AD 2013-08-10

This AD becomes effective May 10, 2013.

The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of a certain publication listed in the AD as of May 10, 2013.

We must receive comments on this AD by June 10, 2013.

You may send comments by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

• Fax: (202) 493-2251.

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

• Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Jeffrey Zimmer, Aerospace Engineer, Airframe and Mechanical Systems Branch, ANE-171, FAA, New York Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone (516) 228-7306; fax (516) 794-5531; email: jeffrey.zimmer@faa.gov.

Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA), which is the aviation authority for Canada, has issued Canadian Emergency Airworthiness Directive CF-2013-04, dated February 14, 2013 (referred to after this as the Mandatory Continuing Airworthiness Information, or “the MCAI”), to correct an unsafe condition for the specified products. The MCAI states:

While performing a corrosion inspection of the wing internal structures, an operator discovered a crack of significant length between Wing Station (WS) 5 and 6, on the right hand wing lower skin of a Convair 580 aeroplane. Although an investigation is still ongoing to determine the cause, the crack appears to originate from a fastener located at the wing skin to wing access door doubler attachment.

Previous repetitive external inspections of the wing lower skin in accordance with Structurally Significant Detail (SSD) 57-1-4, that was mandated by FAA AD 92-06-06, [Amendment 39-8186 (57 FR 9382, March 18, 1992)], did not detect the crack because the location of the crack is covered by the nacelle drag angle.

Cracking of the wing lower skin at a fatigue critical area, if not detected, could compromise the structural integrity of the wing. This [TCCA] AD mandates internal visual and eddy current inspections to detect cracking of the wing lower skin to mitigate this unsafe condition. Transport Canada may mandate additional corrective actions [repair] pending the outcome of the failure investigation and fleet findings.

The visual and eddy current inspections mandated by this [TCCA] AD are considered as Alternative Means of Compliance (AMOC) to the SSD 57-1-4 inspection that was mandated by FAA AD 92-06-06, for the locations addressed by the visual and eddy current inspections.

Corrective action includes repairing any cracking of the lower skin of the wings. You may obtain further information by examining the MCAI in the AD docket.

Kelowna Flightcraft Ltd. has issued Service Bulletin 340-57-001, dated February 12, 2013. The actions described in this service information are intended to correct the unsafe condition identified in the MCAI.

This product has been approved by the aviation authority of another country, and is approved for operation in the United States. Pursuant to our bilateral agreement with the State of Design Authority, we have been notified of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI and service information referenced above. We are issuing this AD because we evaluated all pertinent information and determined the unsafe condition exists and is likely to exist or develop on other products of the same type design.

The MCAI and Kelowna Flightcraft Service Bulletin 340-57-001, dated February 12, 2013, specify that operators with a damage rate factor (DRF) must divide 1,000 flight hours by their DRF to get the repetitive inspection interval. However, there are no U.S.-registered airplanes that have a DRF; therefore, this AD requires that the repetitive inspections be done at intervals not to exceed 1,000 flight hours.

The MCAI and Kelowna Flightcraft Service Bulletin 340-57-001, dated February 12, 2013, do not contain instructions to repair certain cracking conditions; however, this AD requires repairing those conditions using a method approved by either the Manager, New York Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), FAA; or TCCA (or its delegated agent).

An unsafe condition exists that requires the immediate adoption of this AD. The FAA has found that the risk to the flying public justifies waiving notice and comment prior to adoption of this rule based on the manufacturer's engineering analysis of the structural failure condition and flight hours/cycles on the affected fleet, which showed that certain areas of the lower skin of the wings must be inspected for fatigue cracking. Such fatigue cracking could result in reduced structural integrity of the wings. Therefore, we determined that notice and opportunity for public comment before issuing this AD are impracticable and that good cause exists for making this amendment effective in fewer than 30 days.

This AD is a final rule that involves requirements affecting flight safety, and we did not precede it by notice and opportunity for public comment. We invite you to send any written relevant data, views, or arguments about this AD. Send your comments to an address listed under the ADDRESSES section. Include “Docket No. FAA-2013-0330; Directorate Identifier 2013-NM-051-AD” at the beginning of your comments. We specifically invite comments on the overall regulatory, economic, environmental, and energy aspects of this AD. We will consider all comments received by the closing date and may amend this AD because of those comments.

We will post all comments we receive, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you provide. We will also post a report summarizing each substantive verbal contact we receive about this AD.

We estimate that this AD will affect 70 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. Based on these figures, we estimate the cost of this AD to the U.S. operators to be $35,700, or $510 per product.

We have received no definitive data that would enable us to provide cost estimates for the on-condition actions specified in 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 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.

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: