African Development Foundation August 3, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On August 19, 2014, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published in the Federal Register [79 FR 49141-49144] a notice regarding the FAA's consideration of how to implement Section 213(c)(2) of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. Section 213(c)(2) directs the FAA to issue and file a categorical exclusion for any navigation performance or other performance based navigation procedure that would result in measureable reductions in fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and noise on a per flight basis as compared to aircraft operations that follow existing instrument flight rule procedures in the same airspace. To inform the FAA's consideration of interpretative guidance regarding Section 213(c)(2), the FAA's August 19 notice requested public comment on a Net Noise Reduction Method recommended by the NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC) and possible variations on this method. The FAA has reviewed and considered all comments and has decided to issue interpretative guidance to implement Section 213(c)(2) using the Net Noise Reduction Method with two variations to the NAC's recommendation, as described in this final notice.

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or removes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures (ODPs) for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2002-23- 20, for certain Dassault Aviation Model FALCON 900EX and MYSTERE-FALCON 900 airplanes. AD 2002-23-20 currently requires repetitive operational tests of the flap asymmetry detection system to verify proper functioning, and repair if necessary; repetitive replacement of the inboard flap jackscrews with new or reconditioned jackscrews; and repetitive measurement of the screw/nut play of the jackscrews on the inboard and outboard flaps to detect discrepancies, and corrective action if necessary. AD 2002-23-20 currently requires a revision of the airplane flight manual. Since we issued AD 2002-23-20, the maintenance manual has been revised. This proposed AD would require revising the maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to include the maintenance tasks and airworthiness limitations specified in the Airworthiness Limitations section of the airplane maintenance manual. This proposed AD also removes the Model FALCON 900EX airplanes from the applicability of the existing AD. We are proposing this AD to prevent reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A318, A319, and A320 series airplanes modified by a particular supplemental type certificate (STC). This AD was prompted by reports of cracks found during inspections of the in-flight entertainment system radome assembly. This AD requires repetitive detailed inspections for cracks in the radome assembly, and replacement of the radome if necessary. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct cracks in the radome assembly, which could result in the radome (or pieces) separating from the airplane and striking the tail, consequently reducing the controllability of the airplane.