Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS Airplanes

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS Airplanes

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus SAS Model A350-941 and A350-1041 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of failure of hydraulic engine driven pumps (EDPs) of the standard EDP-06. This proposed AD would require, depending on airplane configuration, modifying the hydraulic monitoring and control application (HMCA), accomplishing applicable concurrent requirements, revising the existing airplane flight manual (AFM), and replacing affected parts. This proposed AD would also prohibit the installation

of affected parts and prohibit the installation of certain HMCA software. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA must receive comments on this proposed AD by October 26, 2026.

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-2026-8800; 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 mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI), any comments received, and other information. The street address for Docket Operations is listed above. Material Incorporated by Reference: For European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) material identified in this proposed AD, contact EASA, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 8999 000; email [email protected]. You may find this material on the EASA website at ad.easa.europa.eu. It is also available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2026-8800. 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.

Aaron Nguyen, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; phone: 817- 222-5134; email: [email protected].

Comments Invited

The FAA invites you to send any written relevant data, views, or arguments about this proposal. Send your comments using a method listed under the ADDRESSES section. Include "Docket No. FAA-2026-8800; Project Identifier MCAI-2025-00175-T" 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 Aaron Nguyen, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; phone: 817-222-5134; email: [email protected]. 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 2026-0074, dated April 8, 2026 (AD 2026-0074) (also referred to as the MCAI), to correct an unsafe condition for certain Airbus SAS Model A350-941 and A350-1041 airplanes. The MCAI states that occurrences were reported of failure of hydraulic EDPs of the standard EDP-06. The consequent high friction and subsequent damage to the EDP could lead to overheating the EDP case drain (CD). The FAA is proposing this AD to address failure of hydraulic EDPs of the standard EDP-06. The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in high friction and subsequent damage to the EDP that could lead to overheating the EDP CD. Repeated overheating may result in uncontrolled heat transfer to the fuel tank, creating a potential ignition hazard, while simultaneously degrading pump performance and potentially leading to loss of hydraulic function, which may lead to the loss of critical systems. You may examine the MCAI in the AD docket at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2026-8800.

Material Incorporated by Reference Under 1 CFR Part 51

EASA AD 2026-0074, dated April 8, 2026, specifies procedures for, depending on airplane configuration, modifying the wiring of the HMCA, updating the HMCA (SW) to S6.0, accomplishing applicable concurrent requirements (i.e., doing modifications to install avionics system upgrades), revising the existing AFM by incorporating the applicable AFM documentary unit revision, and replacing affected parts with approved parts. EASA AD 2026-0074 also prohibits the installation of affected parts and prohibits the installation of HMCA SW S5.0 or earlier on any airplane. EASA AD 2026-0074 also notes that accomplishing the modification specified in paragraph (1) of its AD is acceptable for compliance with paragraph (3) of EASA AD 2018-0178, dated August 23, 2018 (which corresponds to paragraph (h) of FAA AD 2018-19-19, Amendment 39-19419 (83 FR 48203, September 24, 2018)). EASA AD 2026-0074 also notes that accomplishing the modification specified in paragraph (6) of its AD is acceptable for compliance with paragraph (4) of EASA AD 2018-0178, dated August 23, 2018 (which corresponds to paragraph (g) of FAA AD 2019-03-08, Amendment 39-19560 (84 FR 6067, February 26, 2019)). 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.

FAA's Determination

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 is issuing this NPRM after determining that the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design.

Proposed AD Requirements in This NPRM

This proposed AD would require accomplishing the actions specified in EASA AD 2026-0074 described previously, except for any differences identified as exceptions in the regulatory text of this proposed AD.

Compliance With AFM Revisions

EASA AD 2026-0074 requires operators to "inform all flight crews" of revisions to the AFM, and thereafter to "operate the aeroplane accordingly." However, this proposed AD would not specifically require those actions as those actions are already required by FAA regulations. FAA regulations require operators furnish to pilots any changes to the AFM (for example, 14 CFR 121.137), and to ensure the pilots are familiar with the AFM (for example, 14 CFR 91.505). As with any other flightcrew training requirement, training on the updated AFM content is tracked by the operators and recorded in each pilot's training record, which is available for the FAA to review. FAA regulations also require pilots to follow the procedures in the existing AFM including all updates. Section 91.9 requires that any person operating a civil aircraft must comply with the operating limitations specified in the AFM.

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 2026-0074 by reference in the FAA final rule. This proposed AD would, therefore, require compliance with EASA AD 2026-0074 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 2026-0074 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 2026- 0074. Material required by EASA AD 2026-0074 for compliance will be available at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2026-8800 after the FAA final rule is published.

Costs of Compliance

The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would affect 36 airplanes of U.S. registry. The FAA estimates the following costs to comply with this proposed AD:

Estimated Costs for Required Actions