Airworthiness Directives; DAHER AEROSPACE (Type Certificate Previously Held by SOCATA) Airplanes

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-2024-2413; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-00982-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 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 Fred Guerin, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590. 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 2023-0164, dated August 18, 2023 (also referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition on certain serial-numbered DAHER Model TBM 700 airplanes. The MCAI states that the emergency procedures “Cabin Electrical Fire or Smoke During flight” and “Smoke elimination” cannot be fully accomplished since certain equipment cannot be disconnected by the pilot(s) from the flight deck. The MCAI requires incorporating a temporary revision (TR) into the emergency procedures section of the applicable POH, informing all flight crews, and operating the airplane accordingly. This condition, if not corrected, could lead to increased flight crew workload during critical phases of flight, resulting in reduced control of the airplane.

To address the unsafe condition, DAHER published Temporary Revision 30, dated July 2023 (DAHER TR 30), to Section 3, Emergency Procedures, which removes the procedures “Cabin Electrical Fire or Smoke During Flight” and “Smoke elimination” of the DAHER Model TBM 960 Pilot's Operating Handbook, Edition 0, dated January 27, 2022, and replaces them with the new emergency procedure “Fire or Smoke in Flight”.

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-2024-2413.

Related Material Under 1 CFR Part 51

The FAA reviewed DAHER TR 30 to Section 3 of the Emergency Procedures section of the POH by removing the procedures “Cabin Electrical Fire or Smoke During Flight” and “Smoke elimination” and replacing them with the new emergency procedure “Fire or Smoke in Flight.”

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.

Clarification of Relationship Between DAHER TR 30 and the Proposed AD Applicability

Although the applicability of this proposed AD is certain serial-numbered DAHER Model TBM 700 airplanes, the TR that needs to be inserted into the applicable POH for the owner/operator's airplane is Temporary Revision 30, dated July 2023, to DAHER Pilot's Operating Handbook TBM 960, Edition 0, dated January 27, 2022. The FAA type certificate data sheet (TCDS) specifies Model TBM 700 airplanes, but the notes in the FAA TCDS indicate that, depending on the airplane's serial number and any optional modification installed, an affected Model TBM 700 airplane could have a trade name that includes a “900” designation, including TBM 900, TBM 910, TBM 930, TBM 940, or TBM 960.

FAA's Determination

These products have been approved by the aviation authority of another country and are 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 material referenced above. The FAA is issuing this NPRM after determining that 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 revising the existing POH for your airplane to provide the flight crew with emergency procedures to follow under certain conditions, except as discussed under “Differences Between this Proposed AD and the MCAI.” The owner/operator (pilot) holding at least a private pilot certificate may revise the existing POH for your airplane and must enter compliance with the applicable paragraph of this proposed AD into the airplane maintenance records in accordance with 14 CFR 43.9(a) and 91.417(a)(2)(v). The pilot may perform this action because it only involves revising the POH. This action could be performed equally well by a pilot or a mechanic. This is an exception to the FAA's standard maintenance regulations.

Differences Between This Proposed AD and the MCAI

EASA AD 2023-0164 includes requirements to “inform all flight crews and, thereafter, operating the airplane accordingly” and this proposed AD would not specifically require those actions because those actions are already required by FAA regulations.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would affect 930 airplanes of U.S. registry.

The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this proposed AD: