Proposed Legal Interpretation, 11176-11177 [2011-4271]
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11176
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 40 / Tuesday, March 1, 2011 / Proposed Rules
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.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39
Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation
safety, Safety.
The Proposed Amendment
Accordingly, under the authority
delegated to me by the Administrator,
the FAA proposes to amend 14 CFR Part
39 as follows:
PART 39—AIRWORTHINESS
DIRECTIVES
1. The authority citation for part 39
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.
§ 39.13
[Amended]
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
2. The FAA amends § 39.13 by adding
the following new AD:
Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation: Docket No.
FAA–2011–0099; Directorate Identifier
2010–SW–085–AD.
Applicability: S–76A, S–76B, and S–76C
model helicopters with Aero Seats and
Systems, Inc. (ASI) ASI–500 Life Raft
Deployment System (LRDS) installed per
FAA Supplemental Type Certificate
SR09211RC, pilot or co-pilot life raft
deployment handle (handle), part number
(P/N) ASI–700–45, certificated in any
category.
Compliance: Required within 100 hours
time-in-service, unless accomplished
previously.
To prevent the bending of the handle,
which could result in failure of the life raft
to deploy, resulting in the loss of access to
the life raft after an emergency ditching on
water, accomplish the following:
(a) Install the safety pins, P/N ASI–625–14,
to lock out the raft deployment pods.
(b) Remove the pad, P/N BA7601.
(c) Remove the top cover, P/N ASI–700–73.
(d) Remove the cotter pin, P/N AN381–2–
8, from the clevis pin, P/N MS 20392–2C9,
located at the crew release handle assembly.
(e) Remove the washer, P/N AN960–10L,
and clevis pin from the cable, P/N 2604750–
90.
(f) Disconnect the cable from the handle,
and secure the cable to the broom closet to
prevent it from falling into the lower cover.
(g) Remove the handle by removing the
bolt, P/N AN4–11, nut, P/N MS20364–428A,
and washers, P/N AN960–416L, from the raft
deployment handle assembly (handle
assembly), P/N ASI–700–41A.
(h) Remove the safety pin, P/N ASI–700–
80.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:33 Feb 28, 2011
Jkt 223001
(i) Remove and discard any ball bearings,
and clean all surfaces of the remaining
handle assembly.
(j) Install the handle, P/N ASI–700–49A.
(k) Reinstall the bolt, nut, and washers,
P/N AN960–416L, and install the washer,
P/N ASI–700–44, between the handle and the
mount,
P/N ASI–700–43, on the left side of the
broom closet, and torque to 20 in-lb
maximum.
(l) Reinstall the safety pin.
(m) Release the cable from the broom
closet.
(n) Reinstall the cable to the handle with
the clevis pin.
(o) Reinstall the washer, P/N AN960–10L,
and the cotter pin on to the clevis pin.
(p) Reinstall the top cover.
(q) Reinstall the pad.
(r) Remove the raft deployment pod lock
out safety pins.
Note: Aero Seats and Systems, Inc., Alert
Service Bulletin No. 76–500–02, Revision C,
dated September 16, 2010, which is not
incorporated by reference, contains
additional information about the subject of
this airworthiness directive.
(s) To request a different method of
compliance or a different compliance time
for this AD, follow the procedures in 14 CFR
39.19. Contact the Manager, Rotorcraft
Certification Office, FAA, Attn: Martin Crane,
Aerospace Engineer, FAA, Rotorcraft
Directorate, Rotorcraft Certification Office,
2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas
76137, telephone (817) 222–5170, fax (817)
222–5783, e-mail Martin.R.Crane@faa.gov for
information about previously approved
alternative methods of compliance.
(t) The Joint Aircraft System/Component
(JASC) Code 2564: is: Life raft.
Issued in Fort Worth, Texas, on January 27,
2011.
Kim Smith,
Manager, Rotorcraft Directorate, Aircraft
Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–4477 Filed 2–28–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 121
[Docket No. FAA–2011–0045]
Proposed Legal Interpretation
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA).
ACTION: Proposed interpretation.
AGENCY:
The FAA is considering
clarifying the application of flight time
limitations and rest requirements in 14
CFR 121.481 and 121.483 for pilots
operating in flag operations as part of a
two-pilot crew and as part of a two-pilot
crew and one additional flightcrew
member during a seven-day period.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Comments must be received on
or before May 2, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments
identified by Docket Number FAA–
2011–0045 using any of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and follow
the online instructions for sending your
comments electronically.
Mail: Send comments to Docket
Operations, M–30; U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Room W12–140, West
Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC
20590–0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: Bring
comments to Docket Operations in
Room W12–140 of the West Building
Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: Fax comments to Docket
Operations at 202–493–2251.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara
Mikolop, Attorney, Regulations
Division, Office of the Chief Counsel,
Federal Aviation Administration, 800
Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20591; telephone: 202–
267–3073.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA
provides flight time and rest
requirements for flightcrew members
used in flag operations in 14 CFR
subpart R. Within subpart R, § 121.481
provides flight time limitations for oneor two-pilot crews and § 121.483
provides flight time limitations for
crews of two pilots and one additional
flight crewmember.
The flight time limitations are more
restrictive for operations under
§ 121.481 than § 121.483 because the
crew size is smaller and thus each pilot
must assume responsibilities for more
in-flight duties. See Legal Interpretation
from Donald P. Byrne to James W.
Johnson (August 24, 1999). In contrast,
when a crew of two pilots and one
additional flightcrew member operates
under § 121.483, the in-flight duties are
divided among more crewmembers and
so the overall burden on any one
crewmember may be reduced as
crewmembers rotate through flight deck
duties and may be provided an
opportunity for rest. See Legal
Interpretation from Donald P. Byrne to
James W. Johnson (August 24, 1999).
Thus, when the number of flightcrew
members used in a flag operation
increases, Subpart R allows for
increased flight time. Compare 14 CFR
121.481 with 14 CFR 121.483 and 14
CFR 121.485.
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\01MRP1.SGM
01MRP1
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 40 / Tuesday, March 1, 2011 / Proposed Rules
On July 15, 2010, the FAA received a
request for a legal interpretation
regarding how to apply flight time
limitations and rest requirements for
pilots engaged in flag operations when
those pilots participate in varying sizes
of flightcrews during a seven-day
period. Specifically, a pilot labor
organization requested a legal
interpretation regarding the application
14 CFR 121.481(d), limiting a two-pilot
crew to 32 hours of flight time within
any seven consecutive days, when that
same crew is augmented with an
additional pilot during or after the
completion of 32 hours of flight time
within a seven-day period. We have not
previously addressed these questions.
We do not require an air carrier to use
a pilot for just one flightcrew
complement in flag operations. Air
carriers engaged in flag operations are
permitted to use the same pilot as part
of a crew of two pilots, a crew of two
pilots and one additional flightcrew
member, or a crew of three pilots and
one additional flightcrew member. This
flexibility allows certificate holders who
use multiple flightcrew complements
throughout their operations to use
flightcrew members interchangeably.
The FAA’s rules have a long history
of acknowledging that pilots may be
used in flightcrews of varying sizes, in
that § 121.487 provides a framework for
calculating monthly and quarterly flight
time limitations for such pilots. In an
early version of the current requirement,
Special Civil Air Regulation No. 386F,
it was envisioned that this rule would
‘‘not allow evasion of the stricter
limitations applicable to smaller crew
combinations, but will allow assignment
of a pilot in any given month to another
type of crew combination without
additional flight time limitations if he
flies not more than 20 hours in the type
of crew to which the more restrictive
flight time limitations apply and if such
assignment is not interrupted more than
once during such month.’’ See 28 Fed.
Reg. 2000, 2000 (1963). Although
§ 121.487 provides a structure for
calculating monthly and quarterly flight
time limitations for pilots used in
varying sizes of flightcrews, neither the
current § 121.487 nor the regulatory
history answer the question of how to
apply daily and weekly flight time
limitations for these same pilots.
We did not intend, however, for this
flexibility to be used by a certificate
holder to select less restrictive flight
time limitations for a flightcrew by
augmenting that flightcrew midway or
at the completion of a scheduling
period. For example, the flight time
limits of 14 CFR 121.481(d) would be
circumvented if a certificate holder
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:33 Feb 28, 2011
Jkt 223001
schedules a two-pilot crew for a series
of operations and then augments that
two-pilot flightcrew during or at the
completion of a 32 hours of flight time
within any seven-day period, for the
purposes of extending the flightcrew’s
flight time under the less restrictive
framework of § 121.483.
Although we have not clarified the
effects of augmenting a two-pilot
flightcrew within a seven-day period, in
a Legal Interpretation issued August 24,
1999, we examined the application of
§§ 121.481 and 121.483 when a twopilot flightcrew is augmented so as to
extend the duty times for the original
two-pilot flightcrew members within a
24-hour period. See Legal Interpretation
from Donald P. Byrne to James W.
Johnson (August 24, 1999). As
previously stated, § 121.481 applies
when a certificate holder conducts flag
operations with a one- or two-pilot
crew. When a certificate holder
conducts flag operations with a twopilot crew with one additional
flightcrew member, § 121.483 applies.
However, in an August 24, 1999 Legal
Interpretation, we stated that once an air
carrier conducting flag operations
schedules a pilot to fly under § 121.481
and the pilot completes the flight time,
it would be contrary to the intent of
§ 121.481 to then schedule that pilot to
fly under § 121.483 without providing
the rest required within a 24-hour
period as required by §§ 121.481(a) or
(b). See Legal Interpretation from
Donald P. Byrne to James W. Johnson
(August 24, 1999) (stating that the
regulations prohibit augmenting a twopilot crew after completing a 55 minute
flight, subject to § 121.481, so that those
two pilots may then continue on to
operate a 9 hour and 50 minute flight
subject to § 121.483(b) without
providing the rest required by
§ 121.481(a) or (b)). The August 24,
1999, Legal Interpretation ensures that
pilots who have operated as part of a
two-pilot crew receive the rest intended
by 14 CFR 121.481(a) and (b).
Finally, our knowledge regarding the
causes and effects of fatigue has
significantly increased since the
regulations on flight time limitations
were drafted. We now know that the
longer one has been awake and the
longer one spends on task, the greater
the likelihood of fatigue. We also know
more about transient and cumulative
fatigue. Transient fatigue and
cumulative fatigue are conditions
brought on by sleep restriction that
occurs over one or two days or a series
of days respectively, thus making the
daily and weekly flight time limitations
and rest requirements a significant
PO 00000
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
11177
safeguard to ensure adequately rested
pilots.
Therefore, similar to the principle
articulated in the August 24, 1999 legal
interpretation and considering what we
now know about fatigue, to fulfill the
intended rest requirements of
§ 121.481(d), the FAA has tentatively
determined that once a flightcrew has
completed 32 hours of flight time under
14 CFR 121.481(d), that flightcrew must
be provided the rest required by
§ 121.481(d) before being scheduled
under § 121.483. Further, should an air
carrier engaged in flag operations use
two pilots in both a two-pilot flightcrew
and a flightcrew of two pilots and one
additional flightcrew member, within
any seven consecutive days, then the
flight time limitations and rest
requirements of § 121.481(d) would
apply to the two pilots who have moved
between crew complements.1
This clarification would fulfill the
intent that pilots serving in two-pilot
crews in flag operations are afforded the
rest contemplated by § 121.481.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 22,
2011.
Rebecca B. MacPherson,
Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations,
AGC–200.
[FR Doc. 2011–4271 Filed 2–28–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
18 CFR Part 35
[Docket Nos. RM11–7–000; AD10–11–000]
Frequency Regulation Compensation
in the Organized Wholesale Power
Markets
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
AGENCY:
The Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (Commission) is
proposing to revise its regulations to
remedy undue discrimination in the
procurement of frequency regulation
service in the organized wholesale
electricity markets. The emergence of
technologies capable of responding
more quickly than the generators that
have historically provided frequency
regulation service has prompted the
SUMMARY:
1 § 121.483 does not contain a provision that is
parallel to § 121.481(d). Nevertheless, the flight
time limits for 48 and 72 hour periods found in
§ 121.483(b) are less restrictive than the flight time
limitations in § 121.481(d).
E:\FR\FM\01MRP1.SGM
01MRP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11176-11177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4271]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 121
[Docket No. FAA-2011-0045]
Proposed Legal Interpretation
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
ACTION: Proposed interpretation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The FAA is considering clarifying the application of flight
time limitations and rest requirements in 14 CFR 121.481 and 121.483
for pilots operating in flag operations as part of a two-pilot crew and
as part of a two-pilot crew and one additional flightcrew member during
a seven-day period.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 2, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments identified by Docket Number FAA-2011-
0045 using any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and
follow the online instructions for sending your comments
electronically.
Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30; U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12-140, West
Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: Bring comments to Docket Operations in
Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Mikolop, Attorney, Regulations
Division, Office of the Chief Counsel, Federal Aviation Administration,
800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone: 202-267-
3073.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA provides flight time and rest
requirements for flightcrew members used in flag operations in 14 CFR
subpart R. Within subpart R, Sec. 121.481 provides flight time
limitations for one- or two-pilot crews and Sec. 121.483 provides
flight time limitations for crews of two pilots and one additional
flight crewmember.
The flight time limitations are more restrictive for operations
under Sec. 121.481 than Sec. 121.483 because the crew size is smaller
and thus each pilot must assume responsibilities for more in-flight
duties. See Legal Interpretation from Donald P. Byrne to James W.
Johnson (August 24, 1999). In contrast, when a crew of two pilots and
one additional flightcrew member operates under Sec. 121.483, the in-
flight duties are divided among more crewmembers and so the overall
burden on any one crewmember may be reduced as crewmembers rotate
through flight deck duties and may be provided an opportunity for rest.
See Legal Interpretation from Donald P. Byrne to James W. Johnson
(August 24, 1999). Thus, when the number of flightcrew members used in
a flag operation increases, Subpart R allows for increased flight time.
Compare 14 CFR 121.481 with 14 CFR 121.483 and 14 CFR 121.485.
[[Page 11177]]
On July 15, 2010, the FAA received a request for a legal
interpretation regarding how to apply flight time limitations and rest
requirements for pilots engaged in flag operations when those pilots
participate in varying sizes of flightcrews during a seven-day period.
Specifically, a pilot labor organization requested a legal
interpretation regarding the application 14 CFR 121.481(d), limiting a
two-pilot crew to 32 hours of flight time within any seven consecutive
days, when that same crew is augmented with an additional pilot during
or after the completion of 32 hours of flight time within a seven-day
period. We have not previously addressed these questions.
We do not require an air carrier to use a pilot for just one
flightcrew complement in flag operations. Air carriers engaged in flag
operations are permitted to use the same pilot as part of a crew of two
pilots, a crew of two pilots and one additional flightcrew member, or a
crew of three pilots and one additional flightcrew member. This
flexibility allows certificate holders who use multiple flightcrew
complements throughout their operations to use flightcrew members
interchangeably.
The FAA's rules have a long history of acknowledging that pilots
may be used in flightcrews of varying sizes, in that Sec. 121.487
provides a framework for calculating monthly and quarterly flight time
limitations for such pilots. In an early version of the current
requirement, Special Civil Air Regulation No. 386F, it was envisioned
that this rule would ``not allow evasion of the stricter limitations
applicable to smaller crew combinations, but will allow assignment of a
pilot in any given month to another type of crew combination without
additional flight time limitations if he flies not more than 20 hours
in the type of crew to which the more restrictive flight time
limitations apply and if such assignment is not interrupted more than
once during such month.'' See 28 Fed. Reg. 2000, 2000 (1963). Although
Sec. 121.487 provides a structure for calculating monthly and
quarterly flight time limitations for pilots used in varying sizes of
flightcrews, neither the current Sec. 121.487 nor the regulatory
history answer the question of how to apply daily and weekly flight
time limitations for these same pilots.
We did not intend, however, for this flexibility to be used by a
certificate holder to select less restrictive flight time limitations
for a flightcrew by augmenting that flightcrew midway or at the
completion of a scheduling period. For example, the flight time limits
of 14 CFR 121.481(d) would be circumvented if a certificate holder
schedules a two-pilot crew for a series of operations and then augments
that two-pilot flightcrew during or at the completion of a 32 hours of
flight time within any seven-day period, for the purposes of extending
the flightcrew's flight time under the less restrictive framework of
Sec. 121.483.
Although we have not clarified the effects of augmenting a two-
pilot flightcrew within a seven-day period, in a Legal Interpretation
issued August 24, 1999, we examined the application of Sec. Sec.
121.481 and 121.483 when a two-pilot flightcrew is augmented so as to
extend the duty times for the original two-pilot flightcrew members
within a 24-hour period. See Legal Interpretation from Donald P. Byrne
to James W. Johnson (August 24, 1999). As previously stated, Sec.
121.481 applies when a certificate holder conducts flag operations with
a one- or two-pilot crew. When a certificate holder conducts flag
operations with a two-pilot crew with one additional flightcrew member,
Sec. 121.483 applies. However, in an August 24, 1999 Legal
Interpretation, we stated that once an air carrier conducting flag
operations schedules a pilot to fly under Sec. 121.481 and the pilot
completes the flight time, it would be contrary to the intent of Sec.
121.481 to then schedule that pilot to fly under Sec. 121.483 without
providing the rest required within a 24-hour period as required by
Sec. Sec. 121.481(a) or (b). See Legal Interpretation from Donald P.
Byrne to James W. Johnson (August 24, 1999) (stating that the
regulations prohibit augmenting a two-pilot crew after completing a 55
minute flight, subject to Sec. 121.481, so that those two pilots may
then continue on to operate a 9 hour and 50 minute flight subject to
Sec. 121.483(b) without providing the rest required by Sec.
121.481(a) or (b)). The August 24, 1999, Legal Interpretation ensures
that pilots who have operated as part of a two-pilot crew receive the
rest intended by 14 CFR 121.481(a) and (b).
Finally, our knowledge regarding the causes and effects of fatigue
has significantly increased since the regulations on flight time
limitations were drafted. We now know that the longer one has been
awake and the longer one spends on task, the greater the likelihood of
fatigue. We also know more about transient and cumulative fatigue.
Transient fatigue and cumulative fatigue are conditions brought on by
sleep restriction that occurs over one or two days or a series of days
respectively, thus making the daily and weekly flight time limitations
and rest requirements a significant safeguard to ensure adequately
rested pilots.
Therefore, similar to the principle articulated in the August 24,
1999 legal interpretation and considering what we now know about
fatigue, to fulfill the intended rest requirements of Sec. 121.481(d),
the FAA has tentatively determined that once a flightcrew has completed
32 hours of flight time under 14 CFR 121.481(d), that flightcrew must
be provided the rest required by Sec. 121.481(d) before being
scheduled under Sec. 121.483. Further, should an air carrier engaged
in flag operations use two pilots in both a two-pilot flightcrew and a
flightcrew of two pilots and one additional flightcrew member, within
any seven consecutive days, then the flight time limitations and rest
requirements of Sec. 121.481(d) would apply to the two pilots who have
moved between crew complements.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Sec. 121.483 does not contain a provision that is parallel
to Sec. 121.481(d). Nevertheless, the flight time limits for 48 and
72 hour periods found in Sec. 121.483(b) are less restrictive than
the flight time limitations in Sec. 121.481(d).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This clarification would fulfill the intent that pilots serving in
two-pilot crews in flag operations are afforded the rest contemplated
by Sec. 121.481.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 22, 2011.
Rebecca B. MacPherson,
Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations, AGC-200.
[FR Doc. 2011-4271 Filed 2-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
