AD 2005-24-03 R1

The effective date of this AD is April 12, 2007.

The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of a certain publication listed in the AD as of April 12, 2007.

On December 28, 2005 (70 FR 70713, November 23, 2005), the Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of Boeing Service Bulletin 737-57-1275, Revision 1, dated August 18, 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, P.O. Box 3707, Seattle, Washington 98124-2207, for service information identified in this AD.

Nancy Marsh, Aerospace Engineer, Airframe Branch, ANM-120S, FAA, Seattle Aircraft Certification Office, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; telephone (425) 917-6440; fax (425) 917-6590.

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 proposed to amend part 39 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) with an airworthiness directive (AD) to revise AD 2005-24-03, amendment 39-14383 (70 FR 70713, November 23, 2005). The existing AD applies to certain Boeing Model 737-600, -700, -700C, and -800 series airplanes. The proposed AD was published in the Federal Register on June 13, 2006 (71 FR 34026). That action proposed to continue to require inspecting/measuring the length of the attachment fasteners between the nacelle support fittings and the lower wing skin panels, and related investigative/corrective actions if necessary. That action also proposed to correct errors found in the existing AD.

We provided the public the opportunity to participate in the development of this AD. We have considered the comment received.

Boeing states that, subsequent to the drafting of the subject AD, Boeing Service Bulletin 737-57-1275, Revision 2, dated July 12, 2006, was issued. Boeing notes that Revision 2 will aid operators in completing the required tasks by more effectively and efficiently performing the inspections, while reducing the likelihood of introducing damage reported during completion of the previous revisions. Boeing recommends that Boeing Service Bulletin 737-57-1275, Revision 3, dated October 17, 2006, be incorporated into the NPRM, which further improves ease in completing the required tasks. (Revision 3 was not yet issued when the comment was submitted, but has since been issued.)

We agree with this request. We have reviewed Revision 3 of the referenced service bulletin which specifies that no more work is necessary on airplanes changed as shown in the original issue, dated September 4, 2003; Revision 1, dated August 18, 2005; and Revision 2, dated July 12, 2006. (We referred to Revision 1 in the NPRM as the appropriate source of service information for accomplishing the required actions.) We have determined that Revision 3 shows changes of operators in the effectivity and clarifies the oversize limits for replacement fasteners, but does not add any further actions or increase the economic burden on operators. Therefore, we have changed the AD to add Boeing Service Bulletin 737-57-1275, Revision 3, dated October 17, 2006, as the appropriate source of service information for accomplishing the requirements in paragraph (f) of this AD after the effective date of this AD.

We have carefully reviewed the available data, including the comment received, and determined that air safety and the public interest require adopting the AD with the change described previously. We have determined that this change will neither increase the economic burden on any operator nor increase the scope of the AD.

There are about 751 airplanes of the affected design in the worldwide fleet. The following table provides the estimated costs for U.S. operators to comply with this AD. The requirements that were previously required by AD 2005-24-03 are retained in this AD; this AD adds no additional economic burden on U.S. operators. The current costs are repeated for the convenience of affected operators, as follows:

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 removing amendment 39-14383 (70 FR 70713, November 23, 2005) and adding the following new airworthiness directive (AD):