Agency Information Collection Activities: Requests for Comments; Renewed Approval of Information Collection: Safe Disposition of Life-Limited Aircraft Parts, 18700 [2024-05454]

Agencies

• Federal Aviation Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 51 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 18700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05454]



[[Page 18700]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

[Docket No. 2023-1859]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Requests for Comments; 
Renewed Approval of Information Collection: Safe Disposition of Life-
Limited Aircraft Parts

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA 
invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information 
collection. The collection involves maintaining and recording ``the 
status of life-limited parts of each airframe, engine, propeller, 
rotor, and appliance. The information to be collected is necessary for 
maintaining and recording that the part is airworthy.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by May 13, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments:
    By Electronic Docket: www.regulations.gov (Enter docket number into 
search field).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Randy.A.Shafer by email at: 
[email protected]; phone: 217-971-8378.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Comments Invited: You are asked to 
comment on any aspect of this information collection, including (a) 
Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for FAA's 
performance; (b) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for FAA 
to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information 
collection; and (d) ways that the burden could be minimized without 
reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency will 
summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2120-0665.
    Title: Safe Disposition of Life-Limited Aircraft Parts.
    Form Numbers: N/A.
    Type of Review: Renewal of an Information Collection.
    Background: The FAA has found life-limited parts that exceeded 
their life-limits installed on type-certificated products during 
accident investigations and in routine surveillance. Although such 
installation of life-limited parts violates existing FAA regulations, 
concerns have arisen regarding the disposition of these life-limited 
parts when they have reached their life limits. Concerns over the use 
of life-limited aircraft parts led Congress to pass a law requiring the 
safe disposition of these parts. The Wendell H. Ford Investment and 
Reform Act for the 21st Century (Pub. L. 106-181), added section 44725 
to title 49, United States Code.
    Current Requirements: The type design of an aircraft, aircraft 
engine, or propeller includes the Instructions for Continued 
Airworthiness (ICA), which includes the Airworthiness Limitations that 
describe life limits for parts installed on the product. See, for 
instance, 14 CFR 21.3(c) and 21.50. In order for an aviation product to 
comply with its type design, the life-limited parts installed on it 
must fall within the acceptable ranges described in the Airworthiness 
Limitations section of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness. 
For this reason, installation of a life-limited part after the 
mandatory replacement time has been reached would be a violation of the 
maintenance regulations. Section 43.13(b) requires that maintenance 
work be completed so that the product worked on ``will be at least 
equal to its original or properly altered condition. * * *'' The 
product is not at least equal to its original or properly altered 
condition if a life-limited part has reached or exceeded its life 
limit. Existing regulations require that specific markings be placed on 
all life-limited parts at the time of manufacture. This includes 
permanently marking the part with a part number (or equivalent) and a 
serial number (or equivalent). See 14 CFR 45.14. Persons who install 
parts must have adequate information to determine a part's current life 
status. In particular, documentation problems may mislead an installer 
concerning the life remaining for a life-limited part. This rule 
further provides for the data needs of subsequent installers to ensure 
they know the life remaining on a part and prevent the part being used 
beyond its life limit. Existing regulations provide for records on 
life-limited parts that are installed on aircraft. The regulations 
require that each owner or operator under Sec.  91.417(a)(2)(ii) and 
each certificate holder under Sec.  121.380(a)(2)(iii) or Sec.  
135.439(a)(2)(ii), maintain records showing ``the current status of 
life-limited parts of each airframe, engine, propeller, rotor, and 
appliance.'' These regulations do not govern the disposition of the 
part when it is removed from the aircraft. If the part is intended to 
be reinstalled, however, a record of the life status of the part will 
be needed at the time of reinstallation to show that the part is within 
its life limit and to create the required record under Sec. Sec.  
91.417(a)(2)(ii), 121.380(a)(2)(iii), or 135.439(a)(2)(ii), as 
applicable. Therefore, when a life-limited part is removed from an 
aircraft and that part is intended to be reinstalled in an aircraft, 
industry practice is to make a record of the part's status at the time 
of removal. Repair stations, air carriers, and fixed base operators 
(FBO's) have systems in place to keep accurate records of such parts to 
ensure that they can reinstall the parts and have the required records 
to show that the part is airworthy. If the part is not intended to be 
reinstalled, however, under existing regulations and practice there is 
no record required or routinely made when a part is removed from an 
aircraft. The part may be at the end of its life limit and not eligible 
for installation. Or the part may not have reached the end of its life 
limit but is so close that reinstallation would not be practicable. In 
these cases, industry practices vary. For instance, the part might be 
put in a bin and later sold as scrap metal, it might be used as a 
training aid, or it might be mutilated. This renewal of the OMB control 
action requires the continued information collection.
    Respondents: 8,000.
    Frequency: As identified in previous rulemaking proposals for an 
annual frequency of information collection requirements is 100,000 
procedures.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 30 minutes per procedure.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: As identified in previous rule 
making estimates for this information collection the FAA refined its 
estimate of annual burden and has determined that there is no more than 
a minimal paperwork burden on any respondent for the record keeping and 
reporting requirements of 30 minutes duration, at $54 per hour per 
procedure.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 11, 2024.
David A. Hoyng,
Aviation Safety, Flight Standards Office of Safety Standards, Aircraft 
Maintenance Division (FS300).
[FR Doc. 2024-05454 Filed 3-13-24; 8:45 am]
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