AD 2012-08-15

This AD becomes effective May 29, 2012.

The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in this AD as of May 29, 2012.

You may examine the AD docket on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov or in person at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC.

Assata Dessaline, Aerospace Engineer, Avionics and Flight Test Branch, ANE-172, New York Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), FAA, 1600 Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone (516) 228-7301; fax (516) 794-5531.

We issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR part 39 to include an AD that would apply to the specified products. That NPRM was published in the Federal Register on October 26, 2011 (76 FR 66203). That NPRM proposed to correct an unsafe condition for the specified products. The MCAI states:

During pre-delivery inspections and test flights, several short circuit events were reported, one of which resulted in smoke in the cockpit. There were no in-service incidents.

Investigations have identified three conditions affecting the wiring of Circuit Breaker Panels 1, 2, 3 and 4 (CBP-1, CBP-2, CBP-3, and CBP-4) and Junction Boxes 17 and 18 (JB17 and JB18), which would lead to short circuiting:

1. In CBP-1, there may be low clearance between specific bus bars and the circuit breaker panel structure.

2. Some nickel-plated terminal lugs, size number 22-20 with a green insulating sleeve, may not have been manufactured to applicable standards. These terminal lugs may have been installed in CBP-1, CBP-2, CBP-3, CBP-4, JB17 and JB18. This manufacturing defect affects the mechanical hold of the wire in the crimped lug barrel.

3. In JB17, JB18 and the above-mentioned CBPs, foreign object debris (FOD) may be found.

If not corrected, these conditions could result in arcing, damage to adjacent structure, smoke in the cockpit, or loss of system redundancies.

This TCCA directive is issued to mandate the replacement or relocation of the specific CBP-1 bus bars, the [detailed] inspection, and rework if necessary, of any loose or improperly crimped lugs in CBP-1, CBP-2, CBP-3, CBP-4, JB17 and JB18, and to ensure there is no FOD in the affected areas [via a general visual inspection for FOD, and removal if necessary].

You may obtain further information by examining the MCAI in the AD docket.

We gave the public the opportunity to participate in developing this AD. We considered the comment received.

Bombardier, Inc. requested the applicability be revised to remove the CL-601-3A and CL-601-3R Variant airplanes, since only the CL-604 Variant is affected.

We agree because only the CL-604 Variant is affected. We have changed the preamble and paragraph (c) of this final rule to specify only the CL-604 Variant.

We 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 and minor editorial changes to the paragraph identifier format. We determined that these changes will not increase the economic burden on any operator or increase the scope of the AD.

We estimate that this AD will affect 69 products of U.S. registry. We also estimate that it will take about 6 work-hours per product to comply with the basic requirements of this AD. The average labor rate is $85 per work-hour. Required parts will cost about $347 per product. Where the service information lists required parts costs that are covered under warranty, we have assumed that there will be no charge for these parts. As we do not control warranty coverage for affected parties, some parties may incur costs higher than estimated here. Based on these figures, we estimate the cost of this AD to the U.S. operators to be $59,133, or $857 per product.

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 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);

3. Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska; 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 a regulatory evaluation of the estimated costs to comply with this AD and placed it in 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 the NPRM (76 FR 66203, October 26, 2011), the regulatory evaluation, any comments received, 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.

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: