AD 2012-02-51

This AD becomes effective May 4, 2012 to all persons except those persons to whom it was made immediately effective by Emergency AD No. 2012-02-51, issued on February 1, 2012, which contained the requirements of this AD.

We must receive comments on this AD by June 18, 2012.

You may send comments by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Docket: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for sending your comments electronically.

• Fax: 202-493-2251.

• Mail: Send comments to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.

• Hand Delivery: Deliver to the “Mail” address between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Examining the AD Docket: You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov or in person at the Docket Operations Office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD docket contains this AD, the economic evaluation, and other information. The street address for the Docket Operations Office (telephone 800-647-5527) is in the ADDRESSES section. Comments will be available in the AD docket shortly after receipt.

For service information identified in this AD, contact Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Limited, 12,800 Rue de l'Avenir, Mirabel, Quebec J7J1R4, telephone (450) 437-2862 or (800) 363-8023, fax (450) 433-0272, or at http://www.bellcustomer.com/files/. You may review a copy of the referenced service information at the FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Room 663, Fort Worth, Texas 76137.

Sharon Miles, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Rotorcraft Directorate, Regulations and Policy Group, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76137, telephone (817) 222-5110, email sharon.y.miles@faa.gov.

This AD is a final rule that involves requirements affecting flight safety, and we did not provide you with notice and an opportunity to provide your comments prior to it becoming effective. However, we invite you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting written comments, data, or views. We also invite comments relating to the economic, environmental, energy, or federalism impacts that resulted from adopting this AD. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion of the AD, explain the reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data. To ensure the docket does not contain duplicate comments, commenters should send only one copy of written comments, or if comments are filed electronically, commenters should submit them only one time.

We will file in the docket all comments that we receive, as well as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA personnel concerning this rulemaking during the comment period. We will consider all the comments we receive and may conduct additional rulemaking based on those comments.

Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) issued TCCA AD No. CF-2011-44R1, on February 1, 2012, to correct this same unsafe condition on the Bell Model 206 L, L-1, L-3, and L-4 helicopters. TCCA advises that there is no reliable inspection method to detect the cracks on these blades before blade failure and has reduced the life limit on all affected blades from 3,600 hours time-in-service (TIS) to 1,400 hours TIS and mandated removal from service of those blades that exceed the new life limit. Bell has determined that the fatigue cracks occurred as a result of the use by a Bell supplier of unapproved manufacturing processes, which have since been corrected, and are limited to a specific range of part numbers and serial numbers.

We issued EAD 2012-02-51 also on February 1, 2012, for Bell Model 206L, 206L-1, 206L-3, and 206L-4 helicopters with certain main rotor blades installed and reduced the life limit on these blades to correct the unsafe condition caused by this fatigue cracking.

These helicopters have been approved by the aviation authority of Canada and are approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant to our bilateral agreement with Canada, TCCA, its technical representative, has notified us of the unsafe condition described in the TCCA AD. We are issuing this AD because we evaluated all information provided by the TCCA and determined the unsafe condition exists and is likely to exist or develop on other helicopters of these same type designs.

Bell Helicopter Alert Service Bulletin No. 206L-09-159 Revision A, dated November 13, 2009, describes procedures to identify and mark the affected main rotor blades, requires a “recurring wipe check,” and requires performing a one-time radiographic inspection with the results to be determined by Bell.

This AD requires reducing the life limit from 3,600 hours time-in-service (TIS) to 1,400 hours TIS for certain part-numbered and serial-numbered main rotor blades, revising the life limit in the Airworthiness Limitations section of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness or maintenance manual, and recording the revised life limit on the component history card or equivalent record.

We estimate that this AD will affect 697 helicopters of U.S. Registry. At an average labor rate of $85 per work-hour, we estimate the following costs:

• Determining the main rotor blades' part and serial numbers will require about 1 work-hour for a cost per helicopter of $85, or $59,245 for the U.S. fleet.

• Replacing an affected main rotor blade will require about 8 work-hours for labor cost of $680 per helicopter and parts costs of about $44,958 per helicopter, for a total cost per helicopter of $45,638.

Providing an opportunity for public comments prior to adopting these AD requirements would delay implementing the safety actions needed to correct this known unsafe condition. Therefore, we find that the risk to the flying public justifies waiving notice and comment prior to the adoption of this rule because the required corrective actions must be accomplished before further flight, a very short period of time.

Since an unsafe condition exists that requires the immediate adoption of this AD, we determined that notice and opportunity for public comment before issuing this AD are impracticable and contrary to the public interest and that good cause exists for making this amendment effective in less than 30 days.

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 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, 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);

3. Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska to the extent that it justifies making a regulatory distinction; and

4. 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 an economic evaluation of the estimated costs to comply with this AD and placed it 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 airworthiness directive (AD):