Airworthiness Directives; Boeing Model 747-100B SUD, 747-200B, 747-300, 747-400, 747-400D, and 747SP Series Airplanes

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 16 (Thursday, January 25, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3357-3359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-910]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2006-25518; Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-092-AD; 
Amendment 39-14881; AD 2007-01-09]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Boeing Model 747-100B SUD, 747-200B, 
747-300, 747-400, 747-400D, and 747SP Series Airplanes

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for 
certain Boeing Model 747-100B SUD, 747-200B, 747-300, 747-400, 747-
400D, and 747SP series airplanes. This AD requires repetitive 
inspections for cracking of the crease beam and adjacent intercostals, 
stringers, frames, and skin panels; and related investigative and 
corrective actions if cracking is found. This AD results from a report 
indicating that an operator discovered crease beam cracking on two 
Model 747 airplanes. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct 
cracking of the crease beam and adjacent structure, which could become 
large and result in in-flight depressurization and inability of the 
airframe structure to sustain flight loads.

DATES: This AD becomes effective March 1, 2007.
    The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by 
reference of a certain publication listed in the AD as of March 1, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov or in person at the Docket Management Facility, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 
Room PL-401, Washington, DC.
    Contact Boeing Commercial Airplanes, P.O. Box 3707, Seattle, 
Washington 98124-2207, for the service information identified in this 
AD.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ivan Li, Aerospace Engineer, Airframe 
Branch, ANM-120S, FAA, Seattle Aircraft Certification Office, 1601 Lind 
Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; telephone (425) 917-6437; 
fax (425) 917-6590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Examining the Docket

    You may examine the airworthiness directive (AD) docket on the 
Internet at http://dms.dot.gov or in person at the Docket Management 
Facility office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. The Docket Management Facility office 
(telephone (800) 647-5227) is located on the plaza level of the Nassif 
Building at the street address stated in the ADDRESSES section.

Discussion

    The FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 
CFR part 39 to include an AD that would apply to Boeing Model 747-100B 
SUD, 747-200B, 747-300, 747-400, 747-400D, and 747SP series airplanes. 
That NPRM was published in the Federal Register on August 8, 2006 (71 
FR 44933). That NPRM proposed to require repetitive inspections for 
cracking of the crease beam and adjacent intercostals, stringers, 
frames, and skin panels; and related investigative and corrective 
actions if cracking is found.

[[Page 3358]]

Comments

    We provided the public the opportunity to participate in the 
development of this AD.

Clarification of Submission of Comments to This AD

    The Docket Management System has informed us that an error occurred 
in the assignment of the docket number provided for this AD. DMS docket 
number FAA-2006-22518 appeared in the published NPRM; in fact, the 
correct docket number is FAA-2006-25518. The number 22518 refers to 
docket NHTSA-2005-22518, which is a motor vehicle surface travel issue 
having nothing to do with any aircraft. In case this confusion had 
caused comments to NPRM 2006-NM-092-AD to be submitted either to the 
incorrect docket or to both dockets, we checked both dockets FAA-2006-
25518 and NHTSA-2005-22518 for comments applicable to this AD. We found 
one comment applicable to this AD in each docket. We determined that no 
other comments have been submitted regarding this AD and have 
considered the two comments received, both of which now correctly 
appear only in docket FAA-2006-25518.

Support for the NPRM

    Boeing states that it has reviewed the NPRM and concurs with the 
contents of the NPRM.

Request for Posting of Service Information

    One commenter, the Modification and Replacement Parts Association 
(MARPA), requests that we revise our procedures for incorporation by 
reference (IBR) of service information in ADs. MARPA states, ``This 
proposed action requires work be accomplished pursuant to certain OEM 
and/or manufacturer service documents. Typically airworthiness 
directives are based upon service information originating with the type 
certificate holder or its suppliers. Manufacturer service documents are 
privately authored instruments generally enjoying copyright protection 
against duplication and distribution. When a service document is 
incorporated by reference pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51 
into a public document such as an airworthiness directive, it loses its 
private, protected status and becomes itself a public document. If a 
service document is used as a mandatory element of compliance it should 
not simply be referenced, but should be incorporated into the 
regulatory document. Public laws by definition must be public which 
means they cannot rely for compliance upon private writings. Since the 
interpretation of a document is a question of law and not of fact, a 
service document not incorporated by reference will not be considered 
in a legal finding of the meaning of an airworthiness directive. We are 
therefore concerned that failure to incorporate essential service 
information could result in a court decision invalidating the 
airworthiness directive.
    ``Incorporated by reference service documents should be made 
available to the public by publication in the Document [sic]Management 
System (DMS) keyed to the action that incorporates them. The stated 
purpose of the incorporation by reference method of the Federal 
Register is brevity; to keep from expanding the Federal Register 
needlessly by publishing documents already in the hands of the affected 
individuals. Traditionally, ``affected individuals'' has meant aircraft 
owners and operators who are generally provided service information by 
the manufacturer. However, a new class of affected individuals has 
emerged since the majority of aircraft maintenance is now performed by 
specialty shops instead of aircraft owners and operators. This new 
class includes maintenance and repair organizations (MRO), component 
servicing and repair shops, parts purveyors and distributors and 
organizations manufacturing or servicing alternatively certified parts 
under 14 CFR 21.303 (PMA). Further, the concept of brevity is now 
nearly archaic as documents exist more frequently in electronic format 
than on paper. We therefore request that the service documents deemed 
essential to the accomplishment of this proposed action be (1) 
Incorporated by reference into the regulatory instrument, and (2) 
published in the DMS.''
    The FAA acknowledges these requests. The Office of the Federal 
Register (OFR) requires that documents that are necessary to accomplish 
the requirements of the AD be incorporated by reference during the 
final rule phase of rulemaking. This final rule incorporates by 
reference the document necessary for the accomplishment of the 
requirements mandated by this AD. Further, we point out that while 
documents that are incorporated by reference do become public 
information, they do not lose their copyright protection. For that 
reason, we advise the public to contact the manufacturer to obtain 
copies of the referenced service information.
    In regard to MARPA's request to post service bulletins on the 
Department of Transportation's DMS, we are currently in the process of 
reviewing issues surrounding the posting of service bulletins on the 
DMS as part of an AD docket. Once we have thoroughly examined all 
aspects of this issue and have made a final determination, we will 
consider whether our current practice needs to be revised. No change to 
the final rule is necessary in response to this comment.

Conclusion

    We have carefully reviewed the available data, including the 
comments received, and determined that air safety and the public 
interest require adopting the AD as proposed.

Costs of Compliance

    There are about 615 airplanes of the affected design in the 
worldwide fleet. This AD affects about 65 airplanes of U.S. registry. 
The required detailed inspection takes about 8 work hours per airplane, 
per inspection cycle, at an average labor rate of $80 per work hour. 
Based on these figures, the estimated cost of this AD for U.S. 
operators is $41,600, or $640 per airplane, per inspection cycle.

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 
rulemaking action.

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:

[[Page 3359]]

    (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.
    We prepared a regulatory evaluation of the estimated costs to 
comply with this AD and placed it in the AD docket. See the ADDRESSES 
section for a location to examine the regulatory evaluation.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

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

Adoption of the Amendment

0
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 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) amends Sec.  39.13 by 
adding the following new airworthiness directive (AD):

2007-01-09 Boeing: Amendment 39-14881. Docket No. FAA-2006-25518; 
Directorate Identifier 2006-NM-092-AD.

Effective Date

    (a) This AD becomes effective March 1, 2007.

Affected ADs

    (b) None.

Applicability

    (c) This AD applies to Boeing Model 747-100B SUD, 747-200B, 747-
300, 747-400, 747-400D, and 747SP series airplanes, certificated in 
any category; as identified in Boeing Alert Service Bulletin 747-
53A2591, dated April 6, 2006.

Unsafe Condition

    (d) This AD results from a report indicating that an operator 
discovered crease beam cracking on two Model 747 airplanes. We are 
issuing this AD to detect and correct cracking of the crease beam 
and adjacent structure, which could become large and result in in-
flight depressurization and inability of the airframe structure to 
sustain flight loads.

Compliance

    (e) You are responsible for having the actions required by this 
AD performed within the compliance times specified, unless the 
actions have already been done.

Repetitive Detailed Inspections and Related Investigative and 
Corrective Actions

    (f) Perform a detailed inspection for cracking of the crease 
beam and adjacent intercostals, stringers, frames, and skin panels 
at the applicable initial and repetitive compliance times specified 
in Table 1 of paragraph 1.E., ``Compliance,'' of Boeing Alert 
Service Bulletin 747-53A2591, dated April 6, 2006; except, where the 
alert service bulletin specifies an initial compliance time after 
the date on the alert service bulletin, this AD requires compliance 
within the specified compliance time after the effective date of 
this AD. Do all applicable related investigative and corrective 
actions before further flight if any cracking is found. Do all 
applicable actions in accordance with the Accomplishment 
Instructions of the alert service bulletin, except as provided by 
paragraphs (f)(1) and (f)(2) of this AD.
    (1) Where the alert service bulletin specifies to contact the 
manufacturer for instructions on how to repair certain conditions, 
before further flight, repair those conditions using a method 
approved in accordance with paragraph (g) of this AD.
    (2) Where the alert service bulletin specifies to report certain 
information to the manufacturer, this AD does not include that 
requirement.

Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    (g)(1) The Manager, Seattle Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), 
FAA, has the authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested in 
accordance with the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19.
    (2) Before using any AMOC approved in accordance with Sec.  
39.19 on any airplane to which the AMOC applies, notify the 
appropriate principal inspector in the FAA Flight Standards 
Certificate Holding District Office.
    (3) An AMOC that provides an acceptable level of safety may be 
used for any repair required by this AD, if it is approved by an 
Authorized Representative for the Boeing Commercial Airplanes 
Delegation Option Authorization Organization who has been authorized 
by the Manager, Seattle ACO, to make those findings. For a repair 
method to be approved, the repair must meet the certification basis 
of the airplane, and the approval must specifically refer to this 
AD.

Material Incorporated by Reference

    (h) You must use Boeing Alert Service Bulletin 747-53A2591, 
dated April 6, 2006, to perform the actions that are required by 
this AD, unless the AD specifies otherwise. The Director of the 
Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of this 
document in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. 
Contact Boeing Commercial Airplanes, P.O. Box 3707, Seattle, 
Washington 98124-2207, for a copy of this service information. You 
may review copies at the Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department 
of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Room PL-401, Nassif 
Building, Washington, DC; on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov; or 
at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For 
information on the availability of this material at the NARA, call 
(202) 741-6030, or go to http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html.

    Issued in Renton, Washington, on December 26, 2006.
Ali Bahrami,
Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
 [FR Doc. E7-910 Filed 1-24-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P

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