AD 2007-19-16

This AD becomes effective October 26, 2007.

The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of a certain publication listed in the AD as of October 26, 2007.

You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov or in person at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC.

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

Don Eiford, Aerospace Engineer, Cabin Safety and Environmental Systems Branch, ANM-150S, FAA, Seattle Aircraft Certification Office, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; telephone (425) 917-6465; fax (425) 917-6590.

You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov or in person at the Docket Operations office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Docket Operations office (telephone (800) 647-5527) is located on the ground floor of the West Building at the DOT 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 supersedes AD 2004-09-10, amendment 39-13599 (69 FR 23647, April 30, 2004). The existing AD applies to certain Boeing Model 747 series airplanes. That NPRM was published in the Federal Register on March 29, 2007 (72 FR 14719). That NPRM proposed to require repetitive inspections of the potable water and drain lines in the cargo compartments for indications of overheating of the heater tape, exposed foam insulation, missing or damaged protective tape, or debris around the potable water fill and drain lines; corrective action, if necessary; and eventual installation of new ribbon heaters, which would terminate the repetitive inspections. That NPRM also proposed to remove certain airplanes from the applicability.

The NPRM cited Boeing Alert Service Bulletin 747-30A2080, Revision 2, dated September 14, 2006, as the appropriate source of service information for the proposed actions. Boeing has since revised the service bulletin. We have reviewed Boeing Service Bulletin 747-30A2080, Revision 3, dated June 14, 2007. Revision 3 removes certain airplanes from the effectivity, revises certain references, and updates certain other information, but otherwise does not substantially change any of the actions.

We provided the public the opportunity to participate in the development of this AD. We have considered the comment that has been received on the NPRM.

Boeing requests that we revise the applicability of the NPRM to remove Model 747-400 passenger airplanes that have been converted to the 747-400 BCF configuration, except for the first such configured airplane (variable number RT456). Boeing reports that as part of the conversion, heater tapes are replaced with new heater ribbons that satisfy the requirements for the terminating action specified in the NPRM and eliminates the unsafe condition associated with the installation of heater tapes addressed by superseded AD 2004-09-10.

We agree with Boeing's rationale. Accordingly, we have revised Note 1 and paragraphs (c), (f), and (g) in this final rule to refer to Revision 3 of the service bulletin. We have also revised paragraph (h) in this final rule to provide credit for actions already accomplished as specified in Revision 2 of the service bulletin.

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

There are about 1,114 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, at an average labor rate of $80 per hour. The cost of parts is minimal.

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 39-13599 (69 FR 23647, April 30, 2004) and by adding the following new airworthiness directive (AD):