AD 2009-15-06

This AD becomes effective August 25, 2009.

The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of a certain publication listed in the AD as of August 25, 2009.

For service information identified in this AD, contact Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Attention: Data & Services Management, P.O. Box 3707, MC 2H-65, Seattle, Washington 98124-2207; telephone 206-544-5000, extension 1, fax 206-766-5680; e-mail me.boecom@boeing.com; Internet https://www.myboeingfleet.com.

Sue Lucier, Aerospace Engineer, Propulsion Branch, ANM-140S, FAA, Seattle Aircraft Certification Office, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; telephone (425) 917-6438; fax (425) 917-6590.

The FAA issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR part 39 to include an AD that would apply to all Boeing Model 707 airplanes and Model 720 and 720B series airplanes. That supplemental NPRM was published in the Federal Register on December 10, 2008 (73 FR 75007). That supplemental NPRM proposed to require performing an operational test of the engine fuel suction feed of the fuel system, and other related testing and corrective actions if necessary.

Boeing has published Revision 1 of Boeing 707 Service Bulletin A3527, dated August 6, 2008. In the supplemental NPRM, we referred to the original issue of Boeing Alert 707 Service Bulletin A3527, dated November 7, 2007, as the appropriate source of service information for accomplishing the proposed actions. The procedures in Revision 1 of this service bulletin are essentially the same as those in the original issue of this service bulletin. Revision 1 of this service bulletin clarifies certain work instructions and specifies that no further work is necessary for airplanes on which the actions in the original issue were performed. Therefore, we have revised this AD to refer to Revision 1 of this service bulletin as the appropriate source of service information. We have also added a new paragraph (g) to this AD that specifies that actions done before the effective date of this AD in accordance with the original issue of this service bulletin are acceptable for compliance with the requirements of this AD.

We provided the public the opportunity to participate in the development of this AD. We have considered the comment received. Boeing concurs with the content of the supplemental NPRM.

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.

We estimate that this AD affects 21 airplanes of U.S. registry. We also estimate that it takes 1 work-hour per product, per test, to comply with this AD. The average labor rate is $80 per work-hour. Based on these figures, we estimate the cost of this AD to the U.S. operators to be $1,680, or $80 per product, per test.

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):