Airworthiness Directives; Aerospatiale Model ATR42 and ATR72 Series Airplanes

This amendment adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to certain Aerospatiale Model ATR42 and ATR72 series airplanes, that requires modification of the handle of the passenger/ crew door to change the ``down-to-open'' configuration of the handle to an ``up-to-open'' configuration. This amendment is prompted by a report indicating that, immediately after takeoff, the passenger/crew door opened and separated from the airplane, due to the inadvertent operation of the door handle. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent inadvertent opening of the passenger/crew door during unpressurized flight, or delays in opening the door during an emergency evacuation.