Airworthiness Directives; Fokker Services B.V. Airplanes

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 16, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 68621-68624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24908]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2022-1299; Project Identifier MCAI-2022-00248-T; 
Amendment 39-22211; AD 2022-21-12]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Fokker Services B.V. Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all 
Fokker Services B.V. Model F28 Mark 0070 and Mark 0100 airplanes. This 
AD was prompted by a determination that new or more restrictive 
airworthiness limitations are necessary. This AD requires revising the 
existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to 
incorporate new or more restrictive airworthiness limitations, as 
specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which 
is incorporated by reference. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the 
unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: This AD becomes effective December 1, 2022.
    The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by 
reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of December 1, 
2022.
    The FAA must receive comments on this AD by January 3, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, using the procedures found in 14 CFR 
11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Fax: 202-493-2251.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket 
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    For material incorporated by reference (IBR) in this AD, contact 
EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer-3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 
8999 000; email [email protected]; website easa.europa.eu. You may 
find this IBR material on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu. You 
may view this material at the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, 
Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. For 
information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 206-
231-3195. It is also available in the AD docket at regulations.gov 
under Docket No. FAA-2022-1299.

Examining the AD Docket

    You may examine the AD docket at regulations.gov under Docket No. 
FAA-2022-1299; 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 AD, the mandatory continuing airworthiness information 
(MCAI), any comments received, and other information. The street 
address for Docket Operations is listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Manuel Hernandez, Aerospace Engineer, 
Large Aircraft Section, FAA, International Validation Branch, 2200 
South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; telephone 562-627-5256; email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites you to send any written data, views, or arguments 
about this final rule. Send your comments to an address listed under 
ADDRESSES. Include ``Docket No. FAA-2022-1299; Project Identifier MCAI-
2022-00248-T'' at the beginning of your comments. The most helpful 
comments reference a specific portion of the final rule, 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 final rule 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 final rule.

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 AD contain commercial 
or financial information

[[Page 68622]]

that is customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as 
private, and that is relevant or responsive to this AD, 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 AD. Submissions 
containing CBI should be sent to Manuel Hernandez, Aerospace Engineer, 
Large Aircraft Section, FAA, International Validation Branch, 2200 
South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; telephone 562-627-5256; email 
[email protected]. Any commentary that the FAA receives which 
is not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public 
docket for this rulemaking.

Background

    EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the 
European Union, has issued EASA AD 2022-0027, dated February 18, 2022 
(EASA AD 2022-0027) (also referred to as the MCAI), to correct an 
unsafe condition for all Fokker Services B.V. Model F28 Mark 0070 and 
Mark 0100 airplanes.
    EASA AD 2022-0027 requires a task (limitation) related to the tasks 
already in Part 2 of the Airworthiness Limitations Section (ALS) of the 
Instructions for Continued Airworthiness, referred to in Section 06, 
Appendix 1, of the Fokker 70/100 Maintenance Review Board document 
required by EASA AD 2020-0024 (which corresponds to FAA AD 2020-09-11, 
Amendment 39-19907 (85 FR 30592, May 20, 2020) (AD 2020-09-11)).
    This AD was prompted by a determination that new or more 
restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary. The FAA is issuing 
this AD to prevent reduced structural integrity of the airplane.
    See the MCAI for additional background information.

Relationship Between This AD and AD 2020-09-11

    This AD does not supersede FAA AD 2020-09-11. Rather, the FAA has 
determined that a stand-alone AD is more appropriate to address the 
changes in the MCAI. This AD requires revising the existing maintenance 
or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more 
restrictive airworthiness limitations.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    EASA AD 2022-0027 specifies new or more restrictive airworthiness 
limitations for airplane structures and safe life limits. 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 the 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 the State of Design Authority, 
the FAA has been notified of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI 
described above. The FAA is issuing this AD after determining that the 
unsafe condition exists and is likely to exist or develop on other 
products of the same type design.

Requirements of This AD

    This AD requires revising the existing maintenance or inspection 
program, as applicable, to incorporate new or more restrictive 
airworthiness limitations, which are specified in EASA AD 2022-0027 
described previously, as incorporated by reference.
    This AD requires revisions to certain operator maintenance 
documents to include new actions (e.g., inspections) and Critical 
Design Configuration Control Limitations (CDCCLs). Compliance with 
these actions and CDCCLs is required by 14 CFR 91.403(c). For airplanes 
that have been previously modified, altered, or repaired in the areas 
addressed by this AD, the operator may not be able to accomplish the 
actions described in the revisions. In this situation, to comply with 
14 CFR 91.403(c), the operator must request approval for an alternative 
method of compliance (AMOC) according to paragraph (j)(1) of this 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, 
EASA AD 2022-0027 is incorporated by reference in this AD. This AD 
requires compliance with EASA AD 2022-0027 in its entirety through that 
incorporation, except for any differences identified as exceptions in 
the regulatory text of this AD. Using common terms that are the same as 
the heading of a particular section in EASA AD 2022-0027 does not mean 
that operators need comply only with that section. For example, where 
the AD requirement refers to ``all required actions and compliance 
times,'' compliance with this AD requirement is not limited to the 
section titled ``Required Action(s) and Compliance Time(s)'' in EASA AD 
2022-0027. Service information required by EASA AD 2022-0027 for 
compliance will be available at regulations.gov by searching for and 
locating Docket No. FAA-2022-1299 after this AD is published.

Airworthiness Limitation ADs Using the New Process

    The FAA's process of incorporating by reference MCAI ADs as the 
primary source of information for compliance with corresponding FAA ADs 
has been limited to certain MCAI ADs (primarily those with service 
bulletins as the primary source of information for accomplishing the 
actions required by the FAA AD). However, the FAA is now expanding the 
process to include MCAI ADs that require a change to airworthiness 
limitation documents, such as airworthiness limitation sections.
    For these ADs that incorporate by reference an MCAI AD that changes 
airworthiness limitations, the FAA requirements are unchanged. 
Operators must revise the existing maintenance or inspection program, 
as applicable, to incorporate the information specified in the new 
airworthiness limitation document. The airworthiness limitations must 
be followed according to 14 CFR 91.403(c) and 91.409(e).
    The previous format of the airworthiness limitation ADs included a 
paragraph that specified that no alternative actions (e.g., 
inspections), intervals, or CDCCLs/or intervals may be used unless the 
actions, intervals, and CDCCLs/actions and intervals are approved as an 
AMOC in accordance with the procedures specified in the AMOC paragraph 
under ``Additional FAA Provisions.'' This new format includes a ``New 
Provisions for Alternative Actions, Intervals, and CDCCLs/Actions and 
Intervals'' paragraph that does not specifically refer to AMOCs, but 
operators may still request an AMOC to use an alternative action, 
interval, or CDCCL/action or interval.

FAA's Justification and Determination of the Effective Date

    Section 553(b)(3)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 
U.S.C. 551 et seq.) authorizes agencies to dispense with notice and 
comment procedures for rules when the agency,

[[Page 68623]]

for ``good cause,'' finds that those procedures are ``impracticable, 
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.'' Under this section, 
an agency, upon finding good cause, may issue a final rule without 
providing notice and seeking comment prior to issuance. Further, 
section 553(d) of the APA authorizes agencies to make rules effective 
in less than thirty days, upon a finding of good cause.
    There are currently no domestic operators of these products. 
Accordingly, notice and opportunity for prior public comment are 
unnecessary, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3). In addition, for the 
foregoing reason, the FAA finds that good cause exists pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(d) for making this amendment effective in less than 30 days.

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)

    The requirements of the RFA do not apply when an agency finds good 
cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 to adopt a rule without prior notice and 
comment. Because the FAA has determined that it has good cause to adopt 
this rule without notice and comment, RFA analysis is not required.

Costs of Compliance

    Currently, there are no affected U.S.-registered airplanes. If an 
affected airplane is imported and placed on the U.S. Register in the 
future, the FAA provides the following cost estimates to comply with 
this AD:
    The FAA has determined that revising the existing maintenance or 
inspection program takes an average of 90 work-hours per operator, 
although the agency recognizes that this number may vary from operator 
to operator. Since operators incorporate maintenance or inspection 
program changes for their affected fleet(s), the FAA has determined 
that a per-operator estimate is more accurate than a per-airplane 
estimate. Therefore, the agency estimates the average total cost per 
operator to be $7,650 (90 work-hours x $85 per work-hour).

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

    This AD will not have federalism implications under Executive Order 
13132. This AD 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.
    For the reasons discussed above, I certify that this AD:
    (1) Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive 
Order 12866, and
    (2) Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

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

The Amendment

    Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the 
Administrator, the FAA amends 14 CFR part 39 as follows:

PART 39--AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

0
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]

0
2. The FAA amends Sec.  39.13 by adding the following new airworthiness 
directive:

2022-21-12 Fokker Services B.V.: Amendment 39-22211; Docket No. FAA-
2022-1299; Project Identifier MCAI-2022-00248-T.

(a) Effective Date

    This airworthiness directive (AD) is effective December 1, 2022.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to all Fokker Services B.V. Model F28 Mark 0070 
and Mark 0100 airplanes, certificated in any category.

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 05, Time Limits/
Maintenance Checks.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by a determination that new or more 
restrictive airworthiness limitations are necessary. The FAA is 
issuing this AD to prevent reduced structural integrity of the 
airplane.

(f) Compliance

    Comply with this AD within the compliance times specified, 
unless already done.

(g) Requirements

    Except as specified in paragraph (h) of this AD: Comply with all 
required actions and compliance times specified in, and in 
accordance with, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 
2022-0027, dated February 18, 2022 (EASA AD 2022-0027).

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2022-0027

    (1) Where EASA AD 2022-0027 refers to its effective date, this 
AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
    (2) The requirements specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of EASA 
AD 2022-0027 do not apply to this AD.
    (3) Paragraph (3) of EASA AD 2022-0027 specifies revising ``the 
AMP'' within 12 months after its effective date, but this AD 
requires revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as 
applicable, within 90 days after the effective date of this AD.
    (4) The ``Remarks'' section of EASA AD 2022-0027 does not apply 
to this AD.

(i) Provisions for Alternative Actions and Intervals

    After the existing maintenance or inspection program has been 
revised as required by paragraph (g) of this AD, no alternative 
actions (e.g., inspections) or intervals are allowed unless they are 
approved as specified in the provisions of the ``Ref. Publications'' 
section of EASA AD 2021-0258.

(j) Additional AD Provisions

    The following provisions also apply to this AD:
    (1) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs): The Manager, 
Large Aircraft Section, International Validation Branch, FAA, has 
the authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested using the 
procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, 
send your request to your principal inspector or responsible Flight 
Standards Office, as appropriate. If sending information directly to 
the Large Aircraft Section, International Validation Branch, send it 
to the attention of the person identified in paragraph (k) of this 
AD. Information may be emailed to: [email protected]. 
Before using any approved AMOC, notify your appropriate principal 
inspector, or lacking a principal inspector, the manager of the 
local flight standards district office/certificate holding district 
office.
    (2) Contacting the Manufacturer: For any requirement in this AD 
to obtain instructions from a manufacturer, the instructions must be 
accomplished using a method approved by the Manager, Large Aircraft 
Section, International Validation Branch, FAA; or

[[Page 68624]]

EASA; or Airbus SAS's EASA Design Organization Approval (DOA). If 
approved by the DOA, the approval must include the DOA-authorized 
signature.

(k) Related Information

    For more information about this AD, contact Manuel Hernandez, 
Aerospace Engineer, Large Aircraft Section, FAA, International 
Validation Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; 
telephone 562-627-5256; email [email protected].

(l) Material Incorporated by Reference

    (1) The Director of the Federal Register approved the 
incorporation by reference of the service information listed in this 
paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
    (2) You must use this service information as applicable to do 
the actions required by this AD, unless this AD specifies otherwise.
    (i) European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2022-0027, 
dated February 18, 2022.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) For EASA AD 2022-0027, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 
50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999 000; email 
[email protected]; internet www.easa.europa.eu. You may find this 
EASA AD on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu.
    (4) You may view this material at the FAA, Airworthiness 
Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South 216th St., 
Des Moines, WA. For information on the availability of this material 
at the FAA, call 206-231-3195.
    (5) You may view this material that is incorporated by reference 
at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For 
information on the availability of this material at NARA, email 
[email protected], or go to: www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.

    Issued on October 6, 2022.
Christina Underwood,
Acting Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-24908 Filed 11-15-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P

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