Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following:
See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details.
AGENCY:
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION:
Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
SUMMARY:
The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain ATR—GIE Avions de Transport Régional Model ATR42 and ATR72 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report that a flight deck emergency escape hatch was difficult to open due to the hose ends being connected to the hatch with incorrect parts, which could affect drainage of the hatch. This proposed AD would require inspection of the flight deck emergency escape hatch drain hose for discrepancies and applicable corrective actions, and prohibit accomplishment of maintenance actions using the instructions of certain maintenance tasks, 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 December 16, 2024.
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-2024-2418; 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:
- For EASA material identified in this proposed AD, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999 000; emailADs@easa.europa.eu; website easa.europa.eu. You may find this material on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu. It is also available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-2418.
- You may view this material 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: Shahram.Daneshmandi@faa.gov.
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-2024-2418; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-00239-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 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: Shahram.Daneshmandi@faa.gov. Any commentary that the FAA receives that 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 2024-0090, dated April 16, 2024 (also referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition for certain ATR—GIE Avions de Transport Régional Model ATR42-200, ATR42-300, ATR42-320, ATR42-400, ATR42-500, ATR72-101, ATR72-102, ATR72-201, ATR72-202, ATR72-211, ATR72-212, and ATR72-212A airplanes. Model ATR42-400 airplanes are not certificated by the FAA and are not included on the U.S. type certificate data sheet; this proposed AD therefore does not include those airplanes in the applicability.
The MCAI states that following a report that a flight deck emergency escape hatch was difficult to open, an ATR investigation revealed hatch drain hose ends connected to the hatch with incorrect parts (zip-tie and ty-rap) and installed collars with a too-small diameter that would not permit the drain hose to slide inside. These installation nonconformities could occur only during maintenance and could affect the hatch drainage and possibly result in difficulties in removing the hatch in case of an emergency evacuation. ATR has updated the maintenance procedures to clarify the correct procedures.
The FAA is proposing this AD to address these installation nonconformities, which could prevent flightcrew evacuation from the airplane in case of an emergency, possibly resulting in personal injury.
You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-2418.
Material Incorporated by Reference Under 1 CFR Part 51
EASA AD 2024-0090 specifies procedures for inspecting for discrepancies of the flight deck emergency escape hatch drain hose (including checking for the presence of a fastening system on the drain hoses at the level of the escape hatch drains and checking whether a drain hose slides freely in the clamp (collar)). Discrepancies include any zip-tie/ty-rap that is detected and any drain hose that does not slide freely in the clamp. Corrective actions include removing the fastening system and replacing the clamp. EASA AD 2024-0090 also prohibits accomplishment of maintenance actions using the instructions of Maintenance Procedure (MP) Tasks ATR-A-52-22-XX-00ZZZ-520Z-A and ATR-A-52-22-XX-00ZZZ-720Z-A issued December 31, 2023, or earlier. 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 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 referenced 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 2024-0090 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 2024-0090 by reference in the FAA final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with EASA AD 2024-0090 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 2024-0090 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 2024-0090. Material required by EASA AD 2024-0090 for compliance will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-2418 after the FAA final rule is published.
Costs of Compliance
The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would affect 80 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 work-hour × $85 per hour = $21.25 | $0 | $21.25 | $1,700 |
Estimated Costs of On-Condition Actions
| Labor cost | Parts cost | Cost per product |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 work-hour × $85 per hour = $21.25 | Minimal | $21.25 |