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[Federal Register: October 2, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 191)]
[Proposed Rules]               
[Page 61842-61843]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02oc02-24]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 2000-SW-38-AD]
RIN 2120-AA64

 
Airworthiness Directives; Marathon Power Technologies Company

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: This action withdraws a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 
that proposed a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Marathon Power 
Technologies Company (Marathon) batteries. That action would have 
required visually inspecting screws installed on Marathon batteries and 
replacing certain unairworthy screws. Since issuing the NPRM, the FAA 
has reconsidered the proposal and determined that an AD is not the 
appropriate avenue for addressing individual cases of improper 
maintenance or lack of maintenance that prompted the proposal. 
Accordingly, the proposed rule is withdrawn.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sung-Hui Cavazos, Aviation Safety 
Engineer, FAA, Special Certification Office, Fort Worth, TX 76193-0190; 
telephone (817) 222-5142, fax (817) 222-5785.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposal to amend 14 CFR part 39 to add a 
new AD for Marathon batteries was published in the Federal Register on 
February 14, 2001 (66 FR 10241). The proposed rule would have required 
visually inspecting each <greek-i>10-32 screw in certain Marathon 
batteries within 12 months or the next scheduled battery maintenance 
and, before further flight, replacing any unairworthy screw with an 
airworthy screw, part number 10488-020. That action was prompted by an 
explosion of a G.E./Saft battery due to failure of an unairworthy 
screw. The proposed actions were intended to prevent an explosion of a 
battery, structural damage, and subsequent loss of power to the 
electrical systems.
    Since issuing that NPRM, the FAA has concluded that the explosion 
of the G.E./Saft battery and the other batteries that contained the 
unairworthy screws that prompted the proposal resulted from individual 
cases of improper maintenance or lack of maintenance due to failure to 
follow normal maintenance practices on a product.
    Upon further consideration, the FAA has determined that the issue 
of the unairworthy screws is limited in scope and may be more 
effectively addressed as improper maintenance procedures. Accordingly, 
the proposed rule is hereby withdrawn.
    Withdrawal of this NPRM constitutes only such action and does not 
preclude the agency from issuing another notice in the future, nor does 
it commit the agency to any course of action in the future.
    Since this action only withdraws an NPRM, it is neither a proposed 
nor a final rule and therefore, is not covered under Executive Order 
12866, Executive

[[Page 61843]]

Order 13132, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, or DOT Regulatory Policies 
and Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979).

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

    Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation safety, Safety.

The Withdrawal

    Accordingly, the notice of proposed rulemaking, Docket No. 2000-SW-
38-AD, published in the Federal Register on February 14, 2001 (66 FR 
10241), is withdrawn.

    Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on September 19, 2002.
Eric D. Bries,
Acting Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 02-24990 Filed 10-1-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P

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