Department of Transportation October 7, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In response to a petition for rulemaking from the Surge Brake Coalition, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposes to amend the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to allow the use of automatic hydraulic inertia brake systems (surge brakes) on trailers operated in interstate commerce. A surge brake is a self- contained permanently closed hydraulic brake system activated in response to the braking action of the tow vehicle. The amount of trailer braking effort developed is proportional to the total trailer weight and deceleration rate of the tow vehicle. Currently, surge brakes are not considered by FMCSA to comply with the FMCSRs specifying that all brakes with which a motor vehicle is equipped must at all times be capable of operating, and that a single application valve must, when applied, operate all the service brakes on the motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles. The intent of this rulemaking is to adopt performance-based brake system requirements to allow the use of surge brakes on certain combinations of commercial motor vehicles based upon engineering test data submitted by the Surge Brake Coalition.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of RTCA Special Committee 159: Global Positioning System.

The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) announce that they have received an application for the licensing of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) deepwater port, and that the application appears to contain the required information. This notice summarizes the applicant's plans and the procedures that will be followed in considering the application.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Dassault Model Falcon 2000 airplanes. This proposed AD would require an inspection for the presence of fail-safe pins, nuts, and washers on each engine, and replacement of the fail-safe fastener assembly with a new assembly if necessary. This proposed AD results from a report of a missing pin of a fail-safe fastener. We are proposing this AD to prevent reduced structural integrity of an engine mount due to a missing pin of a fail-safe fastener, and possible separation of an engine from the airplane during flight.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing transport category airplanes. This proposed AD would require inspecting to determine if certain galleys and closets are installed, and replacing the spiral wire wrapping of the electrical cables of the galleys and closets with new spiral wire wrapping if necessary. This proposed AD results from testing and reports from the manufacturer indicating unacceptable flammability properties of wire wrapping installed in certain galleys and closets. We are proposing this AD to prevent fire propagation or smoke in the cabin area due to electrical arcing or sparking and ignition of the spiral wire wrapping.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Boeing Model 747 airplanes. This proposed AD would require the following actions for the drive mechanism of the horizontal stabilizer: Repetitive detailed inspections for discrepancies and loose ball bearings; repetitive lubrication of the ballnut and ballscrew; repetitive measurements of the freeplay between the ballnut and the ballscrew; and corrective action if necessary. This proposed AD is prompted by a report of extensive corrosion of a ballscrew in the drive mechanism of the horizontal stabilizer on a similar airplane model. We are proposing this AD to prevent an undetected failure of the primary load path for the ballscrew in the horizontal stabilizer and subsequent wear and failure of the secondary load path, which could lead to loss of control of the horizontal stabilizer and consequent loss of control of the airplane.

FMCSA adopts as final its interim regulations at 49 CFR part 303 governing civil rights matters, consistent with the savings provision of section 106(b) of the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999. As with the interim rule, this final rule clarifies and modifies the applicability of certain Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Departmental umbrella Title VI provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and related nondiscrimination statutes, as they apply to FMCSA Federal financial assistance recipients. Part 303 was created to provide FMCSA with initial guidelines and procedures, as well as future FMCSA Title VI implementing regulations and any future guidelines on Title VI compliance. FMCSA removed itself from the FHWA Title VI regulations in 23 CFR part 200 to avoid confusion, while not altering the substantive Title VI obligations of FMCSA and its grantees. FMCSA remains subject to the Departmental umbrella Title VI regulations in 49 CFR part 21 and will develop as needed further guidelines and procedures to assure effective and consistent implementation for financially assisted recipients. We have not made any changes to the interim rules in part 303, and we adopt the interim regulations as final without change.

This document supplements the Notice of Interim Operating Authority (IOA) Granted to Commercial Air Tour Operators Over National Parks and Tribal Lands Within or Abutting National Parks, which was published in the Federal Register on Thursday, June 23, 2005, (70 FR 36456). The June 23rd notice informs the public and seeks comment on operators who have received IOA and the number of allocations for each operator on a per park basis. This supplemental notice informs the public when comments to the June 23rd notice are due and republishes the IOA by park instead of by operator.

This notice of policy announces the FAA's policy concerning current exemptions from the Mode S transponder equipment requirements under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations Sec. Sec. 121.345(c) and 135.143(c). Additionally, this notice of policy seeks comments from persons currently holding an exemption from the above regulations on a proposed date for which they must comply with the equipment requirements.

On October 23, 2002, the FAA published a Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority's (OSIDA's) proposal to operate a commercial launch site at the Clinton-Sherman Industrial Airpark (CSIA) in the Federal Register (67 FR 65169). The original proposed action included horizontal and vertical launches, significant construction activities, orbital launches, and vehicle manufacturing. The nature of these activities necessitated that the proposed action be addressed through the preparation of an EIS. Subsequent changes to the proposed action have eliminated the need for vertical launch, construction of any kind, orbital launches, and vehicle manufacturing. The proposed action as currently stated involves the horizontal launch of suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles from an existing runway at the CSIA. The horizontal launch activities are similar to the current Air Force activities at the CSIA and are not expected to produce significant impacts, indicating that an EA would be the most appropriate NEPA analysis for OSIDA's proposed activities. Scoping meetings were held in Oklahoma in November 2002. Because the proposed action is a subset of the information originally presented during scoping, we do not propose to re-initiate scoping meetings. For the reasons stated above, the FAA is canceling the EIS and will prepare an Environmental Assessment to analyze the impacts of the proposed action.

The FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for a new information collection. Information to be collected supports FAA in determining the amount of required liability insurance for a reentry operator after examining the risk associated with a reentry vehicle, its operational capabilities, and its designated reentry site.

These special conditions are issued for a Raytheon Model HS.125 airplane modified by LJSC Ltd. This modified airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. The modification incorporates the installation of two Air Data Display Units and two Air Data Sensors manufactured by Innovative Solutions and Support. These systems perform critical functions. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for the protection of these systems from the effects of high-intensity radiated fields (HIRF). These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces the Record of Decision (ROD) for O'Hare Modernization, for Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois is available.