Proposed Rule2023-12927
Airworthiness Directives; Saab AB, Support and Services (Formerly Known as Saab AB, Saab Aeronautics) Airplanes
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 20, 2023
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration
Abstract
The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Saab AB, Support and Services Model 340A (SAAB/SF340A) and SAAB 340B airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of a high number of events related to stall warnings upon landing, following introduction of the ice speed function within the stall warning system. This proposed AD would require modification of the stall warning/ identification system, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is proposed for incorporation by reference (IBR). The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 117 (Tuesday, June 20, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 117 (Tuesday, June 20, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39794-39796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12927]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 117 / Tuesday, June 20, 2023 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 39794]]
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 39
[Docket No. FAA-2023-1215; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-00196-T]
RIN 2120-AA64
Airworthiness Directives; Saab AB, Support and Services (Formerly
Known as Saab AB, Saab Aeronautics) 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 Saab AB, Support and Services Model 340A (SAAB/SF340A) and
SAAB 340B airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of a high
number of events related to stall warnings upon landing, following
introduction of the ice speed function within the stall warning system.
This proposed AD would require modification of the stall warning/
identification system, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety
Agency (EASA) AD, which is proposed for incorporation by reference
(IBR). 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 4,
2023.
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 <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a>. 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.
<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 <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> under
Docket No. FAA-2023-1215; 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 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 EASA material that is proposed for IBR in this NPRM,
contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone
+49 221 8999 000; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#db9a9fa89bbebaa8baf5beaea9b4abbaf5beae"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0e4f4a7d4e6b6f7d6f206b7b7c617e6f206b7b">[email protected]</span></a>; website easa.europa.eu. You
may find this material on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu. It is
also available at <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> under Docket No. FAA-2023-1215.
<bullet> You may view this service information 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shahram Daneshmandi, Aviation Safety
Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590;
telephone 206-231-3220; email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bcefd4ddd4ceddd192f8ddd2d9cfd4d1ddd2d8d5fcdadddd92dbd3ca"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c99aa1a8a1bba8a4e78da8a7acbaa1a4a8a7ada089afa8a8e7aea6bf">[email protected]</span></a>.
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-2023-1215; Project Identifier
MCAI-2023-00196-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
<a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a>, 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 NPRM. Submissions containing CBI should be sent to
Shahram Daneshmandi, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart
Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 206-231-3220; email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#16457e777e64777b3852777873657e7b7778727f5670777738717960"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5f0c373e372d3e32711b3e313a2c37323e313b361f393e3e71383029">[email protected]</span></a>. Any commentary that the FAA receives which
is not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public
docket for this rulemaking.
Background
EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the
European Union, has issued EASA AD 2022-0216R1, dated February 1, 2023;
corrected February 2, 2023 (EASA AD 2022-0216R1) (also referred to as
the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition for SAAB SF340A and SAAB 340B
airplanes, all serial numbers, except those that have SAAB modification
number 2650 (Canada Ice Speed Configuration) embodied. The MCAI states
that following the introduction of the ice speed function within the
SAAB 340 stall warning system, a high number of events have been
reported related to stall warnings upon landing. Subsequent
investigation determined that the margin to stall warning is lower when
ice speed is ON than with ice speed OFF. This condition, if not
corrected, could lead to inappropriate stall warnings during the
landing phase
[[Page 39795]]
and result in increased pilot workload during a critical phase of
flight.
The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these
products.
You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> under
Docket No. FAA-2023-1215.
Related Service Information Under 1 CFR Part 51
EASA AD 2022-0216R1 specifies procedures for modifying the stall
warning/identification system to introduce an ice speed cancel logic.
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 ADDRESSES.
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
described above. The FAA is issuing this NPRM after determining that
the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop
in other products of the same type design.
Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM
This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified
in EASA AD 2022-0216R1 described previously, except for any differences
identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this proposed 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, the
FAA proposes to incorporate EASA AD 2022-0216R1 by reference in the FAA
final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with
EASA AD 2022-0216R1 in its entirety through that incorporation, except
for any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of
this proposed AD. Using common terms that are the same as the heading
of a particular section in EASA AD 2022-0216R1 does not mean that
operators need comply only with that section. For example, where the AD
requirement refers to ``all required actions and compliance times,''
compliance with this AD requirement is not limited to the section
titled ``Required Action(s) and Compliance Time(s)'' in EASA AD 2022-
0216R1. Service information required by EASA AD 2022-0216R1 for
compliance will be available at <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> under Docket No. FAA-
2023-1215 after the FAA final rule is published.
Costs of Compliance
The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would
affect 79 airplanes of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following
costs to comply with this proposed AD:
Estimated Costs for Required Actions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Labor cost Parts cost Cost per product Cost on U.S. operators
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Up to 30 work-hours x $85 per hour $7,900 Up to $10,450................ Up to $825,550.
= $2,550.
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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:
Saab AB, Support and Services (Formerly Known as Saab AB, Saab
Aeronautics): Docket No. FAA-2023-1215; Project Identifier MCAI-
2023-00196-T.
(a) Comments Due Date
The FAA must receive comments on this airworthiness directive
(AD) by August 4, 2023.
(b) Affected ADs
None.
(c) Applicability
This AD applies to Saab AB, Support and Services (formerly known
as Saab AB, Saab Aeronautics) Model 340A (SAAB/SF340A) and SAAB 340B
airplanes, certificated in any category, as identified in European
Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2022-0216R1, dated February
1, 2023; corrected February 2, 2023 (EASA AD 2022-0216R1).
[[Page 39796]]
(d) Subject
Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 27, Flight
controls.
(e) Unsafe Condition
This AD was prompted by reports of a high number of events
related to stall warnings upon landing, following introduction of
the ice speed function within the stall warning system. The FAA is
issuing this AD to address a margin to stall warning that is lower
when ice speed is ON than with ice speed OFF. The unsafe condition,
if not addressed, could lead to inappropriate stall warnings during
the landing phase and result in increased pilot workload during a
critical phase of flight.
(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, EASA AD 2022-0216R1.
(h) Exceptions to EASA AD 2022-0216R1
(1) Where EASA AD 2022-0216R1 refers to November 16, 2022 (the
effective date of EASA AD 2022-0216), this AD requires using the
effective date of this AD.
(2) The ``Remarks'' section of EASA AD 2022-0216R1 does not
apply to this AD.
(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 International
Validation Branch, send it to the attention of the person identified
in paragraph (j) of this AD. Information may be emailed to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#350c1874636618747c67180206051874787a76755354541b525a43"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1a23375b4c49375b5348372d292a375b5755595a7c7b7b347d756c">[email protected]</span></a>. 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 EASA; or Saab AB, Support and Services'
EASA Design Organization Approval (DOA). If approved by the DOA, the
approval must include the DOA-authorized signature.
(j) Additional Information
For more information about this AD, contact Shahram Daneshmandi,
Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410,
Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 206-231-3220; email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#34675c555c4655591a70555a51475c59555a505d745255551a535b42"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="114279707963707c3f55707f7462797c707f7578517770703f767e67">[email protected]</span></a>.
(k) Material Incorporated by Reference
(1) The Director of the Federal Register approved the
incorporation by reference (IBR) of the service information listed
in this paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51.
(2) You must use this service information as applicable to do
the actions required by this AD, unless this AD specifies otherwise.
(i) European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD 2022-0216R1,
dated February 1, 2023; corrected February 2, 2023.
(ii) [Reserved]
(3) For EASA AD 2022-0216R1, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer
3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999 000; email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1f5e5b6c5f7a7e6c7e317a6a6d706f7e317a6a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7c3d380f3c191d0f1d5219090e130c1d521909">[email protected]</span></a>; website easa.europa.eu. You may find this EASA
AD on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu.
(4) You may view this service information 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 service information that is incorporated
by reference at the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA). For information on the availability of this material at
NARA, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cfa9bde1a6a1bcbfaaacbba6a0a18fa1aebdaee1a8a0b9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a1c7d38fc8cfd2d1c4c2d5c8cecfe1cfc0d3c08fc6ced7">[email protected]</span></a>, or go to: <a href="http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html">www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html</a>.
Issued on June 12, 2023.
Ross Landes,
Deputy Director for Regulatory Operations, Compliance & Airworthiness
Division, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-12927 Filed 6-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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