AD 2005-15-03

Effective August 25, 2005.

The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the AD as of August 25, 2005.

You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov or in person at the Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, Washington, DC.

Contact Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Long Beach Division, 3855 Lakewood Boulevard, Long Beach, California 90846, Attention: Data and Service Management, Dept. C1-L5A (D800-0024), for service information identified in this AD.

Ken Sujishi, Aerospace Engineer, Cabin Safety/Mechanical and Environmental Systems Branch, ANM-150L, FAA, Los Angeles Aircraft Certification Office, 3960 Paramount Boulevard, Lakewood, California 90712-4137; telephone (562) 627-5353; fax (562) 627-5210.

You may 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 street address stated in the ADDRESSES section.

The FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR part 39 to include an AD that would apply to McDonnell Douglas Model DC-10-10, DC-10-10F, DC-10-15, DC-10-30, DC-10-30F (KC-10A and KDC-10), DC-10-40, DC-10-40F, MD-10-10F, MD-10-30F, MD-11, and MD-11F airplanes. That NPRM was published in the Federal Register on April 7, 2005 (70 FR 17618). That NPRM proposed to require repetitive functional tests for noisy or improper operation of the exterior emergency control handle assemblies of the mid, overwing, and aft passenger doors, and corrective actions if necessary. That NPRM also proposed to provide for optional terminating action for the repetitive tests.

We provided the public the opportunity to participate in the development of this AD. We received no comments on the NPRM or on the determination of the cost to the public.

We have changed the manufacturer name on the service bulletin citations in this AD from McDonnell Douglas to Boeing to reflect current guidelines established by the Office of the Federal Register for material incorporated by reference.

We have revised paragraph (f) of the final rule to include airplane model information for each of the service bulletins that was inadvertently left out of paragraph (f) of the proposed AD. It is necessary to identify which service bulletin affects which airplanes to eliminate any possible confusion.

We have made certain editorial changes to the proposed AD. These changes are minor in nature and do not have any effect on the technical content or proposed cost to the public of the final rule.

We have carefully reviewed the available data and determined that air safety and the public interest require adopting the AD as proposed, except as discussed under “Changes to this AD.”

There are about 633 airplanes of the affected design in the worldwide fleet. This AD will affect about 218 airplanes of U.S. registry. The following table provides the estimated costs, at an average labor rate of $65 per work hour, for U.S. operators to comply with this AD.

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 and placed it in the AD docket. 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 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) amends § 39.13 by adding the following new airworthiness directive (AD):