Department of Transportation February 9, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2002-26-05, which applies to certain Air Tractor, Inc. (Air Tractor) Models AT-502, AT-502A, AT-502B, and AT-503A airplanes. AD 2002-26-05 lowers the safe life for the wing lower spar cap for Models AT-502, AT- 502A, AT-502B, and AT-503A airplanes and those that incorporate or have incorporated Marburger Enterprises, Inc. winglets. AD 2002-26-05 also requires you to eddy-current inspect the wing lower spar cap immediately prior to the replacement/modification to detect and correct any crack in a bolthole before it extends to the modified center section of the wing and report the results of this inspection to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Since we issued AD 2002-26-05, we have determined that additional airplanes should be added to the applicability section. We also developed an alternative method of compliance (AMOC) to the requirements of AD 2002-26-05. This proposed AD retains the action required in AD 2002-26-05, adds additional airplanes to the applicability, and includes an AMOC. We are issuing this proposed AD to prevent fatigue cracks from occurring in the wing lower spar cap before the established safe life is reached. Fatigue cracks in the wing lower spar cap could result in the wing separating from the airplane during flight.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments was published on September 21, 2004.

This notice denies petitions for reconsideration submitted by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Alliance) of the August 20, 2004, final rule on advanced air bag provisions in the occupant crash protection standard. We are denying the first petition because it references a test procedure that the agency has not yet proposed, for which an effective date will be proposed when a Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) seat installation procedure is published. We are denying the second petition because we have previously responded to the same issue and no new data have been presented.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 93- 24-14, which applies to all The New Piper Aircraft, Inc. (Piper) PA-34 series airplanes. AD 93-24-14 currently requires you to repetitively replace the bolt and stack up that connect the upper drag link to the nose gear trunnion. This proposed AD is the result of many service difficulty reports related to the collapse or inadvertent retraction of the nose landing gear (NLG). Consequently, this proposed AD would retain the actions required in AD 93-24-14 until the actions of the proposed AD would begin, require you to inspect the NLG and components of the NLG using new procedures for rigging the nose gear installation, and require you to replace unserviceable parts. We are also issuing this proposed AD to detect, correct, and prevent future failure in certain components of the NLG, lack of cleanliness of the NLG due to inadequate maintenance, or lack of lubricant in the NLG or NLG components. This failure of the NLG could lead to loss of control of the airplane during take-off, landing, or taxiing operations.