Significant Regulatory Activity

Air Safety Week,  August 22, 2005  

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Action & Date Posted on Federal Register

Aug. 9

Final rule

FR Doc 05-15584

Docket No. FAA-2005-21184

AD 2005-16-06

Safety of emergency equipment

Summary of Situation

Boeing model 747-100, -200, -300 and -400 airplanes.

Requires modification of escape slides to prevent actuation delays, which could result in delayed or failed deployment during emergency evacuation.

Action Date & Comments

Airworthiness directive (AD) effective Sept. 13.

Prompted by report of 30- to 60-second delays in inflation of escape slides/rafts.

Cost: $4,000 to $35,000 per airplane, depending upon the number of slides affected.

Number of aircraft in the worldwide fleet, 958, of which 169 are in U.S. registry.

Action & Date Posted on Federal Register

Aug. 9

Final rule

FR Doc 05-15585

Docket No. FAA-2005-20798

AD 2005-16-09

Fuel system safety

Summary of Situation

Learjet 23, 24, 25, 35 and 36 airplanes.

Requires inspection and replacement, if necessary, of flapper assemblies of the tip tanks to prevent imbalance of the fuel loads and consequent lateral control of the airplane.

Action Date & Comments

AD effective Sept. 13.

Supersedes existing AD by calling for replacement vice repetitive inspections.

Cost $450 to $1,390 per airplane.

Action affects 1,459 airplanes in the worldwide fleet of which 882 are in U.S. registry.

Action & Date Posted on Federal Register

Aug. 9

Final rule

FR Doc 05-15586

Docket No. FAA-2005-21088

AD 2005-16-10

Structural safety

Summary of Situation

Boeing 747-400 airplanes.

Requires inspection and repair of corrosion and cracks in upper deck floor beam under the cart lift threshold to prevent damage to structure and possible rapid decompression.

Action Date & Comments

AD effective Sept. 13.

Action prompted by reports of corrosion under cart lift threshold.

Cost $195 for inspection; cost of repair not specified.

Action affects 363 airplanes in the worldwide fleet, 46 of which are in U.S. registry.

Action & Date Posted on Federal Register

Aug. 8

Final rule

FR Doc 05-15587

Docket No. FAA-2005-20799

AD 2005-16-07

Fuel system safety

Summary of Situation

Boeing 727 airplanes.

Requires determining whether any float switches are installed, and corrective action to prevent contamination of the float switch and chafing of the float switch wiring against the fuel tank conduit, to prevent an ignition source and consequent fire or explosion.

Action Date & Comments

AD effective Sept. 13.

AD prompted by reports of float switch contamination and wiring chafing. Action appears separate from and in addition to actions called for in fuel system safety review (see ASW, July 11).

Cost about $2,000 to $7,600 per airplane.

Action affects 1,300 airplanes in the worldwide fleet, of which 800 are in U.S. registry.

Action Date & Comments

Aug. 9

Final rule

FR Doc 05-15588

Docket No. FAA-2005-20873

AD 2005-16-08

Safety of emergency equipment

Summary of Situation

McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) 717-200 airplanes.

Requires repetitive testing and replacement of a relay in the passenger oxygen release system. Action is necessary to prevent the oxygen masks from failing to deploy and deliver oxygen to the passengers.

Action & Date Posted on Federal Register

AD effective Sept. 13.

Action considered interim, pending development of a modification.

Cost of initial tests and replacement $130.

Action affects 122 airplanes in the worldwide fleet, of which 92 are in U.S. registry.

Action & Date Posted on Federal Register

9 Aug.

Notice of proposed special conditions

Deals with a variety of safety-related issues

Summary of Situation

Airbus A380, a new design for which existing airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate safety standards, hence the special conditions, says the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

There are ten separate actions, summarized as follows:

FR Doc 05-15647: half the escape systems are installed in non-pressurized compartments (to include all those on the upper deck), exposing them to extremely cold temperatures on every flight. FAA proposes demonstration of functionality in both cold temperatures and in strong winds.

FR Doc 05-15648: The FAA says the escape slides are inflated by a more complex design than currently in use, featuring squibs that fire, opening a valve and igniting a solid propellant. To ensure a reliable design, the FAA is calling for 84 bench tests with no more than one failure.

FR Doc 05-15649: FAA says it has "no information" to indicate whether an airframe the size and configuration of the A380 has adequate structural capability in a crash landing. FAA proposes a "Limit of Reasonable Survivability." The FAA says, "We intend that this Limit of Reasonable Survivability must be determined first for the current generation of the applicant's airplanes and then for the A380 to show that the latter has equal or better characteristics at the same vertical descent rate."