AD 2008-02-16

This AD becomes effective February 28, 2008.

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

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

Sue McCormick, Aerospace Engineer, Cabin Safety and Environmental Systems Branch, ANM-150S, FAA, Seattle Aircraft Certification Office, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; telephone (303) 342-1082; fax (425) 917-6590.

The FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR part 39 to include an AD that would apply to certain Boeing Model 767-200 and 767-300 series airplanes. That NPRM was published in the Federal Register on June 19, 2007 (72 FR 33701). That NPRM proposed to require reworking certain duct assemblies in the environmental control system (ECS).

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

Boeing concurs with the requirements of this AD.

Hawaiian Airlines requests that we revise the proposed AD to remove one of its airplanes from the proposed applicability. Hawaiian states that the airplane came to them with two ducts installed in the affected area that do not have insulation installed on them. Each of these ducts has a part number not listed in Boeing Service Bulletin 767-21A0167, Revision 1, dated December 19, 2006. We referred to Boeing Service Bulletin 767-21A0167, Revision 1, as the appropriate source of service information for doing the actions specified in the proposed AD. Hawaiian quotes text from a Boeing message, in which Boeing confirms that the two subject duct assemblies do not need rework in accordance with the service bulletin because neither of the ducts assemblies are wrapped with Boeing Material Specification (BMS) 8-39 polyurethane foam insulation.

We agree. We have verified that the subject airplane should not be subject to this AD for the reasons stated above. Therefore, we have revised the applicability of this final rule to remove the subject airplane from the applicability of this AD. We have also revised the Costs of Compliance section of this final rule to remove the cost for this airplane.

Hawaiian Airlines also requests that we revise the proposed AD to add language to clarify whether or not BMS 8-300 insulation must be installed on an affected duct. Hawaiian reiterates that it has one airplane with two ducts installed, which do not have any insulation installed.

We do not agree that it is necessary to make the requested clarification. As stated previously, we have determined that the subject airplane is not subject to this AD. Therefore, we have made no change to the final rule in this regard.

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 129 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.

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):