Department of Transportation July 21, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FAA has issued an order to show cause, which solicits the views of interested persons on the FAA's tentative determination to extend through April 1, 2006, an August 18, 2004, order limiting the number of scheduled aircraft arrivals at O'Hare International Airport during peak operating hours. The text of the order to show cause is set forth in this notice.

The FAA is revising an earlier NPRM for an airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain Airbus Model A319-100, A320-200, and A321-100 and -200 series airplanes. The original NPRM would have superseded an existing AD that currently requires modification of the telescopic girt bar of the escape slide/raft assembly, and follow-on actions. The original NPRM proposed to mandate a new modification of the telescopic girt bar, which would terminate the repetitive functional tests required by the existing AD. The original NPRM also proposed to expand the applicability of the existing AD. The original NPRM was prompted by development of a new, improved modification. This new action would revise the original NPRM by proposing to mandate the installation of placards on the modified girt bars, and reduce the compliance time. We are proposing this supplemental NPRM to prevent failure of the escape slide/raft to deploy correctly, which could result in the slide being unusable during an emergency evacuation and consequent injury to passengers or airplane crewmembers.

The Department of Transportation is directing all interested persons to show cause why it should not issue an order finding that Executive Jet Management, Inc. is fit, willing, and able under 49 U.S.C. 41738 to provide scheduled passenger service as a commuter air carrier and issue to it a Commuter Air Carrier Authorization

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an environmental impact statement (EIS) will be prepared for a proposed roadway project in Polk County, Iowa. The planned EIS will evaluate potential transportation improvement alternatives for serving east-west travel between downtown Des Moines and the Highway 65 outer beltway.

An examination of controlled airspace for Columbia Regional Airport, MO, has revealed a discrepancy in the legal description of the Class E airspace area beginning at 700 feet above the surface. This action corrects that discrepancy by incorporating the coordinates of the Columbia Regional Airport ILS Localizer. Extensions to this Class E airspace area are described in relation to the Columbia Regional Airport ILS Localizer, therefore the coordinates for this facility must be included in the legal description to bring the airspace area into compliance with FAA directives.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces its determination that the noise exposure maps submitted by Albany County Airport Authority for Albany International Airport under provisions of Title I of the Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act of 1979 (Pub. L. 96-193) and 14 CFR part 150 are in compliance with applicable requirements. The FAA also announces that it is reviewing a proposed noise compatibility program that was submitted for Albany International Airport under Part 150 in conjunction with the noise exposure maps, and that this program will be approved or disapproved on or before January 4, 2006.

On April 19, 2005, FRA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to correct an inadvertent, small omission from FRA Form 4 (Boiler Specification Card) in the Steam Locomotive Inspection and Maintenance Standards. The form is used to record information about inspections of steam locomotive boilers. FRA received two comments supporting the adoption of the proposed rule. Therefore, FRA adopts the proposed rule as a final rule.

The FAA is correcting a typographical error in an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that was published in the Federal Register on June 22, 2005 (70 FR 36011). The error resulted in an incomplete listing of the affected airplanes. This AD applies to all EMBRAER Model EMB-135 airplanes, and all Model EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, - 145XR, -145MP, and -145EP airplanes. This AD requires repetitive inspections of the electrical connectors of the electric fuel pumps to detect discrepancies, application of anti-corrosion spray, replacement of all fuel pumps with improved fuel pumps, repetitive inspections after all six fuel pumps are replaced, and applicable corrective actions.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain Airbus Model A320-111 airplanes and Model A320-200 series airplanes. This AD requires post-maintenance bleeding of accumulated air from, or ground functional testing of, the ram air turbine (RAT) system; modifying and reidentifying the airborne ground check module of the RAT system; and replacing the RAT reducer assembly if applicable. This AD is prompted by reports of unsuccessful in-flight RAT tests during which a deployed RAT failed to pressurize the blue hydraulic circuit of the RAT system. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the RAT during an in-flight emergency, which could lead to loss of hydraulic and electrical power and reduced controllability of the airplane.