Federal Aviation Administration November 20, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document announces a reopening of the comment period for the above-referenced NPRM. The NPRM proposed the adoption of a new airworthiness directive for certain Airbus Model A330 airplanes and A340-200 and -300 series airplanes. That NPRM invites comments concerning the proposed requirements for the inspection of the fuselage to identify possible permanent skin repairs and permanent longitudinal lap joint repairs and to apply the associated corrective actions. This reopening of the comment period is necessary to provide additional opportunity for public comment on the proposed requirements of that NPRM.

This document announces a reopening of the comment period for the above-referenced NPRM. The NPRM proposed the adoption of a new airworthiness directive for certain Saab Model SAAB-Fairchild SF340A (SAAB/SF340A) and SAAB 340B airplanes. That NPRM invited comments concerning the proposed requirements for doing repetitive ultrasonic inspections to detect cracking in the axle adaptor, replacing the axle adaptor if necessary, and ultimately doing the terminating action of inspecting and modifying the main landing gear shock strut and axle adaptors. This reopening of the comment period is necessary to provide additional opportunity for public comment on the proposed requirements of that NPRM.

This document publishes in the Federal Register an amendment adopting Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2007-19-52, which was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of the specified Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Limited (BHTC) model helicopters by individual letters. This AD requires replacing each affected tail rotor blade (blade) with an airworthy blade with a serial number not listed in the Rotor Blades, Inc. (RBI), attachment to the BHTC Alert Service Bulletin (ASB), listed in the applicability section of this AD. This amendment is prompted by three incidents in which blade tip weights were slung from blades during flight causing significant vibration. The actions specified are intended to prevent loss of a blade tip weight, loss of a blade, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as: