Department of Transportation January 24, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FMCSA is reviewing and reconsidering the regulations on hours of service of drivers published on April 28, 2003 (68 FR 22456) and amended on September 30, 2003 (68 FR 56208). The regulations were vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 16, 2004 (Public Citizen et al. v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 374 F.3d 1209). Congress subsequently provided that the 2003 regulations will remain in effect until the effective date of a new final rule addressing the issues raised by the court or September 30, 2005, whichever occurs first (Section 7(f) of the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part V). FMCSA is reconsidering the 2003 regulations to determine what changes may be necessary to be consistent with the holdings and dicta of the Public Citizen decision. In order to allow effective public participation in the process before the statutory deadline, FMCSA is publishing this NPRM concurrently with its ongoing research and analysis of the issues raised by the court. To facilitate discussion, the agency is putting forward the 2003 rule as the ``proposal'' on which public comments are sought. This NPRM, however, asks the public to comment on what changes to that rule, if any, are necessary to respond to the concerns raised by the court, and to provide data or studies that would support changes to, or continued use of, the 2003 rule. The NPRM includes specific information on a variety of topics and specific questions for comment. FMCSA is not considering changes to the hours-of-service regulations applicable to drivers and operators of passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicles (CMVs).

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Raytheon Model HS.125 series 700A airplanes, Model BAe.125 series 800A airplanes, and Model Hawker 800 and Hawker 800XP airplanes. This proposed AD would require an inspection to determine the current rating of the circuit breakers of certain cockpit ventilation and avionics cooling system blowers; and for replacing the circuit breakers and modifying the blower wiring, as applicable. This proposed AD is prompted by a report indicating that a blower motor seized up and gave off smoke. Investigation revealed inadequate short circuit protection on the blower motor electrical circuit. We are proposing this AD to prevent smoke and fumes in the cockpit in the event that a blower motor seizes and overheats due to excessive current draw.

This document makes a correction to Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2004-26-04. That AD applies to Pratt & Whitney (PW) JT8D-200 series turbofan engines. That AD was published in the Federal Register on January 5, 2005 (70 FR 677). This document corrects a compliance time in Table 1 of the AD. In all other respects, the original document remains the same.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the McDonnell Douglas airplanes listed above. This AD requires identifying the part number of the cargo compartment smoke detectors and, if necessary, revising the Limitations section of the airplane flight manual to include procedures for testing the smoke detection system after the last engine is started. This AD also provides for the optional replacement of the subject smoke detectors with modified smoke detectors, which would terminate the operational limitation. This AD is prompted by a report indicating that the cargo smoke detectors can ``lock up'' during electrical power transfer from the auxiliary power unit to the engines. We are issuing this AD to identify and provide corrective action for a potentially inoperative smoke detector in the cargo compartment and ensure that the flightcrew is alerted in the event of a cargo compartment fire.