Draft Policy Statement Regarding Safety Continuum for Powered-Lift, 50241 [2024-12860]

Agencies

• Federal Aviation Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 115 (Thursday, June 13, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 50241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12860]


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Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 115 / Thursday, June 13, 2024 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 50241]]



DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 21

[Docket No. FAA-2024-1656]


Draft Policy Statement Regarding Safety Continuum for Powered-
Lift

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notification of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FAA invites public comment on the agency's draft policy 
statement that establishes a safety continuum for the certification of 
powered-lift.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 12, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified with ``Safety Continuum for 
Powered-lift'' and docket number FAA-2024-1656, using any of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov and 
follow the instructions for submitting comments electronically.
     Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30; U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room 
W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Take 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.
    Privacy: The FAA will post all comments it receives without change 
to www.regulations.gov, including any personal information the 
commenter provides. DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement can be found 
in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-
19478), as well as at DocketsInfo.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Blyn, Product Policy Management: 
Airplanes, GA, Emerging Aircraft, and Rotorcraft AIR-62B, Policy and 
Standards Division, Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, Texas 76177; 
telephone (817) 222-5762; email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Powered-lift are heavier-than-air aircraft capable of vertical 
takeoff, vertical landing, and low speed flight that depends 
principally on engine-driven lift devices or engine thrust for lift 
during these flight regimes and on nonrotating airfoil(s) for lift 
during horizontal flight. Powered-lift designs vary in size, 
capability, and performance. These aircraft are intended to perform a 
wide variety of operations such as urban air mobility, flight training, 
air ambulance, search and rescue, external-load/utility, firefighting, 
electronic newsgathering, air tours, and private use.
    Recognizing that advancements in technology have the potential to 
enhance safety and recognizing the broad variations in the population 
of normal category aircraft, the FAA reviewed the safety continuum 
policies for both normal category airplanes and normal category 
rotorcraft and developed this proposed policy statement, which applies 
the FAA's safety continuum concept to the certification of powered-
lift. This proposed policy would provide a balanced approach between 
the risk and safety benefits for certificating such aircraft. This 
policy establishes certification levels for powered-lift and 
establishes a graduated scale of compliance standards for the 
certification of these aircraft. These certification levels are based 
on aircraft maximum gross weight, maximum passenger seating 
configuration, and type of operation (general aviation vs. passenger 
transportation for compensation or hire) and are used to establish the 
safety objectives for system safety and aircraft performance.

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites the public to submit comments on the draft policy 
statement as specified in the ADDRESSES section. Commenters should 
include the subject line ``Safety Continuum for Powered-lift'' and 
docket number FAA-2024-1656 on all comments submitted to the FAA. The 
most helpful comments will reference a specific portion of the draft 
document, explain the reason for any recommended change, and include 
supporting data. The FAA will also consider all comments received on or 
before the closing date before issuing the final policy statement. The 
FAA will also consider late filed comments if it is possible to do so 
without incurring expense or delay.
    You may examine the draft policy statement on the agency's public 
website and in the docket as follows:
     At www.regulations.gov in Docket FAA-2024-1656.
     At www.faa.gov/aircraft/draft_docs/.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 7, 2024.
Daniel J. Elgas,
Director, Policy and Standards Division, Aircraft Certification 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-12860 Filed 6-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P