    (d)(1)(ii) of this AD is
 brackets of the elevator outboard      accomplished. Do the replacement
 hinge for loose rivets, structural     initially at whichever of the
 damage, or cracks;                     following occurs within 1,000 hours
(ii) Replace the inboard brackets of    TIS after March 25, 2002 (the
 the elevator outboard hinge, which     effective date of this AD) or prior
 includes modifying this area and       to further flight when any loose of
 installing modified brackets, part     rivet, structural damage, or crack
 number NB-31-0901; and                 is found. Replace thereafter prior
(iii) Comply with paragraphs            to further bulletin), flight after
 (d)(2)(i) and (d)(2)(ii) of this AD.   any loose rivet, structural
                                        accomplish the damage, or crack is
                                        found.
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[[Page 6390]]

 
(2) For airplanes that have modified   Inspect within 1,000 hours TIS after  In accordance with BN Bulletin
 inboard brackets of the elevator       incorporating the replacement/        Number BN2/SB.259, Issue 1, dated
 outboard hinge installed (part         modification or within the 100        July 1, 2000.
 number NB-31-0901 in accordance with   hours TIS after March 25, 2002 (the
 Part 2 of the service bulletin),       effective date of this AD),
 accomplish the following:              whichever occurs later, and
(i) Repetitively inspect the inboard    thereafter at intervals not to
 brackets of the elevator outboard      exceed 1,000 hours TIS. Accomplish
 hinge for loose rivets, structural     the replacement/modification prior
 damage, or cracks; and                 to further flight when any loose
(ii) Replace the inboard brackets of    rivet, structural damage, or crack
 the elevator outboard hinge, which     is found during any inspection
 includes modifying this area and       required by this AD.
 installing modified brackets, part
 number NB-31-0901.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) This AD does not apply to          Not Applicable.                       Not Applicable.
 airplanes with one of the following
 incorporated:
(i) BN Modification NB-M-1695. This
 modification is incorporated at
 production and includes different
 designs in the area of the inboard
 brackets of the elevator outboard
 hinge. This modification is not
 available as a field installation.
 The maintenance manual for these
 production airplanes specifies 1,000-
 hour TIS interval repetitive
 inspections. Owners/operators of
 airplanes with this production
 modification should be accomplishing
 these inspections or an FAA-approved
 equivalent; or
(ii) Reinforcing plates installed at
 manufacture. These plates were
 installed on Constructor Number
 C2298 of the Model BN-2B airplanes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    (e) Can I comply with this AD in any other way? You may use an 
alternative method of compliance or adjust the compliance time if:
    (1) Your alternative method of compliance provides an equivalent 
level of safety; and
    (2) The Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, approves your 
alternative. Submit your request through an FAA Principal 
Maintenance Inspector, who may add comments and then send it to the 
Manager, Small Airplane Directorate.

    Note 1:
    This AD applies to each airplane identified in paragraph (a) of 
this AD, regardless of whether it has been modified, altered, or 
repaired in the area subject to the requirements of this AD. For 
airplanes that have been modified, altered, or repaired so that the 
performance of the requirements of this AD is affected, the owner/
operator must request approval for an alternative method of 
compliance in accordance with paragraph (e) of this AD. The request 
should include an assessment of the effect of the modification, 
alteration, or repair on the unsafe condition addressed by this AD; 
and, if you have not eliminated the unsafe condition, specific 
actions you propose to address it.

    (f) Where can I get information about any already-approved 
alternative methods of compliance? Contact Doug Rudolph, Aerospace 
Engineer, FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 Locust, Room 301, 
Kansas City, Missouri 64106; telephone: (816) 329-4059; facsimile: 
(816) 329-4090.
    (g) What if I need to fly the airplane to another location to 
comply with this AD? The FAA can issue a special flight permit under 
Sec. Sec. 21.197 and 21.199 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 
CFR 21.197 and 21.199) to operate your airplane to a location where 
you can accomplish the requirements of this AD.
    (h) Are any service bulletins incorporated into this AD by 
reference? Actions required by this AD must be done in accordance 
with BN Bulletin Number BN2/SB.259, Issue 1, dated July 1, 2000. The 
Director of the Federal Register approved this incorporation by 
reference under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. You may get 
copies from Pilatus Britten-Norman Limited, Bembridge, Isle of 
Wight, United Kingdom PO35 5PR; telephone: +44 (0) 1983 872511; 
facsimile: +44 (0) 1983 873246. You may view copies at the FAA, 
Central Region, Office of the Regional Counsel, 901 Locust, Room 
506, Kansas City, Missouri, or at the Office of the Federal 
Register, 800 North Capitol Street, NW, suite 700, Washington, DC.

    Note 2:
    The subject of this AD is addressed in CAA AD Number 002-07-
2000, not dated.

    (i) When does this amendment become effective? This amendment 
becomes effective on March 25, 2002.

    Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 1, 2002.
Michael Gallagher,
Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 02-2946 Filed 2-11-02; 8:45 am]
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