Airworthiness Directives; Dassault Aviation Airplanes

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION <SUBAGY>Federal Aviation Administration</SUBAGY> <CFR>14 CFR Part 39</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. FAA-2025-0484; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-00690-T; Amendment 39-23077; AD 2025-13-11]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2120-AA64</RIN> <SUBJECT>Airworthiness Directives; Dassault Aviation Airplanes</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Dassault Aviation Model Falcon 7X airplanes. This AD was prompted by hydraulic leakage from the spoiler power control unit (SPPCU) in service. Relevant investigations determined that, following certain failures, the spoiler electrical control unit (SPECU) can deliver an untimely and permanent activation command to the SPPCU standby electrical pump, which can possibly result in overheating and significant hydraulic leakage of the unit. This AD requires replacing the affected SPECUs and prohibits the installation of affected parts. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This AD is effective August 14, 2025. The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of August 14, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> <E T="03">AD Docket:</E> You may examine the AD docket at <E T="03">regulations.gov</E> under Docket No. FAA-2025-0484; 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 final rule, the mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI), any comments received, and other information. The address for Docket Operations is U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Material Incorporated by Reference:</HD> • For European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) material identified in this AD, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999 000; email <E T="03">ADs@easa.europa.eu.</E> You may find this material on the EASA website at <E T="03">ad.easa.europa.eu.</E> • You may view this material at the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 206-231-3195. It is also available at <E T="03">regulations.gov</E> under Docket No. FAA-2025-0484. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> William Reisenauer, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; phone: 516-228-7301; email: <E T="03">william.e.reisenauer@faa.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background</HD> The FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR part 39 by adding an AD that would apply to all Dassault Aviation Model Falcon 7X airplanes. The NPRM was published in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> on April 7, 2025 (90 FR 14924). The NPRM was prompted by AD 2024-0224, dated November 26, 2024, issued by EASA, which is the Technical Agent for the Member States of the European Union (EASA AD 2024-0224) (also referred to as the MCAI). The MCAI states hydraulic leakage from the SPPCU led to investigations that determined that following certain failures, the SPECU can deliver an untimely and permanent activation command to the SPPCU standby electrical pump, which can result in overheating and significant hydraulic leakage of the unit. This condition, if not corrected, could lead to further occurrences of equipment overheating and hydraulic leakage in the fuel equipment bay, which, during ground operations, could cause uncontrolled fire in that area. In the NPRM, the FAA proposed to require replacing the affected SPECUs and to prohibit the installation of affected parts. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at <E T="03">regulations.gov</E> under Docket No. FAA-2025-0484. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Discussion of Final Airworthiness Directive</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Comments</HD> The FAA received no comments on the NPRM or on the determination of the cost to the public. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Changes Made From the NPRM</HD> The FAA added paragraph (h)(3) of this AD regarding the definition of a serviceable part. While the MCAI requires a serviceable part to be eligible for installation in accordance with Dassault instructions, this AD only requires that it be eligible for installation. The FAA also added paragraph (i) of this AD to clarify that although the material referenced in EASA AD 2024-0224 specifies to submit certain information to the manufacturer, this AD does not include that requirement. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Conclusion</HD> These products have been approved by the civil 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, that authority has notified the FAA of the unsafe condition described in the MCAI referenced above. The FAA reviewed the relevant data, considered any comments received, and determined that air safety requires adopting this AD as proposed. Accordingly, the FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. Except for the changes described previously, this AD is adopted as proposed in the NPRM. None of the changes will increase the economic burden on any operator. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Material Incorporated by Reference Under 1 CFR Part 51</HD> EASA AD 2024-0224 specifies procedures for replacement of affected SPECUs, including an inspection of the SPPCU for overheating and hydraulic leak marks and repair. EASA AD 2024-0224 also prohibits the installation of affected parts. 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 <E T="02">ADDRESSES</E> section. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Costs of Compliance</HD> The FAA estimates that this AD affects 160 airplanes of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this AD: <GPOTABLE COLS="4" OPTS="L2,i1" CDEF="s50,12,12,12"> <TTITLE>Estimated Costs for Replacement</TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Labor cost</CHED> <CHED H="1">Parts cost</CHED> U.S. operators </CHED> <ROW> <ENT I="01">1 work-hour × $85 per hour = $85</ENT> <ENT>$22,597</ENT> <ENT>$22,682</ENT> <ENT>$3,629,120</ENT> </ROW> </GPOTABLE> The FAA has included all known costs in its cost estimate. According to the manufacturer, however, some or all of the costs of this AD may be covered under warranty, thereby reducing the cost impact on affected operators. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Authority for This Rulemaking</HD> 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. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Regulatory Findings</HD> 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) Will not affect intrastate aviation in Alaska, and (3) 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. <LSTSUB> <HD SOURCE="HED">List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39</HD> Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Incorporation by reference, Safety. </LSTSUB> <HD SOURCE="HD1">The Amendment</HD> Accordingly, under the authority delegated to me by the Administrator, the FAA amends 14 CFR part 39 as follows: <HD SOURCE="HED">PART 39—AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVES</HD> <REGTEXT TITLE="14" PART="39"> 1. The authority citation for part 39 continues to read as follows: <HD SOURCE="HED">Authority: </HD> 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701. </REGTEXT> <SECTION> <SECTNO>§ 39.13</SECTNO> <SUBJECT> [Amended]</SUBJECT> </SECTION> <REGTEXT TITLE="14" PART="39"> 2. The FAA amends § 39.13 by adding the following new airworthiness directive: <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2"> <E T="04">2025-13-11 Dassault Aviation:</E> Amendment 39-23077; Docket No. FAA-2025-0484; Project Identifier MCAI-2024-00690-T. </FP> <HD SOURCE="HD1">(a) Effective Date</HD> This airworthiness directive (AD) is effective August 14, 2025. <HD SOURCE="HD1">(b) Affected ADs</HD> None. <HD SOURCE="HD1">(c) Applicability</HD> This AD applies to all Dassault Aviation Model Falcon 7X airplanes, certificated in any category. <HD SOURCE="HD1">(d) Subject</HD> Air Transport Association (ATA ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 15k characters. 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