AD 2008-02-12

This AD is effective February 28, 2008.

The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of February 28, 2008.

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

Samuel S. Lee, Aerospace Engineer, Propulsion Branch, ANM-140L, FAA, Los Angeles Aircraft Certification Office, 3960 Paramount Boulevard, Lakewood, California 90712-4137; telephone (562) 627-5262; fax (562) 627-5210.

We issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR part 39 to include an airworthiness directive (AD) that would apply to certain McDonnell Douglas Model 717-200 airplanes. That NPRM was published in the Federal Register on October 11, 2007 (72 FR 57892). That NPRM proposed to require modification of the conduit for the forward boost pump of the center fuel tank.

We gave the public the opportunity to participate in developing this AD. We have considered the two comments received from the one commenter.

AirTran Airways supports the NPRM.

AirTran Airways requests that we revise this AD to specify that actions accomplished before the effective date of this AD in accordance with Boeing Service Bulletin 717-28-0007, dated August 22, 2002, are considered acceptable for compliance with the corresponding actions specified in paragraph (f) of this AD provided that a leak check of the conduit is accomplished in accordance with Boeing 717 Airplane Maintenance Manual (AMM) Task 28-22-28-700-801, “Leak Test of the Fuel Pump Electrical Conduit.” AirTran Airways has accomplished the actions specified in the original issue of the service bulletin on all applicable airplanes in its fleet. AirTran Airways states that Revision 1, dated September 23, 2003, of the service bulletin was published to provide a torque value for the conduits due to an instance of fuel leaking from the conduit at the front spar following accomplishment of the task. AirTran Airways notes that it accomplished a leak check of the conduit during accomplishment of the original issue of the service bulletin, and that the leak check was later added to the AMM in January 2004, as AMM Task 28-22-28-700-801. The leak check of the conduit ensured that the conduit was not leaking, in the absence of a specified torque value in the original issue of the service bulletin. AirTran Airways believes that, if operators have accomplished the modification in accordance with the original issue of the service bulletin, accomplishing a leak check of the conduits using AMM Task 28-22-28-700-801 should be acceptable to ensure that the conduits are not leaking in lieu of accessing the conduit connections again for a torque check.

We agree that work done in accordance with Boeing Service Bulletin 717-28-0007, dated August 22, 2002, is acceptable for compliance with the requirements of this AD provided that a leak check of the conduit is accomplished in accordance with Boeing 717 AMM Task 28-22-28-700-801. We have added a new paragraph (g) to this AD to allow credit for previous accomplishment.

We reviewed the relevant data, considered the comments received, and determined that air safety and the public interest require adopting the AD with the change described previously. We also determined that this change will not increase the economic burden on any operator or increase the scope of the AD.

There are about 77 airplanes of the affected design in the worldwide fleet. This AD affects about 61 airplanes of U.S. registry. The required actions take about 10 work hours per airplane, at an average labor rate of $80 per work hour. Based on these figures, the estimated cost of the AD for U.S. operators is $48,800, or $800 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.

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.

You can find our regulatory evaluation and the estimated costs of compliance in the AD Docket.

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 AD: