December 28, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (``CPSIA'') requires the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (``CPSC,'' ``Commission,'' or ``we'') to promulgate consumer product safety standards for durable infant or toddler products. These standards are to be ``substantially the same as'' applicable voluntary standards or more stringent than the voluntary standard if the Commission concludes that more stringent requirements would further reduce the risk of injury associated with the product. The Commission is issuing safety standards for full-size and non-full-size baby cribs in response to the direction under section 104(b) of the CPSIA.\1\ Section 104(c) of the CPSIA specifies that the crib standards will cover used as well as new cribs. The crib standards will apply to anyone who manufactures, distributes, or contracts to sell a crib; to child care facilities, family child care homes, and others holding themselves out to be knowledgeable about cribs; to anyone who leases, sublets, or otherwise places a crib in the stream of commerce; and to owners and operators of places of public accommodation affecting commerce.

NCUA is issuing final amendments to its regulations covering several related subjects. The final rule documents and clarifies the fiduciary duties and responsibilities of Federal credit union (FCU) directors. The final rule amends NCUA's indemnification regulation limiting indemnification of FCU officials and employees for liability arising from improper decisions that affect the fundamental rights of credit union members, and makes conforming changes to the standard FCU and corporate credit union bylaws. In addition, the final rule adds new provisions establishing the procedures for insured credit unions merging into banks. The final rule also amends some of NCUA's existing regulatory procedures applicable to insured credit union mergers with other credit unions, conversions to mutual savings banks (MSBs), and termination of share insurance.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which applies to certain Model 747-200C, -200F, -400, -400D, and -400F series airplanes. That AD currently requires repetitive inspections for cracks in the overlapping (upper) skin of the upper fastener row of the lap joints of the fuselage skin in sections 41, 42, and 46; and related investigative and corrective actions, if necessary. This new AD expands the inspection area in the existing AD, and adds a modification of certain lap joints and certain post-repair inspections of the lap joints. Accomplishing the modification would end the repetitive inspections required by the existing AD for the length of lap joint that is modified. This AD results from a structural review of affected skin lap joints for widespread fatigue damage. We are issuing this AD to prevent fatigue cracking in certain lap joints, which could result in rapid depressurization of the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD requires repetitive inspections for cracking in the body skin around the aft corners of the nose wheel well; for certain airplanes, repetitive inspections for cracking in the skin splice plate at the aft corners of the nose wheel well; and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This AD also requires repetitive post-modification inspections for cracking in the body skin and the skin splice plate; for certain airplanes, an inspection for steel cross-shaped doublers on the larger aluminum doublers; and corrective action if necessary. This AD also requires repetitive surface high frequency eddy current (HFEC) inspections of a certain bulkhead outer chord, skin splice plate, and outer chord radius filler for cracking; repetitive detailed inspections for cracking of the bulkhead frame web and body skin; and corrective actions if necessary. This AD provides for optional terminating action for certain repetitive inspections. This AD was prompted by reports of cracking of the fuselage skin and adjacent internal skin splice plate at the left and right nose wheel well aft corners, and the outer chord of the body station (BS) 400 bulkhead. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct cracking of the fuselage skin or splice plate, which, together with cracking of the bulkhead outer chord, could result in large skin cracks and subsequent in-flight rapid decompression of the airplane.

This amendment supersedes an existing emergency airworthiness directive (EAD) for the specified Sikorsky model helicopters. The EAD requires inspecting the LITEF Attitude Heading and Reference System (AHRS) unit of the navigation system to determine if it is at a Mod Status ``18.'' If either AHRS unit is at Mod Status ``18,'' the EAD requires installing placards on the instrument panel to prohibit single pilot instrument flight rule (IFR) and single pilot night flight and reducing airspeeds to 120 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS) if both autopilots uncouple during instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) or night flight. The EAD also requires inserting minimum crew and airspeed limitations into the Limitations section of the applicable Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM) to limit the minimum flight crew to 2 pilots for night flight and IFR flight and to reduce airspeed to 120 KIAS if both autopilots uncouple during IMC or night flight. This amendment contains the same requirements but draws the appropriate distinctions between IFR and IMC as used in the intended operating limitations. Also, unlike the EAD, this AD states the airspeed must be reduced to 120 KIAS if both autopilots uncouple during IMC or night flight. Further, we are removing the limitation contained in the Active Temporary Revisions relating to pilots keeping their hands and feet near the flight controls. This AD was prompted by the need to supersede the EAD to state the distinction between IFR and IMC as used in the operating limitations and to reduce the airspeed to 120 KIAS if both autopilots uncouple during IMC or night flight. The actions specified by this AD are intended to implement operating limitations based on an anomaly in the AHRS related to the 26 volt AC inverter that could result in a decoupling of both autopilots and to prevent loss of control of the helicopter during IMC and during night flight.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Model 737-600, -700, -700C, -800, and -900 series airplanes. This AD requires inspections for scribe lines in the fuselage skin at lap joints, the splice strap at certain butt joints, the skin or doubler at certain approved repair doublers, and the skin at decal locations; and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This AD results from reports of scribe line damage found adjacent to the skin lap joints, decals, and wing-to-body fairings. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct scribe lines, which can develop into fatigue cracks in the skin. Undetected fatigue cracks can grow and cause sudden decompression of the airplane.