AD 2005-06-10

This AD becomes effective April 25, 2005.

The incorporation by reference of a certain publication listed in the AD is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of April 25, 2005.

For service information identified in this AD, contact Boeing Commercial Airplanes, P.O. Box 3707, Seattle, Washington 98124-2207.

Docket: The AD docket contains the proposed AD, comments, and any final disposition. You can examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov, or in person at the Docket Management Facility office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Docket Management Facility office (telephone (800) 647-5227) is located on the plaza level of the Nassif Building at the U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., room PL-401, Washington, DC. This docket number is FAA-2004-19493; the directorate identifier for this docket is 2004-NM-69-AD.

John L. Vann, Aerospace Engineer, Propulsion Branch, ANM-140S, FAA, Seattle Aircraft Certification Office, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98055-4056; telephone (425) 917-6513; fax (425) 917-6590.

The FAA proposed to amend 14 CFR Part 39 with an AD for certain Boeing Model 767-200, -300, and -300F series airplanes. That action, published in the Federal Register on November 3, 2004 (69 FR 63963), proposed to require replacing the inboard fairing seal common to the vapor barrier seal of each strut assembly.

We provided the public the opportunity to participate in the development of this AD. We have considered the comments that have been submitted on the proposed AD.

Two commenters, the manufacturer and an operator, agree with the proposed AD.

One commenter, another operator, requests that we change the compliance deadline from 60 months to 84 months after the effective date. The operator states that this will allow the airlines to accomplish the required maintenance within their heavy maintenance visit schedules, thereby minimizing aircraft out-of-service time and the associated extra expense.

We do not agree with the commenter's request to extend the compliance time. In developing an appropriate compliance time for this action, we considered the safety implications, the level of effort needed to incorporate the change, and normal maintenance schedules for the timely accomplishment of the modification. In consideration of these items, we have determined that a 60-month interval will ensure an acceptable level of safety and allow the modifications to be done with no airplane out-of-service time during scheduled maintenance intervals for most affected operators. We have not changed the final rule.

We have carefully reviewed the available data, including the comments that have been submitted, and determined that air safety and the public interest require adopting the AD as proposed, except for minor editorial changes.

We have discovered that the numbers shown in the proposed AD were incorrect for the worldwide total of affected airplanes and affected airplanes of U.S. registry. We have changed the Costs of Compliance section of this AD to reflect the correct numbers of affected airplanes.

There are about 723 airplanes worldwide of the affected design. This AD will affect about 228 airplanes of U.S. registry. The actions will take about 4 work hours per airplane, at an average labor rate of $65 per work hour. Required parts will cost about $185 per airplane. Based on these figures, the estimated cost of the AD for U.S. operators is $101,460, or $445 per airplane.

Title 49 of the United States Code specifies the FAA's authority to issue rules on aviation safety. Subtitle I, Section 106, describes the authority of the FAA Administrator. Subtitle VII, Aviation Programs, describes in more detail the scope of the Agency's authority.

We are issuing this rulemaking under the authority described in Subtitle VII, Part A, Subpart III, Section 44701, “General requirements.” Under that section, Congress charges the FAA with promoting safe flight of civil aircraft in air commerce by prescribing regulations for practices, methods, and procedures the Administrator finds necessary for safety in air commerce. This regulation is within the scope of that authority because it addresses an unsafe condition that is likely to exist or develop on products identified in this rulemaking action.

We have determined that this AD will not have federalism implications under Executive Order 13132. This AD will not have a substantial direct effect on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.

For the reasons discussed above, I certify that this AD:

(1) Is not a “significant regulatory action” under Executive Order 12866;

(2) Is not a “significant rule” under DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979); and

(3) Will not have a significant economic impact, positive or negative, on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

We prepared a regulatory evaluation of the estimated costs to comply with this AD. See the ADDRESSES section for a location to examine the regulatory evaluation.

Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the Administrator, the FAA amends 14 CFR part 39 as follows:

1. The authority citation for part 39 continues to read as follows:

2. The FAA amends § 39.13 by adding the following new airworthiness directive (AD):