Airworthiness Directives; Embraer S.A. (Type Certificate Previously Held by Yaborã Indústria Aeronáutica S.A.; Embraer S.A.) Airplanes

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 26, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53346-53349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13938]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-1688; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-00299-T; 
Amendment 39-22772; AD 2024-12-08]
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: Final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for 
certain Embraer S.A. Model ERJ 170 airplanes. This AD was prompted by a 
report of a landing gear not locked indication during the final 
approach, which led the flight crew to declare an emergency. This AD 
requires reviewing maintenance records of the main landing gear (MLG) 
assemblies to determine whether the MLG was modified according to a 
certain service bulletin or restored during overhaul maintenance; 
inspecting the left and right MLG locking-stay bracket assemblies to 
verify that the correct attaching hardware is correctly installed on 
the brackets; replacing nuts having certain part numbers (P/Ns); 
replacing the locking-stay bracket assembly, if necessary; and 
prohibits the installation of affected parts on the MLG locking-stay 
bracket assembly; as specified in an Ag[ecirc]ncia Nacional de 
Avia[ccedil][atilde]o Civil (ANAC) 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 July 11, 2024.
    The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by 
reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of July 11, 
2024.
    The FAA must receive comments on this AD by August 12, 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.

[[Page 53347]]

    <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-2024-1688; 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 ANAC material, 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; telephone 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 at sistemas.anac.gov.br/certificacao/DA/
DAE.asp.
    <bullet> 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 at regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FAA-2024-1688.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Krista Greer, Aviation Safety 
Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; 
telephone 206-231-3221; 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 
the ADDRESSES section. Include the ``Docket No. FAA-2024-1688; Project 
Identifier MCAI-2024-00299-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 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 Krista 
Greer, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, 
Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 206-231-3221; 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

    ANAC, which is the aviation authority for Brazil, has issued ANAC 
Emergency AD E2024-05-09R01, effective May 29, 2024 (ANAC AD E2024-05-
09R01) (also referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition 
for certain Embraer S.A. Model ERJ 170 airplanes. The MCAI states that 
a landing gear not locked indication during the final approach led the 
flight crew to declare an emergency. Although the event did not result 
in serious consequences, it was found that a failure could occur in the 
MLG locking-stay bracket assembly, due to the installation of a 
particular self-locking nut (P/N MS17826-5) installed during 
modification according to Embraer Service Bulletin 170-32-0089 or 
during restoration in overhaul maintenance.
    The FAA is issuing this AD to address failure of the MLG locking-
stay bracket assembly due to failure of this self-locking nut, which 
can result in uncommanded retraction of the landing gear and consequent 
loss of directional control of the airplane on the ground if the 
landing gear collapses.
    You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FAA-2024-1688.

Related Material Under 1 CFR Part 51

    ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01 specifies checking the airplane maintenance 
records to identify whether the MLG was modified according to a certain 
service bulletin or restored during overhaul maintenance. ANAC AD 
E2024-05-09R01 also specifies procedures for a general visual 
inspection of the left and right MLG locking-stay bracket assemblies to 
verify that the correct screws, washers, nuts, and cotter pins are 
correctly installed on the bracket; replacement of nuts having certain 
part numbers; and replacement of the locking-stay bracket assembly if 
any anomaly (looseness, missing parts, bending, cracking, or other 
damage) is detected in any attachment parts installed on the bracket. 
ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01 further prohibits the installation of nuts 
having P/N MS17826-5 on the MLG locking-stay bracket. 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 ANAC AD 
E2024-05-09R01 described previously, except for any differences 
identified as exceptions in the regulatory text 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, 
ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01 is incorporated by reference in this AD. This AD 
requires compliance with ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01 in its entirety through 
that incorporation, except for any differences

[[Page 53348]]

identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this AD. Service 
information required by ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01 for compliance will be 
available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-1688 after this 
AD is published.

Justification for Immediate Adoption 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 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 failure of the locking-stay bracket assembly due to failure of 
a certain self-locking nut can result in uncommanded retraction of the 
landing gear and consequent loss of directional control of the airplane 
on the ground if the landing gear collapses. 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 728 airplanes of U.S. 
registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this AD:

                                      Estimated Costs for Required Actions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Cost per       Cost on U.S.
                          Labor cost                              Parts cost        product         operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 work-hour x $85 per hour = $85.............................              $0              $85          $61,880
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FAA estimates the following costs to do any on-condition 
actions that would be required based on the results of any required 
actions. The FAA has no way of determining the number of aircraft that 
might need these on-condition actions:

                 Estimated Costs of On-Condition Actions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Labor cost                 Parts cost       Cost per product
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Up to 3 work-hours x $85 per      Up to $3,740......  Up to $3,995.
 hour = $255.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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:

2024-12-08 Embraer S.A. (Type Certificate Previously Held by 
Yabor[atilde] Ind[uacute]stria Aeron[aacute]utica S.A.; Embraer 
S.A.): Amendment 39-22772; Docket No. FAA-2024-1688; Project 
Identifier MCAI-2024-00299-T.

(a) Effective Date

    This airworthiness directive (AD) is effective July 11, 2024.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

[[Page 53349]]

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to Embraer S.A. (Type Certificate previously 
held by Yabor[atilde] Ind[uacute]stria Aeron[aacute]utica S.A.; 
Embraer S.A.) Model ERJ 170-100 LR, -100 STD, -100 SE, and -100 SU 
airplanes, and Model ERJ 170-200 LR, -200 SU, -200 STD, and -200 LL 
airplanes, certificated in any category, as identified in 
Ag[ecirc]ncia Nacional de Avia[ccedil][atilde]o Civil (ANAC) 
Emergency AD E2024-05-09R01, effective May 29, 2024 (ANAC AD E2024-
05-09R01).

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 32, Landing 
gear.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by a report of a landing gear not locked 
indication during the final approach, which led the flight crew to 
declare an emergency. The FAA is issuing this AD to address failure 
of the main landing gear (MLG) locking-stay bracket assembly due to 
failure of this self-locking nut, which can result in uncommanded 
retraction of the landing gear and consequent loss of directional 
control of the airplane on the ground if the landing gear collapses.

(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, ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01.

(h) Exceptions to ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01

    (1) Where ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01 refers to May 21, 2024, the 
effective date of ANAC Emergency AD E2024-05-09, this AD requires 
using the effective date of this AD.
    (2) Where ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01 refers to its effective date, 
this AD requires using the effective date of this AD.
    (3) ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01 does not specify a compliance time 
for the actions specified in paragraphs (b)(2)(i), (b)(2)(i)(I), 
(c)(2)(i), and (c)(2)(i)(I) of ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01. For this AD, 
after accomplishing the inspection required by paragraph (b)(2) or 
(c)(2), as applicable, of ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01, the actions 
required by paragraphs (b)(2)(i), (b)(2)(i)(I), (c)(2)(i), and 
(c)(2)(i)(I) of ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01 must be done before further 
flight, if there is no anomaly in the hardware installation on the 
bracket P/N 1840A0700-03 or 1840A0700-04, or nut having P/N MS17826-
5 installed, as applicable.
    (4) Where paragraph (e) of ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01 refers to 
``After the effective date of this AD,'' for this AD, replace that 
text with ``As of the effective date of this AD.''
    (5) This AD does not adopt paragraph (g) of ANAC AD E2024-05-
09R01.

(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 ANAC; or ANAC's authorized Designee. If 
approved by the ANAC Designee, the approval must include the 
Designee's authorized signature.

(j) Additional Information

    For more information about this AD, contact Krista Greer, 
Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, 
Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 206-231-3221; email 
[email protected].

(k) Material Incorporated by Reference

    (1) The Director of the Federal Register approved the 
incorporation by reference of the material listed in this paragraph 
under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
    (2) You must use this material as applicable to do the actions 
required by this AD, unless this AD specifies otherwise.
    (i) Ag[ecirc]ncia Nacional de Avia[ccedil][atilde]o Civil (ANAC) 
Emergency AD E2024-05-09R01, effective May 29, 2024.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (3) For ANAC AD E2024-05-09R01, 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; telephone 55 
(12) 3203-6600; email: anac.gov.br">pac@anac.gov.br; website anac.gov.br/en/. You 
may find this ANAC AD on the ANAC website at sistemas.anac.gov.br/
certificacao/DA/DAE.asp.
    (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 June 11, 2024.
Suzanne Masterson,
Deputy Director, Integrated Certificate Management Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-13938 Filed 6-21-24; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P

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