[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 117 (Friday, June 17, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36415-36418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13050]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2022-0599; Project Identifier MCAI-2021-00456-A]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A. 
Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) 
for certain Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A. (Piaggio) Model P-180 
airplanes. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing 
airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of 
another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an 
aviation product. The MCAI identifies the unsafe condition as corrosion 
in the bottom fuselage area of the cabin compartment due to inner and 
outer sides of fuselage skin panels of certain airplanes treated with 
the less effective primer. This proposed AD would require repetitively 
inspecting the fuselage skin panels, visually inspecting the entire 
fuselage inner side skin if necessary, and taking any necessary 
corrective actions. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe 
condition on these products.

DATES: The FAA must receive comments on this proposed AD by August 1, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, using the procedures found in 14 CFR 
11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.

[[Page 36416]]

     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.
     Hand Delivery: Deliver to Mail address above between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    For service information identified in this NPRM, contact Piaggio 
Aero Industries S.p.A, P180 Customer Support, via Pionieri e Aviatori 
d'Italia, snc--16154 Genoa, Italy; phone: +39 331 679 74 93; email: 
[email protected]. You may view this service 
information at the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, Operational 
Safety Branch, 901 Locust, Kansas City, MO 64106. For information on 
the availability of this material at the FAA, call (817) 222-5110.

Examining the AD Docket

    You may examine the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov by 
searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2022-0599; 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 NPRM, the MCAI, 
any comments received, and other information. The street address for 
Docket Operations is listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Kiesov, Aviation Safety Engineer, 
FAA, General Aviation & Rotorcraft Section, International Validation 
Branch, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, MO 64106; phone: (816) 329-
4144; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites you to send any written relevant data, views, or 
arguments about this proposal. Send your comments to an address listed 
under the ADDRESSES section. Include ``Docket No. FAA-2022-0599; 
Project Identifier MCAI-2021-00456-A'' at the beginning of your 
comments. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion of the 
proposal, 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 NPRM 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 
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you 
provide. The agency will also post a report summarizing each 
substantive verbal contact received about this NPRM.

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 NPRM 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 NPRM, 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 Mike 
Kiesov, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, General Aviation & Rotorcraft 
Section, International Validation Branch, 901 Locust, Room 301, Kansas 
City, MO 64106. Any commentary that the FAA receives which is not 
specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for 
this rulemaking.

Background

    The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the 
Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Union, has issued 
EASA AD 2021-0104, dated April 15, 2021 (referred to after this as 
``the MCAI''), to address the unsafe condition on certain serial-
numbered Piaggio Model P.180 airplanes. The MCAI states:

    Occurrences were reported where, during routine inspections, 
diffused corrosion was detected on the fuselage inner side skin in 
the area of the passenger cabin. Evidence indicates that the 
presence of undetected (infiltrated or condensed) water, trapped in 
between the inner surface of fuselage skin panels and the thermo-
acoustic insulation panels, could have started a galvanic corrosion 
phenomenon, mainly in the bottom fuselage area of the cabin 
compartment. Fuselage skin panels of certain aeroplanes, delivered 
from 2009 to 2013, were treated with the first type of ``chromate-
free'' primer, chemically not as effective against corrosion when 
compared to those containing chrome. The phenomenon has been 
observed on aeroplanes subjected to prolonged inactivity and not 
stored in a hangar, or those operating in an environment with high 
humidity and/or frequent heavy precipitation, combined with a 
possible deterioration of window sealing due to normal aging, wear 
and tear.
    This condition, if not corrected, could affect the structural 
integrity of the fuselage.
    To address this potential unsafe condition, Piaggio published 
the [Piaggio Service Bulletin (SB) 80-0405, Revision 0, dated March 
15, 2021] SB to provide inspection instructions.
    For the reason described above, this [EASA] AD requires 
repetitive inspections of each affected area and, if necessary, an 
additional visual inspection of the entire fuselage inner side skin 
and, depending on findings, accomplishment of applicable repair. 
This [EASA] AD also requires reporting the inspection results to 
Piaggio.

    You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at https://www.regulations.gov by searching for and locating Docket No. FAA-2022-
0599.

Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51

    The FAA reviewed Piaggio SB No. 80-0405, Revision 0, dated March 
15, 2021. This service information specifies procedures for inspecting 
the fuselage skin panels and inspecting the full inner fuselage skin. 
It also specifies repairing or replacing any parts where corrosion is 
found.
    The FAA also reviewed Piaggio SB No. 80-0405, Revision 0, Errata 
Corrige No. 1, dated March 24, 2021, which addresses discrepancies 
identified in Piaggio SB No. 80-0405, Revision 0, dated March 15, 2021.
    This service information 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 and 
service information referenced above. The FAA is issuing this NPRM 
after determining the unsafe condition described previously is likely 
to exist or develop on other products of the same type design.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

    This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified 
in the service information already described.

Differences Between This Proposed AD and the MCAI or Service 
Information

    The MCAI allows credit for the fuselage inner skin inspection if 
previously done using Piaggio Aerospace Temporary Revision No. 332 to 
Chapter 53-00-00 of Piaggio P.180

[[Page 36417]]

Avanti II Maintenance Manual, and this proposed AD would not. The FAA 
will consider requests for an alternative method of compliance for this 
under paragraph (h) of this AD.
    The MCAI specifies compliance times of 8 months and 12 months 
depending on when the P-180 airplane maintenance manual 3,600 flight 
hour or 5-year inspection was accomplished. This proposed AD has a 12-
month compliance time for all airplanes because the 3,600 flight hour 
and 5-year maintenance manual inspections are not required for U.S. 
operators by FAA regulation.
    The service information specifies contacting Piaggio for certain 
repair instructions, while this proposed AD would require repair using 
a method approved by the FAA or EASA.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would 
affect 14 airplanes of U.S. registry.
    The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this proposed 
AD:

                                                 Estimated Costs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Action                Labor cost       Parts cost       Cost per airplane     Cost on U.S. operators
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Inspections..................  Up to 150 work-           $2,360  Up to $15,110..........  Up to $211,540.
                                hours x $85 per
                                hour = $12,750.
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    The FAA estimates the following costs to do any necessary actions 
that may be required based on the results of the proposed inspections. 
The FAA has no way of estimating the number of airplanes that might 
need these actions:

                                               On-Condition Costs
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              Action                    Labor cost               Parts cost                Cost per airplane
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Repair...........................  Up to 80 work-hours  $1,220......................  Up to $8,020.
                                    x $85 per hour =
                                    $6,800.
Replace skin panel...............  Up to 250 work-      Up to $12,200...............  Up to $33,450.
                                    hours x $85 per
                                    hour = $21,250.
Reporting Results................  1 work-hour x $85    Not Applicable..............  $1,190.
                                    per hour = $85.
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Paperwork Reduction Act

    A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for 
failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of 
information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. The OMB 
Control Number for this information collection is 2120-0056. Public 
reporting for this collection of information is estimated to be 
approximately 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing 
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, completing and reviewing the collection of 
information. All responses to this collection of information are 
mandatory. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other 
aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for 
reducing this burden, to: Information Collection Clearance Officer, 
Federal Aviation Administration, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 
76177-1524.

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

    The FAA determined that this proposed AD would not have federalism 
implications under Executive Order 13132. This proposed AD would 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 this proposed 
regulation:
    (1) Is not be a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive 
Order 12866,
    (2) Would not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, and
    (3) Would not have a significant economic impact, positive or 
negative, on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria 
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

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

The Proposed Amendment

    Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the 
Administrator, the FAA proposes to amend 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:

Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A.: Docket No. FAA-2022-0599; Project 
Identifier MCAI-2021-00456-A.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) by August 1, 2022.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

[[Page 36418]]

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A. (Piaggio) 
Model P-180 airplanes, serial numbers (S/N) 1174 through 1214 
inclusive and S/N 1218 through 1230 inclusive, certificated in any 
category.

(d) Subject

    Joint Aircraft System Component (JASC) Code 5330, Fuselage Main, 
Plate/Skin.

(e) Unsafe Condition

    This AD was prompted by mandatory continuing airworthiness 
information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another 
country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation 
product. The MCAI identifies the unsafe condition as corrosion in 
the bottom fuselage area of the cabin compartment due to inner and 
outer sides of fuselage skin panels treated with less effective 
primer. The FAA is issuing this AD to prevent degradation of the 
structural integrity of the fuselage. This condition, if not 
addressed, could lead to loss of control of the airplane.

(f) Compliance

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

(g) Required Actions

    (1) Within 12 months after the effective date of this AD, do the 
applicable inspections and corrective actions on each fuselage wing 
skin panel in accordance with the Accomplishment Instructions, Part 
A, paragraphs (1) through (15) and (17) through (20), or Part A 
(Alternate Procedure), paragraphs (31) through (37), (41) through 
(43), (50) through (55), and (57) through (60), in Piaggio Service 
Bulletin 80-0405, Revision 0, dated March 15, 2021, as corrected by 
Piaggio Service Bulletin 80-0405, Revision 0, Errata Corrige No. 1, 
dated March 24, 2021 (Piaggio SB 80-0405), except for the following:
    (i) You are not required to contact the manufacturer. Instead, 
for any repairs, use a method approved by the FAA or the European 
Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
    (ii) Where the steps in Part A or Part A (Alternate Procedure) 
reference Part B, you must follow the Accomplishment Instructions, 
Part B, paragraphs (82) through (86), (88), and (104) of Piaggio SB 
80-0405.
    (2) If, as part of the corrective actions required by paragraph 
(g)(1) of this AD, you repaired areas of the fuselage skin but did 
not replace the panels, do the following:
    (i) Within 60 days after completing the actions required by 
paragraph (g)(1) of this AD, report the inspection results, 
including the information specified in the Confirmation Slip 
attached to Piaggio SB 80-0405, to Piaggio at 
[email protected]; and
    (ii) Repeat the requirements of paragraph (g)(1) of this AD at 
intervals not to exceed 660 hours time-in-service (TIS) or 26 
months, whichever occurs first.
    (3) If, as part of the corrective actions required by paragraph 
(g)(1) of this AD, you replaced the panels, within 60 days after 
completing the actions required by paragraph (g)(1) of this AD, 
report the inspection results, including the information specified 
in the Confirmation Slip attached to Piaggio SB 80-0405, to Piaggio 
at [email protected].
    (4) If, during all of the inspections required by paragraph 
(g)(1) of this AD, there is no corrosion and no primer 
inconsistencies, no further action is required by this AD.

(h) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs)

    (1) 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 local Flight 
Standards District Office, as appropriate. If sending information 
directly to the manager of the certification office, send it to the 
attention of the person identified in paragraph (i)(1) of this AD 
and email to: [email protected].
    (2) 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.

(i) Related Information

    (1) For more information about this AD, contact Mike Kiesov, 
Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, General Aviation & Rotorcraft 
Section, International Validation Branch, 901 Locust, Room 301, 
Kansas City, MO 64106; phone: (816) 329-4144; email: 
[email protected].
    (2) Refer to EASA AD 2021-0104, dated April 15, 2021, for more 
information. You may view the EASA AD at https://www.regulations.gov 
in Docket No. FAA-2022-0599.
    (3) For service information identified in this AD, contact 
Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A, P180 Customer Support, via Pionieri e 
Aviatori d'Italia, snc--16154 Genoa, Italy; phone: +39 331 679 74 
93; email: [email protected]. You may view this 
service information at the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, 
Operational Safety Branch, 901 Locust, Kansas City, MO 64106. For 
information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 
(817) 222-5110.

    Issued on June 13, 2022.
Christina Underwood,
Acting Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-13050 Filed 6-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P


