Department of Transportation November 23, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval to renew an information collection, which is summarized below under Supplementary Information. We are required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations (49 CFR Part 107, Subpart B), notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein. Each mode of transportation for which a particular special permit is requested is indicated by a number in the ``Nature of Application'' portion of the table below as follows: 1Motor vehicle, 2Rail freight, 3Cargo vessel, 4Cargo aircraft only, 5Passenger-carrying aircraft.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus Model A318-100, A319-100, A320-200, A321-100, and A321-200 series airplanes, and Model A320-111 airplanes. This AD requires an inspection to determine whether certain braking and steering control units (BSCUs) are installed or have ever been installed. For airplanes on which certain BSCUs are installed or have ever been installed, this AD requires an inspection of the nose landing gear (NLG) upper support and corrective action if necessary, and a check of the NLG strut inflation pressure and an adjustment if necessary. For some of these airplanes, this AD also requires a revision to the aircraft flight manual to incorporate an operating procedure to recover normal steering in the event of a steering failure. This AD results from a report of an incident where an airplane landed with the NLG turned 90 degrees from centerline. We are issuing this AD to prevent landings with the NLG turned 90 degrees from centerline, which could result in reduced controllability of the airplane.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for a proposed highway project in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

This NPRM proposes new rules that will require operators and manufacturers of transport-category airplanes to take steps that, in combination with other required actions, should greatly reduce the chances of a catastrophic fuel-tank explosion. The proposal follows seven years of intensive research by the FAA in collaboration with industry into promising technologies designed to make fuel tanks effectively inert, thus preventing electrical and other systems from igniting flammable vapors in the fuel tank ullage (vapor space). The result of that research is that fuel tank inerting, originally thought to be prohibitively expensive, can now be accomplished in a reasonably cost-effective fashion and protect the public from future calamities which, we have concluded, are otherwise virtually certain to occur. The new rules, if adopted, would not actually direct the adoption of specific inerting technology either by manufacturers or operators but would establish a performance-based set of requirements that do not specifically direct the use of fuel-inerting but rather set acceptable levels of flammability exposure in tanks most prone to explosion or require the installation of an ignition mitigation means in an affected fuel tank. Technology now provides a variety of commercially feasible methods to accomplish these vital safety objectives.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 737-600, -700, -700C, and -800 series airplanes. This AD requires inspecting/measuring the length of the attachment fasteners between the nacelle support fittings and the lower wing skin panels, and related investigative/corrective actions if necessary. This AD results from a report from the manufacturer that in production, during the installation of certain attachment fasteners for the nacelle support fittings, only one washer was installed instead of two. We are issuing this AD to prevent inadequate fastener clamp-up, which could result in cracking of the fastener holes, cracking along the lower wing skin panels, fuel leaking from the wing fuel tanks onto the engines, and possible fire.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which applies to certain EMBRAER Model EMB-135 airplanes and Model EMB-145, -145ER, -145MR, -145LR, -145XR, -145MP, and -145EP airplanes. That AD currently requires revising the airplane flight manual (AFM) to prohibit in-flight auxiliary power unit (APU) starts, and installing a placard on or near the APU start/stop switch panel to provide such instructions to the flightcrew. This new AD adds an optional revision to the AFM that allows limited APU starts and adds a terminating action. This AD results from the airplane manufacturer developing modifications that revise or eliminate the need for restrictions to in-flight APU starts. We are issuing this AD to prevent flame backflow into the APU compartment through the eductor during in- flight APU starts, which could result in fire in the APU compartment.