AD 2008-12-16

This AD becomes effective on July 23, 2008.

On July 23, 2008, the Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in this AD.

For service information identified in this AD, contact M7 Aerospace Repair Station, P.O. Box 790490, San Antonio, Texas 78279-0490; telephone: (210) 824-9421; fax: (210) 804-7789.

To view the AD docket, go to U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, or on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. The docket number is FAA-2008-0313; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-095-AD.

Werner Koch, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Airplane Certification Office, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76137; telephone: (817) 222-5133; fax: (817) 222-5960.

On March 7, 2008, we issued a proposal to amend part 39 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) to include an AD that would apply to certain M7 Aerospace LP SA226 and SA227 series airplanes. This proposal was published in the Federal Register as a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on March 14, 2008 (73 FR 13806). The NPRM proposed to require you to inspect electrical wires/components, hydraulic and bleed air tube assemblies at LH and RH inboard wing leading edge/battery box areas, LH/RH wing stations 51.167 to 81.174, and at all feed-through locations into the LH/RH inboard keelson. If chafing/arcing is found, this proposed AD would require you to reposition, repair, and/or replace all chafed electrical wires, components, and hydraulic and bleed air tube assemblies, as required. This proposed AD would also require you to reposition the battery lead cables, cover four-gauge wires leaving the battery box with firesleeving and secure with clamps, and protect the battery power cable.

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

We have carefully reviewed the available data and determined that air safety and the public interest require adopting the AD as proposed except for minor editorial corrections. We have determined that these minor corrections:

• Are consistent with the intent that was proposed in the NPRM for correcting the unsafe condition; and

• Do not add any additional burden upon the public than was already proposed in the NPRM.

We estimate that this AD affects 330 airplanes in the U.S. registry.

We estimate the following costs for all Models SA226, SA227, SA227-CC, and SA227-DC airplanes to do the inspection following SA226 Series Service Bulletin No. 226-24-036, SA227 Series Service Bulletin No. 227-24-019, or SA227 Series Commuter Category Service Bulletin No. CC7-24-010:

We estimate the following costs for certain Models SA226-AT, SA226-T, and SA226-TC airplanes for the repositioning of battery lead cables following SA226 Series Service Bulletin No. SB 24-001:

We estimate the following costs for certain Models SA226-AT, SA226-T, SA226-TC, SA227-AC, and SA227-AT airplanes following SA226 Series Service Bulletin No. SB24-019 or SA227 Series Service Bulletin No. SB24-001, for the covering of four-gauge wires leaving battery box with firesleeving and securing with clamp:

We estimate the following costs for certain Models SA226-AT, SA226-TC, SA227-AC, and SA227-AT airplanes following SA226 Series Service Bulletin No. SB24-020 or SA227 Series Service Bulletin No. SB24-002, for the protection of the battery power cable:

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 AD.

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 the 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 summary of the costs to comply with this AD (and other information as included in the Regulatory Evaluation) and placed it in the AD Docket. You may get a copy of this summary by sending a request to us at the address listed under ADDRESSES. Include “Docket No. FAA-2008-0313; Directorate Identifier 2007-CE-095-AD” in your request.

Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the Administrator, the Federal Aviation Administration amends part 39 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39) as follows:

1. The authority citation for part 39 continues to read as follows:

2. FAA amends § 39.13 by adding the following new AD: