Airworthiness Directives; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. MU-2B Series Airplanes

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 139 (Thursday, July 20, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41116-41118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11419]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2006-23645; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-04-AD; 
Amendment 39-14687; AD 2006-15-07]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. MU-2B 
Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) MU-2B series airplanes. This AD 
requires you to incorporate text from the service information into the 
Limitations Section of the FAA-approved Airplane Flight Manual (AFM). 
This AD results from a recent safety evaluation that used a data-driven 
approach to analyze the design, operation, and maintenance of the MU-2B 
series airplanes in order to determine their safety and define what 
steps, if any, are necessary for their safe operation. Part of that 
evaluation was the identification of unsafe conditions that exist or 
could develop on the affected type design airplanes. Field reports 
indicate an unsafe condition of improper rigging and/or adjustment of 
the propeller feathering linkage. Service centers found the unsafe 
condition during inspections. We are issuing this AD to detect and 
correct improper rigging of the propeller feathering linkage. The above 
issue, if uncorrected, could result in degraded performance and poor 
handling qualities with consequent loss of control of the airplane.

DATES: This AD becomes effective on August 24, 2006.

ADDRESSES: For service information related to this AD, contact 
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc., 4951 Airport Parkway, Suite 
800, Addison, Texas 75001; telephone: (972) 934-5480; facsimile: ( 972) 
934-5488.
    To view the AD docket, go to the Docket Management Facility, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 
Room PL-401, Washington, DC 20590-001 or on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. The docket number is FAA-2006-23645; Directorate 
Identifier 2006-CE-04-AD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rao Edupuganti, Aerospace Engineer, 
ASW-150, Fort Worth Aircraft Certification Office, 2601 Meacham Blvd., 
Fort Worth, Texas 76193; telephone: (817) 222-5284; facsimile: (817) 
222-5960.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Discussion

    On March 16, 2006, 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 MHI MU-2B series airplanes. This proposal was 
published in the Federal Register as a notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NPRM) on March 22, 2006 (71 FR 14425). The NPRM proposed to require 
you to incorporate text from the service information into the 
Limitations Section of the FAA-approved AFM.

Comments

    We provided the public the opportunity to participate in developing 
this AD. The following presents the comment received on the proposal 
and FAA's response to that comment:

Comment Issue: Issuance of an AD Requiring a Procedure That Has Been in 
the AFM for Almost 10 Years

    Ralph Sorrells, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA), Inc. 
contends that while MHIA does not object to the issuance of an AD to 
ensure that the feathering valve linkage inspection revision is 
included in the AFMs, MHIA does not understand why this condition would 
now merit an AD requiring the MU-2B operators to follow a procedure 
that has been in their AFMs for almost 10 years. This condition has not 
been the subject of a service difficulty report.
    Field reports have indicated that some MU-2B aircraft being 
inspected by service centers require re-rigging and/or adjustment of 
the propeller feathering linkage. Typically, misadjustment of the 
feathering linkage could result in the inability of the linkage to pull 
the feather valve to function as designed. The inability to feather the 
propeller could result in asymmetric drag and control difficulties that 
are outside the operational envelope of the aircraft.
    For type certificate data sheet (TCDS) A2PC, Service Bulletin No. 
229, dated February 20, 1996, was issued by MHI, Ltd. and mandated by 
issuance of the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) AD No. TCD 4379-96, 
dated February 20, 1996, to ensure the continued airworthiness of the 
airplanes in Japan.
    For TCDS A10SW, Service Bulletin No. 090/76-003, dated January 22, 
1997, was issued by MHI, Ltd. and the compliance was mandatory. At that 
time, issuance of an AD by FAA was not warranted, based on the 
information and lack of risk assessment tools.
    Recent accidents and the service history of the MU-2B series 
airplanes prompted FAA to conduct an MU-2B Safety Evaluation. Part of 
that evaluation was the identification of unsafe conditions that exist 
or could develop on the affected type design airplanes. Part of this 
evaluation was evaluating the JCAB ADs for which there were no FAA ADs. 
In conducting this evaluation, the team employed new analysis tools 
that provided a much more detailed root cause analysis of the MU-2B 
problems than was previously possible. The results of this evaluation 
warranted the issuance of this AD.

Conclusion

    We have carefully reviewed the available data and determined that 
air safety and the public interest require adopting the AD as proposed 
except for minor editorial corrections. We have

[[Page 41117]]

determined that these minor corrections:
    <bullet> Are consistent with the intent that was proposed in the 
NPRM for correcting the unsafe condition; and
    <bullet> Do not add any additional burden upon the public than was 
already proposed in the NPRM.
    The Agency is committed to updating the aviation community of 
expected costs associated with the MU-2B series airplane safety 
evaluation conducted in 2005. As a result of that commitment, the 
accumulating expected costs of all ADs related to the MU-2B series 
airplane safety evaluation may be found in the Final Report section at 
the following Web site: http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/small_airplanes/cos/mu2_foia_reading_library/. 

Costs of Compliance

    We estimate that this AD affects 397 airplanes in the U.S. 
registry.
    We estimate the following costs to do the AFM insertion:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                         Total cost   Total cost
                  Labor cost                                  Parts cost                    per        on U.S.
                                                                                          airplane    operators
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 work-hour x $80 = $80.......................  Not applicable........................          $80      $31,760
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.
    We are 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 AD.

Regulatory Findings

    We have determined that 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;
    2. Is not a ``significant rule'' under the 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.
    We prepared a summary of the costs to comply with this AD (and 
other information as included in the Regulatory Evaluation) and placed 
it in the AD Docket. You may get a copy of this summary by sending a 
request to us at the address listed under ADDRESSES. Include ``Docket 
No. FAA-2006-23645; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-04-AD'' in your 
request.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Safety.

Adoption of the Amendment

0
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

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. FAA amends Sec.  39.13 by adding the following new AD:

2006-15-07 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, LTD.: Amendment 39-14687; 
Docket No. FAA-2006-23645; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-04-AD.

Effective Date

    (a) This AD becomes effective on August 24, 2006.

Affected ADs

    (b) None.

Applicability

    (c) This AD affects the following airplane models and serial 
numbers that are certificated in any category:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Type certificate               Models              Serial Nos.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) A2PC....................  MU-2B, MU-2B-10, MU-  008 through 312, 314
                               2B-15, MU-2B-20, MU-  through 320, and
                               2B-25, and MU-2B-26.  322 through 347.
(2) A2PC....................  MU-2B-30, MU-2B-35,   501 through 651, 653
                               and MU-2B-36.         through 660, and
                                                     662 through 696.
(3) A10SW...................  MU-2B-25, MU-2B-26,   313SA, 321SA, and
                               MU-2B-26A, and MU-    348SA through
                               2B-40.                459SA.
(4) A10SW...................  MU-2B-35, MU-2B-36,   652SA, 661SA, and
                               MU-2B-36A, and MU-    697SA through
                               2B-60.                1569SA.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unsafe Condition

    (d) This AD results from a recent safety evaluation that used a 
data-driven approach to analyze the design, operation, and 
maintenance of the MU-2B series airplanes in order to determine 
their safety and define what steps, if any, are necessary for their 
safe operation. Part of that evaluation was the identification of 
unsafe conditions that exist or could develop on the affected type 
design airplanes. The actions specified in this AD are intended to 
detect and correct improper rigging of the propeller feathering 
linkage. The above issue if uncorrected could result in degraded 
performance and poor handling qualities with consequent loss of 
control of the airplane.

Compliance

    (e) To address this problem, you must do the following:

[[Page 41118]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Actions                 Compliance            Procedures
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Incorporate the following     Within 100 hours      The owner/operator
 information into the          time-in-service       holding at least a
 Limitations Section of the    after August 24,      private pilot
 FAA-approved Airplane         2006 (the effective   certificate as
 Flight Manual (AFM):          date of this AD).     authorized by
(1) For airplanes listed in                          section 43.7 of the
 Type Certificate No. A2PC                           Federal Aviation
 insert pages 3 and 4 from                           Regulations (14 CFR
 Mitsubishi Heavy                                    43.7) may insert
 Industries, Ltd. (MHI) MU-2                         the information
 Service Bulletin No. 229,                           into the AFM as
 dated February 20, 1996.                            specified in
(2) For airplanes listed in                          paragraph (e) of
 Type Certificate No. A10SW                          this AD. Make an
 insert page 3 of 3 from MHI                         entry into the
 MU-2 Service Bulletin No.                           aircraft records
 090/76-003, dated January                           showing compliance
 22, 1997.                                           with this portion
(3) For all of the above                             of the AD in
 airplanes the logbook entry                         accordance with
 required after each pilot                           section 43.9 of the
 check on page 3 of MHI MU-2                         Federal Aviation
 Service Bulletin No. 090/76-                        Regulations (14 CFR
 003, dated January 22,                              43.9).
 1997, and page 4 of MHI MU-
 2 Service Bulletin No. 229,
 dated February 20, 1996, is
 not required.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: The language in the service information states the 
procedure is an ``inspection,'' but the procedure is a ``pilot 
check.''

Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    (f) The Manager, Fort Worth Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), 
FAA, ATTN: Rao Edupuganti, Aerospace Engineer, ASW-150, Fort Worth 
ACO, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76193; telephone: (817) 
222-5284; facsimile: (817) 222-5960, has the authority to approve 
AMOCs for this AD, if requested using the procedures found in 14 CFR 
39.19.

Related Information

    (g) Japan Civil Aviation Bureau Airworthiness Directive No. TCD 
4379-96, dated February 20, 1996, addresses the subject of this AD.
    (h) For service information related to this AD, contact 
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc., 4951 Airport Parkway, 
Suite 800, Addison, Texas 75001; telephone: (972) 934-5480; 
facsimile: (972) 934-5488. To view the AD docket, go to the Docket 
Management Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, Washington, DC 20590-001 
or on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. The docket number is FAA-
2006-23645; Directorate Identifier 2006-CE-04-AD.

    Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 11, 2006.
Steven W. Thompson,
Acting Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
 [FR Doc. E6-11419 Filed 7-19-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P

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