Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS Airplanes

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 14 (Monday, January 22, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3878-3881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01162]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-0033; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-01206-T; 
Amendment 39-22661; AD 2024-01-10]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS 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 
Airbus SAS Model A330-200, A330-200 Freighter, A330-300, A330-800, 
A330-900, A340-500, and A340-600 series airplanes. This AD was prompted 
by a report of temporary loss of the flight director (FD) and 
autothrottle (A/THR) on an airplane dispatched under the provisions of 
a master minimum equipment list (MMEL) item for fuel quantity 
indication (FQI). This AD requires revising the operator's existing 
FAA-approved minimum equipment list (MEL), 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 is effective February 6, 2024.
    The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by 
reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of February 6, 
2024.
    The FAA must receive comments on this AD by March 7, 2024.

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 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: 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-2024-0033; 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 final rule, 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:
    <bullet> For material incorporated by reference in this AD, contact 
EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; phone +49 221 
8999 000; email [email protected]; website easa.europa.eu. You may 
find this material on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu.
    <bullet> You may view this service information 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 at 
regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-0033.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vladimir A. Ulyanov, Aviation Safety 
Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; 
phone 206-231-3229; 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-2024-0033; Project Identifier MCAI-
2023-01206-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.

[[Page 3879]]

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 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 
Vladimir A. Ulyanov, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart 
Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone 206-231-3229; 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 2023-0206, dated November 21, 2023 
(EASA AD 2023-0206) (also referred to as the MCAI), to correct an 
unsafe condition for all Airbus SAS Model A330-201, -202, -203, -223, -
223F, -243, -243F, -301, -302, -303, -321, -322, -323, -341, -342, -
343, -841, and -941 airplanes; and Model A340-541, -542, -642, and -643 
airplanes. Model A340-542 and -643 airplanes are not certificated by 
the FAA and are not included on the U.S. type certificate data sheet; 
this AD therefore does not include those airplanes in the 
applicability. The MCAI states temporary loss of the FD and A/THR 
occurred on an airplane dispatched under the provisions of MMEL item 
28-07-02-05, ``Inner Tank Fuel Quantity Indication on the Fuel SD 
page.'' Subsequent investigation determined that this behavior is 
systematic, when an airplane is dispatched under certain MMEL FQI 
items, because the FQI unavailability invalidates the gross weight and 
the center-of-gravity computation at the fuel control and monitoring 
computer (FCMC)-level. To address this unsafe condition, Airbus issued 
an MMEL update prohibiting required navigation performance--
authorization required (RNP-AR) operation for airplanes dispatched 
under certain MMEL FQI items. This condition, if not corrected, could 
affect the airplane's capability to follow the desired ground track and 
vertical path during certain takeoff and approach phases.
    The FAA is issuing this AD to address the loss of the autopilot 
(AP), FD, and A/THR when those systems are required for RNP-AR takeoffs 
and landings, which could result in failure to maintain safe flight and 
landing. You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov 
under Docket No. FAA-2024-0033.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    EASA AD 2023-0206 specifies procedures for revising the operator's 
MEL by incorporating the information in MMEL items 28-07-02-05A, 28-07-
02-06A, 28-07-02-07A, 28-07-02-08A, and 28-07-02-10A of Airbus A330/340 
MMEL Major Event Revision, dated August 23, 2023, for airplanes that 
have implemented RNP-AR capability by embodying--
    <bullet> Airbus modification 57729, 200624, 200628, 203441 or 
203442 in production; or
    <bullet> Airbus Service Bulletin A330-34-3262, A330-34-3308, A330-
34-3345, A330-34-3378, or A330-34-3409 in service.
    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 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 AD after determining that the 
unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop on 
other products of the same type design.

Requirements of This AD

    This AD requires accomplishing the actions specified in EASA AD 
2023-0206 described previously, except for any differences identified 
as exceptions in the regulatory text of this AD.

Compliance With MEL Revisions

    EASA AD 2023-0206 requires operators to implement the instructions 
of the MMEL update, on the basis of which the applicable MEL of each 
affected airplane must be amended and thereafter ``operate the 
aeroplane(s) accordingly.'' However, this AD does not specifically 
require that action as it is already required by an FAA regulation. 
Section 121.628(a)(5) of 14 CFR requires airplanes to be operated under 
all applicable conditions and limitations contained in the operator's 
MEL. Therefore, including a requirement in this AD to operate the 
airplane according to the revised MEL would be redundant and 
unnecessary.

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 2023-0206 is incorporated by reference in this AD. This AD 
requires compliance with EASA AD 2023-0206 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 2023-0206 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 
2023-0206. Service information required by EASA AD 2023-0206 for 
compliance will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-
2024-0033 after this AD is published.

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, for ``good cause,'' finds 
that those

[[Page 3880]]

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.
    An unsafe condition exists that requires the immediate adoption of 
this AD without providing an opportunity for public comments prior to 
adoption. The FAA has found that the risk to the flying public 
justifies forgoing notice and comment prior to adoption of this rule 
because the loss of the AP, FD, and A/THR when those systems are 
required for RNP-AR takeoffs and landings could result in failure to 
maintain safe flight and landing. Accordingly, notice and opportunity 
for prior public comment are impracticable and contrary to the public 
interest pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B).
    In addition, 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, 
for the same reasons the FAA found good cause to forgo notice and 
comment.

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

    The FAA estimates that this AD affects 142 airplanes of U.S. 
registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this AD:

                                      Estimated Costs for Required Actions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                   Cost on U.S.
                        Labor cost                            Parts cost      Cost per product      operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 work-hour x $85 per hour = $85.........................              $0                  $85          $12,070
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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:

2024-01-10 Airbus SAS: Amendment 39-22661; Docket No. FAA-2024-0033; 
Project Identifier MCAI-2023-01206-T.

(a) Effective Date

    This airworthiness directive (AD) is effective February 6, 2024.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to all Airbus SAS airplanes identified in 
paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this AD, certificated in any category.
    (1) Model A330-201, -202, -203, -223, -223F, -243, -243F, -301, 
-302, -303, -321, -322, -323, -341, -342, -343, -841, and -941 
airplanes.
    (2) Model A340-541 and -642 airplanes.

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 28, Fuel.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by a report of temporary loss of the flight 
director (FD) and autothrottle (A/THR) on an airplane dispatched 
under the provisions of a master minimum equipment list (MMEL) item 
for fuel quantity indication. The FAA is issuing this AD to address 
the loss of the autopilot (AP), FD, and A/THR when those systems are 
required for navigation performance--authorization required (RNP-AR) 
takeoffs and landings. The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could 
result in failure to maintain safe flight and landing.

(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, EASA AD 2023-0206, dated November 21, 2023 (EASA AD 
2023-0206).

(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2023-0206

    (1) Where EASA AD 2023-0206 refers to its effective date, this 
AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
    (2) Where paragraph (1) of EASA AD 2023-0206 specifies to 
``implement the instructions of the MMEL update, on basis of which 
the applicable MEL of each affected aeroplane must be amended,'' 
this AD requires replacing those words with ``revise the operator's 
existing FAA-approved MEL by incorporating the information 
identified in ``The MMEL update'' as defined in EASA AD 2023-0206.''
    (3) Where paragraph (1) of EASA AD 2023-0206 specifies ``and, 
thereafter, operate the aeroplane(s) accordingly,'' this AD does not 
require that action as it is already required by an existing FAA 
operating regulation (see 14 CFR 121.628(a)(5)).

[[Page 3881]]

    (4) Where paragraph (2) of EASA AD 2023-0206 specifies ``the 
instructions of the MMEL update are implemented for that 
aeroplane,'' this AD requires replacing those words with ``the 
operator's existing FAA-approved MEL is revised by incorporating the 
information identified in ``The MMEL update'' as defined in EASA AD 
2023-0206.''
    (5) Where paragraph (2) of EASA AD 2023-0206 specifies 
implementing the instructions of the MMEL update before next flight 
after modifying a Group 2 airplane into a Group 1 airplane, this AD 
requires accomplishing the MEL update within 30 days after the 
effective date of this AD, or before further flight after 
accomplishing the modification, whichever occurs later.
    (6) This AD does not adopt the ``Remarks'' section of EASA AD 
2023-0206.

(i) Additional AD Provisions

    The following provisions also apply to this AD:
    (1) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs): The Manager, 
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 manager of the 
International Validation Branch, mail it to the address identified 
in paragraph (j) 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 responsible Flight Standards 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, International 
Validation Branch, FAA; or EASA; or Airbus SAS's EASA Design 
Organization Approval (DOA). If approved by the DOA, the approval 
must include the DOA-authorized signature.

(j) Additional Information

    For more information about this AD, contact Vladimir A. Ulyanov, 
Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, 
Westbury, NY 11590; phone 206-231-3229; email 
[email protected].

(k) Material Incorporated by Reference

    (1) The Director of the Federal Register approved the 
incorporation by reference (IBR) 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 2023-0206, 
dated November 21, 2023.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) For EASA AD 2023-0206, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 
50668 Cologne, Germany; phone +49 221 8999 000; email 
[email protected]; website 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 at the National Archives and 
Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability 
of this material at NARA, visit www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations, or email [email protected].

    Issued on January 10, 2024.
Victor Wicklund,
Deputy Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-01162 Filed 1-18-24; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P

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