Federal Aviation Administration July 6, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 777-200, -200LR, -300, and -300ER series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report that showed a non-compliance exists on some in-service galley attendant seat fitting installations. The non-compliance could result in flight attendant seats failing in a high-G crash. This proposed AD would require modifications for galley mounted seat fittings. We are proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2017-16- 07, which applies to certain Airbus Model A330-200, A330-200 Freighter, A330-300, A340-500, and A340-600 series airplanes; and Model A340-313 airplanes. AD 2017-16-07 requires inspection of the fuselage bulk cargo door frames at specific locations, and corrective action if necessary. Since we issued AD 2017-16-07, it was determined that only airplanes having certain manufacturer serial numbers (MSNs) are affected by tartaric sulfuric anodizing (TSA)/chromic acid anodizing (CAA) surface treatment in the door fitting attachment holes, and that airplanes having certain MSNs were excluded. This proposed AD is intended to complete certain mandated programs intended to support the airplane reaching its limit of validity (LOV) of the engineering data that support the established structural maintenance program. This proposed AD would require new inspections of certain attachment holes for residual surface treatment and cracking, and corrective action if necessary; and would provide an optional terminating action for the inspections. The proposed AD would also revise the applicability to add certain airplanes and remove others. We are proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA is correcting a final rule published on March 5, 2018. In that rule, the FAA replaced specific references to offices within the Aircraft Certification Service and the Flight Standards Service with generic references not dependent on any particular office structure. The FAA incorrectly assigned amendment number 65-56 to this rule. The correct amendment number is 65-57A and this action fixes this error.

The FAA proposes the addition of a new test requirement to the airworthiness regulation addressing engine bird ingestion. The current regulation ensures bird ingestion capability of the turbofan engine fan blades, but the existing test conditions do not adequately demonstrate bird ingestion capability of the engine core. This proposed rule would require that, to obtain certification of a turbofan engine, a manufacturer must show that the engine core can continue to operate after ingesting a medium sized bird while operating at a lower fan speed associated with climb or landing. This new requirement would ensure that engines can ingest the largest medium flocking bird required by the existing rule into the engine core at climb or descent conditions.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier, Inc., Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of wear on fuel couplings, bonding springs, and sleeves as well as fuel tube end ferrules and fuel component end ferrules. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections of the existing clamshell coupling bonding wires, fuel couplings, and associated sleeves for certain criteria and replacement as necessary. This proposed AD would also require repetitive inspections of the fuel tube end ferrules, fuel component end ferrules, and ferrule o-ring flanges for damage and wear, and rework as necessary. We are proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.