[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2279-2282]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00130]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2022-0679; Project Identifier MCAI-2021-01213-T]
RIN 2120-AA64


Airworthiness Directives; MHI RJ Aviation ULC (Type Certificate 
Previously Held by Bombardier, Inc.) Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM).

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SUMMARY: The FAA is revising a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 
that would have applied to all MHI RJ Aviation ULC Model CL-600-2C10 
(Regional Jet Series 700, 701 & 702) airplanes, Model CL-600-2C11 
(Regional Jet Series 550) airplanes, Model CL-600-2D15 (Regional Jet 
Series 705) airplanes, Model CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) 
airplanes, and Model CL-600-2E25 (Regional Jet Series 1000) airplanes. 
This action revises the NPRM by proposing to require revising the 
existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to 
incorporate two aircraft maintenance manual (AMM) tasks. The FAA is 
proposing this airworthiness directive (AD) to address the unsafe 
condition on these products. Since these actions would impose an 
additional burden over those in the NPRM, the FAA is requesting 
comments on this SNPRM.

DATES: The FAA must receive comments on this SNPRM by February 27, 
2023.

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 regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
     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.
    AD Docket: You may examine the AD docket at regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FAA-2022-0679; or in person at Docket Operations between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD 
docket contains the NPRM, this SNPRM, the mandatory continuing 
airworthiness information (MCAI), any comments received, and other 
information. The street address for Docket Operations is listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chirayu A. Gupta, Aerospace Engineer, 
Airframe and Propulsion Section, FAA, New York ACO Branch, 1600 Stewart 
Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 516-228-7300; 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 ADDRESSES. Include ``Docket No. FAA-2022-0679; Project Identifier 
MCAI-2021-01213-T'' 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 proposal 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 SNPRM.

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 SNPRM 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 SNPRM, it is important that you clearly designate 
the submitted comments as CBI. Please

[[Page 2280]]

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 SNPRM. Submissions 
containing CBI should be sent to Chirayu A. Gupta, Aerospace Engineer, 
Airframe and Propulsion Section, FAA, New York ACO Branch, 1600 Stewart 
Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 516-228-7300; 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

    The FAA issued an NPRM to amend 14 CFR part 39 by adding an AD that 
would apply to all MHI RJ Aviation ULC Model CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet 
Series 700, 701 & 702) airplanes, Model CL-600-2C11 (Regional Jet 
Series 550) airplanes, Model CL-600-2D15 (Regional Jet Series 705) 
airplanes, Model CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) airplanes, and 
Model CL-600-2E25 (Regional Jet Series 1000) airplanes. The NPRM 
published in the Federal Register on June 16, 2022 (87 FR 36269). The 
NPRM was prompted by AD CF-2021-38, dated November 5, 2021, issued by 
Transport Canada, which is the aviation authority for Canada. Transport 
Canada issued AD CF-2021-38, dated November 5, 2021, to address an 
unsafe condition.
    In the NPRM, the FAA proposed to require revising the existing 
maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new 
and more restrictive airworthiness limitations.
    You may examine Transport Canada AD CF-2021-38, dated November 5, 
2021, in the AD docket at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2022-
0679.

Actions Since the NPRM Was Issued

    Since the FAA issued the NPRM, the FAA determined it was necessary 
to require revising the existing maintenance or inspection program, as 
applicable, to incorporate two AMM tasks.
    In addition, Transport Canada revised AD CF-2021-38, dated November 
5, 2021, and issued Transport Canada AD CF-2021-38R1, dated May 25, 
2022 (Transport Canada AD CF-2021-38R1) (also referred to as the MCAI), 
to correct an unsafe condition for all MHI RJ Aviation ULC Model CL-
600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series 700, 701 & 702) airplanes, Model CL-600-
2C11 (Regional Jet Series 550) airplanes, Model CL-600-2D15 (Regional 
Jet Series 705) airplanes, Model CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) 
airplanes, and Model CL-600-2E25 (Regional Jet Series 1000) airplanes. 
The MCAI states there have been in-service reports of emergency ram air 
valve part number GG670-95019-1 stuck in closed or partially open 
positions. An investigation revealed that the emergency ram air valve 
is failing due to corrosion of multiple sub-components, which causes an 
increase in the breakaway torque that cannot be overcome by the valve 
actuator. This condition, if not corrected, could result in a complete 
loss of outside air supply, leading to an increase in flight deck and 
cabin temperatures and a possible increased level of contaminated air 
(carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or ozone).
    The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on 
these products.
    You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under 
Docket No. FAA-2022-0679.

Comments

    The FAA received comments from the Air Line Pilots Association, 
International, who supported the NPRM without change.
    The FAA received additional comments from MHI RJ Aviation ULC. The 
following presents the comments received on the NPRM and the FAA's 
response to each comment.

Request To Revise Model Designations

    MHI RJ Aviation ULC requested that paragraph (g)(1) of the proposed 
AD be revised to read ``[MHI RJ] CRJ550/700/900/1000 Series Regional 
Jet Series'' instead of ``[MHI RJ] CRJ700/900/1000 Series Regional Jet 
Series.''
    The FAA disagrees. The citations for required documents match the 
nomenclature of the cited documents. For the Temporary Revision (TR) 
ALI-0744, dated April 27, 2021, the first page of the document only 
identifies ``CRJ700/900/1000 Series Regional Jet.'' Therefore, the 
correct citation should be ``[MHI RJ] CRJ700/900/1000 Series Regional 
Jet Temporary Revision (TR) ALI-0744, dated April 27, 2021.'' However, 
that temporary revision is no longer cited in this proposed AD; 
therefore, the FAA has not changed this proposed AD in this regard.

Request To Revise Reference to the MCAI

    MHI RJ Aviation ULC requested that paragraph (j)(1) of the proposed 
AD be revised to refer to ``CF-2021-38R1'' instead of ``CF-2021-38.''
    The FAA agrees and has revised paragraph (j)(1) of this proposed AD 
(of the SNPRM) accordingly.

Additional Changes Made to This Proposed AD

    This proposed AD (of the SNPRM) introduces new candidate 
certification maintenance requirement (CCMR) intervals that the FAA 
cannot mandate as CCMRs as specified in the temporary revisions cited 
in the proposed A. Therefore, the FAA proposes to mandate two AMM tasks 
as specified in Figure 1 to paragraph (g)(1) and Figure 2 to paragraph 
(g)(2) of the proposed AD (of the SNPRM). In addition, the figures 
include the on-condition replacement requirements specified in 
Transport Canada AD CF-2021-38R1, which were not included in the 
proposed AD (of the NPRM).

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 the State of Design Authority, it 
has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI 
referenced above. The FAA is issuing this SNPRM after determining that 
the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop 
on other products of the same type design.
    Certain changes described above expand the scope of the NPRM. As a 
result, it is necessary to reopen the comment period to provide 
additional opportunity for the public to comment on this SNPRM.

Proposed AD Requirements in This SNPRM

    This proposed AD would require revising the existing maintenance or 
inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate two AMM tasks.

Costs of Compliance

    The FAA estimates that this proposed AD affects 1,158 airplanes of 
U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with 
this proposed AD:
    The FAA has determined that revising the maintenance or inspection 
program takes an average of 90 work-hours per operator, although the 
agency recognizes that this number may vary from operator to operator. 
Since operators incorporate maintenance or inspection program changes 
for their affected fleet(s), the FAA has determined that a per-operator 
estimate is more accurate than a per-airplane estimate. Therefore, the 
agency

[[Page 2281]]

estimates the average total cost per operator to be $7,650 (90 work-
hours x $85 per work-hour).

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 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:

MHI RJ Aviation ULC (Type Certificate Previously Held by Bombardier, 
Inc.): Docket No. FAA-2022-0679; Project Identifier MCAI-2021-01213-
T.

(a) Comments Due Date

    The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive 
(AD) by February 27, 2023.

(b) Affected ADs

    None.

(c) Applicability

    This AD applies to all MHI RJ Aviation ULC airplanes, 
certificated in any category, identified in paragraphs (c)(1) 
through (5) of this AD.
    (1) Model CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series 700, 701 & 702) 
airplanes.
    (2) Model CL-600-2C11 (Regional Jet Series 550) airplanes.
    (3) Model CL-600-2D15 (Regional Jet Series 705) airplanes.
    (4) Model CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) airplanes.
    (5) Model CL-600-2E25 (Regional Jet Series 1000) airplanes.

(d) Subject

    Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 21, Air 
conditioning.

(e) Reason

    This AD was prompted by a determination that the existing 
maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, must be revised to 
incorporate two aircraft manual (AMM) tasks. The FAA is issuing this 
AD to address in-service reports of emergency ram air valve part 
number (P/N) GG670-95019-1 stuck in closed or partially open 
positions, which, if not corrected could result in a complete loss 
of outside air supply, leading to an increase in flight deck and 
cabin temperatures and a possible increased level of contaminated 
air (carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or ozone).

(f) Compliance

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

(g) Maintenance or Inspection Program Revision

    (1) Within 90 days after the effective date of this AD, revise 
the existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to 
incorporate the information specified in figure 1 to paragraph 
(g)(1) of this AD. The initial compliance time for doing the task is 
at the applicable time specified in paragraph (g)(1)(i) or (ii) of 
this AD.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP13JA23.000


[[Page 2282]]


    (i) For airplanes that have accumulated less than 1,800 flight 
hours since the last operational check of the ram air shutoff valve 
was performed as specified in AMM Task 21-52-04-710-801-A01, and for 
airplanes that have accumulated less than 1,800 flight hours from 
the date of issuance of the original airworthiness certificate or 
original export certificate of airworthiness: Within 90 days after 
the effective date of this AD, or before accumulating 1,800 total 
flight hours, whichever occurs later.
    (ii) For airplanes that have accumulated 1,800 flight hours or 
more since the last operational check of the ram air shutoff valve 
was performed as specified in AMM Task 21-52-04-710-801-A01, and for 
airplanes that have accumulated 1,800 flight hours or more since the 
date of issuance of the original airworthiness certificate or 
original export certificate of airworthiness and for which no 
operational check of the valve has been performed: Within 90 days 
after the effective date of this AD or before accumulating 3,000 
total flight hours, whichever occurs later.
    (2) Within 90 days after the effective date of this AD, revise 
the existing maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to 
incorporate the information specified in figure 2 to paragraph 
(g)(2) of this AD. The initial compliance time for doing the task is 
at the applicable time specified in paragraph (g)(2)(i) or (ii) of 
this AD.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP13JA23.001

    (i) For airplanes that have accumulated less than 17,600 flight 
hours since the last detailed inspection of the pack discharge and 
ram air supply ducts was performed as specified in AMM Task 21-51-
00-220-801-A01, and for airplanes that have accumulated less than 
17,600 flight hours since the date of issuance of the original 
airworthiness certificate or original export certificate of 
airworthiness: Within 90 days after the effective date of this AD, 
or before accumulating 17,600 total flight hours, whichever occurs 
later.
    (ii) For airplanes that have accumulated 17,600 flight hours or 
more since the last detailed inspection of the pack discharge and 
ram air supply ducts as specified in AMM Task 21-51-00-220-801-A01, 
and for airplanes that have accumulated 17,600 flight hours or more 
since the date of issuance of the original airworthiness certificate 
or original export certificate of airworthiness, and for which no 
detailed inspection of the pack discharge and ram air supply ducts 
has been performed: Within 90 days after the effective date of this 
AD.

(h) No Alternative Actions or Intervals

    After the existing maintenance or inspection program has been 
revised as required by paragraph (g) of this AD, no alternative 
actions (e.g., inspections) or intervals, may be used unless the 
actions and intervals are approved as an alternative method of 
compliance (AMOC) in accordance with the procedures specified in 
paragraph (i)(1) of this AD.

(i) Other FAA AD Provisions

    The following provisions also apply to this AD:
    (1) Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs): The Manager, New 
York ACO 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 certification 
office, send it to ATTN: Program Manager, Continuing Operational 
Safety, FAA, New York ACO Branch, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, 
Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 516-228-7300. 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, New York ACO 
Branch, FAA; or Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA); or MHI RJ 
Aviation ULC's TCCA Design Approval Organization (DAO). If approved 
by the DAO, the approval must include the DAO-authorized signature.

(j) Additional Information

    (1) Refer to Transport Canada AD CF-2021-38R1, dated May 25, 
2022, for related information. This Transport Canada AD may be found 
in the AD docket at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2022-0679.
    (2) For more information about this AD, contact Chirayu A. 
Gupta, Aerospace Engineer, Airframe and Propulsion Section, FAA, New 
York ACO Branch, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; 
telephone 516-228-7300; email [email protected].

(k) Material Incorporated by Reference

    None.

    Issued on January 2, 2023.
Christina Underwood,
Acting Director, Compliance & Airworthiness Division, Aircraft 
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-00130 Filed 1-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P


