DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA-2024-2411; Project Identifier MCAI-2023-00874-R]
RIN 2120-AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Helicopters

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD)
for all Airbus Helicopters Model SA330J helicopters. This proposed AD
was prompted by a determination that new or more restrictive
airworthiness limitations are necessary. This proposed AD would require
revising the existing maintenance records by incorporating new or more
restrictive airworthiness limitations, as specified in a European Union
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is proposed for incorporation
by reference. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe
condition on these products.

DATES: The FAA must receive comments on this NPRM by December 9, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, using the procedures found in 14 CFR
11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 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: Deliver to Mail address above between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

AD Docket: You may examine the AD docket at regulations.gov under
Docket No. FAA-2024-2411; or in person at Docket Operations between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD
docket contains this NPRM, the EASA AD, any comments received, and
other information. The street address for Docket Operations is listed
above.

Material Incorporated by Reference:

For EASA material identified in this proposed AD, contact
EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; phone: +49 221
8999 000; email: ADs@easa.europa.eu; website: easa.europa.eu. You may
find the EASA material on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu.

You may view this material at the FAA, Office of the
Regional Counsel, Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, Room 6N-
321, Fort Worth, TX 76177. For information on the availability of this
material at the FAA, call (817) 222-5110. The EASA material is also
available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-2411.

Other Related Material: For Airbus material identified in this
proposed AD, contact Airbus Helicopters, 2701 North Forum Drive, Grand
Prairie, TX 75052; phone: (972) 641-0000 or (800) 232-0323; fax: (972)
641-3775; website: airbus.com/en/products-services/helicopters/hcare-services/airbusworld.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Hein, Aviation Safety Engineer,
FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: (316)
946-4116; email: Adam.Hein@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

The FAA invites you to send any written relevant data, views, or
arguments about this proposal. Send your comments to an address listed
under ADDRESSES. Include "Docket No. FAA-2024-2411; Project Identifier
MCAI-2023-00874-R" at the beginning of your comments. The most helpful
comments reference a specific portion of the proposal, explain the
reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data. The FAA
will consider all comments received by the closing date and may amend
this proposal because of those comments.

Except for Confidential Business Information (CBI) as described in
the following paragraph, and other information as described in 14 CFR
11.35, the FAA will post all comments received, without change, to
regulations.gov, including any personal information you provide. The
agency will also post a report summarizing each substantive verbal
contact received about this NPRM.

Confidential Business Information

CBI is commercial or financial information that is both customarily
and actually treated as private by its owner. Under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public
disclosure. If your comments responsive to this NPRM contain commercial
or financial information that is customarily treated as private, that
you actually treat as private, and that is relevant or responsive to
this NPRM, it is important that you clearly designate the submitted
comments as CBI. Please mark each page of your submission containing
CBI as "PROPIN." The FAA will treat such marked submissions as
confidential under the FOIA, and they will not be placed in the public
docket of this NPRM. Submissions containing CBI should be sent to Adam
Hein, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410,
Westbury, NY 11590; phone: (316) 946-4116; email: Adam.Hein@faa.gov.
Any commentary that the FAA receives which is not specifically
designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this rulemaking.

Background

EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the
European Union, has issued EASA AD 2023-0146, dated July 14, 2023 (EASA
AD 2023-0146), to correct an unsafe condition on Airbus Helicopters
Model SA 330 J helicopters. EASA advises that airworthiness limitations
and certification maintenance instructions are identified as mandatory
for continued airworthiness and that Revision 7 of SA 330 J Maintenance
Program--PUMA 330 J Airworthiness Limitations 5.99, Edition 2, date
code 06-22, has been issued to specify all service life limits and
maintenance tasks for SA 330 J helicopters and separate the
airworthiness limitations from the Master Servicing Recommendations
Manual (P.R.E.). According to EASA, failure to accomplish these
instructions could result in an unsafe condition. You may examine EASA
AD 2023-0146 in the AD docket at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-
2024-2411.

Material Incorporated by Reference Under 1 CFR Part 51

The FAA reviewed EASA AD 2023-0146, which requires replacing
components before exceeding their life limits and accomplishing
maintenance tasks within thresholds and intervals specified in the ALS
as defined within. Depending on the results of the maintenance tasks,
EASA AD 2023-0146 requires accomplishing corrective action(s) or
contacting AH [Airbus Helicopters] for approved instructions and
accomplishing those instructions.

EASA AD 2023-0146 also requires revising the Aircraft Maintenance
Programme (AMP) by incorporating the limitations, tasks, and associated
thresholds and intervals described in the specified ALS, as applicable.
Revising the AMP constitutes terminating action for the requirement to
record accomplishment of the actions of replacing components before
exceeding their life limits and accomplishing maintenance tasks within
thresholds and intervals specified in the applicable ALS as required by
EASA AD 2023-0146 for demonstration of AD compliance on a continued
basis.

This material is reasonably available because the interested
parties have access to it through their normal course of business or by
the means identified in the ADDRESSES section.

Other Related Material

The FAA also reviewed Airbus Puma 330 J Maintenance Program--
Airworthiness Limitations 5.99, Edition 2, Revision 7, date code 6-22,
approved May 25, 2021. This material specifies airworthiness
limitations, tasks, and associated thresholds and intervals for various
parts. Revision 7 of this material incorporates a modification of the
task following an improvement of the Kevlar protection on the fan
bearing and the protective grid.

FAA's Determination

These products have been approved by the aviation authority of
another country and are approved for operation in the United States.
Pursuant to the FAA's bilateral agreement with this State of Design
Authority, it has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in
its AD referenced above. The FAA is issuing this NPRM after determining
that the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or
develop on other products of the same type design.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

This proposed AD would require revising the existing maintenance
records by incorporating new or more restrictive actions and associated
thresholds and intervals, including any life limits, specified in EASA
AD 2023-0146, described previously, as incorporated by reference,
except for any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory
text of this proposed AD and except as discussed under "Differences
Between this Proposed AD and the EASA AD."

Explanation of Required Compliance Information

In the FAA's ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency of the AD
process, the FAA developed a process to use some civil aviation
authority (CAA) ADs as the primary source of information for compliance
with requirements for corresponding FAA ADs. The FAA has been
coordinating this process with manufacturers and CAAs. As a result, the
FAA proposes to incorporate EASA AD 2023-0146 by reference in the FAA
final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with
EASA AD 2023-0146 in its entirety through that incorporation, except
for any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of
this proposed AD. Using common terms that are the same as the heading
of a particular section in EASA AD 2023-0146 does not mean that
operators need comply only with that section. For example, where the AD
requirement refers to "all required actions and compliance times,"
compliance with this AD requirement is not limited to the section
titled "Required Action(s) and Compliance Time(s)" in EASA AD 2023-
0146. Material referenced in EASA AD 2023-0146 for compliance will be
available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2024-2411 after the
FAA final rule is published.

Differences Between This Proposed AD and the EASA AD

EASA AD 2023-0146 requires, as individual tasks, replacing certain
components before exceeding applicable life limits, accomplishing
certain maintenance tasks within thresholds and intervals as specified
in the ALS, as defined within, and depending on the results,
accomplishing corrective action, whereas this proposed AD would not.
EASA AD 2023-0146 also requires revising the approved AMP by
incorporating the limitations, tasks, and associated thresholds and
intervals described in that ALS within 12 months, whereas this proposed
AD would require revising the existing maintenance records by
incorporating the limitations, tasks, and associated thresholds and
intervals described in that ALS within 30 days, and clarifies that if
the initial instance of an incorporated limitation or threshold therein
is reached before 30 days after the effective date of the final rule of
this proposed AD, you still have up to 30 days after the effective date
of the final rule of this proposed AD to accomplish the corresponding task.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would
affect 6 helicopters of U.S. registry. Labor rates are estimated at $85
per work-hour. Based on these numbers, the FAA estimates the following
costs to comply with this proposed AD.
Revising the existing maintenance records would take approximately
1 work-hour, for an estimated cost of $85 per helicopter and $510 for
the U.S. fleet.

Authority for This Rulemaking

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.

The FAA is 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.

Regulatory Findings

The FAA determined that this proposed AD would not have federalism
implications under Executive Order 13132. This proposed AD would 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 this proposed regulation:

(1) Is not a "significant regulatory action" under Executive
Order 12866,

(2) Would not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, and

(3) Would not have a significant economic impact, positive or
negative, on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Incorporation by
reference, Safety.

The Proposed Amendment

Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the
Administrator, the FAA proposes to amend 14 CFR part 39 as follows:

PART 39--AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES

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

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.

Sec. 39.13 [Amended]

2. The FAA amends Sec. 39.13 by adding the following new airworthiness
directive: