Federal Aviation Administration May 28, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2010-03- 05, which applies to all The Boeing Company Model 747-200C and -200F series airplanes. AD 2010-03-05 currently requires, for section 41 upper deck floor beam upper chords, an inspection for cracks of certain fastener holes, and corrective action if necessary; and repetitive replacements of the upper chords, straps (or angles), and radius fillers of certain upper deck floor beams and, for any replacement that is done, inspections for cracks, and corrective actions if necessary. Since we issued AD 2010-03-05, we have determined that the upper deck floor beams are subject to widespread fatigue damage (WFD), the existing inspection program is not sufficient to maintain an acceptable level of safety, and section 42 upper deck floor beam upper chords are subject to the unsafe condition. This proposed AD would add post- replacement inspections for section 41 and reduce certain compliance times. This proposed AD would also require repetitive inspections of section 42 upper deck floor beam upper chords, repetitive replacements of the upper chords, post-replacement inspections, and corrective action if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracking of the upper chords and straps (or angles) of the floor beams, which could lead to failure of the floor beams and consequent loss of controllability, rapid decompression, and loss of structural integrity of the airplane.

We propose to rescind airworthiness directive (AD) 2012-26-15, which applies to certain Honeywell International Inc. air data pressure transducers as installed on various aircraft. AD 2012-26-15 requires doing various tests or checks of equipment having certain air data pressure transducers, removing equipment if necessary, and reporting the results of the tests or checks. As an option to the tests or checks, AD 2012-26-15 allows removal of affected equipment having certain air data pressure transducers. We issued AD 2012-26-15 to detect and correct inaccuracies of the pressure sensors, which could result in altitude, computed airspeed, true airspeed, and Mach computation errors. AD 2012-26-15 reported that these errors could reduce the ability of the flightcrew to maintain the safe flight of the aircraft and could result in consequent loss of control of the aircraft. Since we issued AD 2012-26-15, we have received new data indicating that the safety risk is lower than originally estimated.

We are revising an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus Model A318, A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes. The NPRM proposed to supersede AD 2011-14-06 and proposed revising the maintenance program. The NPRM was prompted by the determination that more restrictive limitations are necessary. This action revises the NPRM by revising the maintenance program to incorporate new limitations. We are proposing this AD to prevent fatigue cracking, accidental damage, or corrosion in principal structural elements, and possible failure of certain life limited parts, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane. Since these actions impose an additional burden over that proposed in the NPRM, we are reopening the comment period to allow the public the chance to comment on these proposed changes.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of the FAA's regulatory activities. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.