Department of Transportation December 14, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) hereby announces that it is seeking renewal of the following currently approved information collection activities. Before submitting these information collection requirements for clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified below.

This document grants in full the petition of General Motors Corporation, (GM) for an exemption in accordance with Sec. 543.9(c)(2) of 49 CFR part 543, Exemption from the Theft Prevention Standard, for the Pontiac G6 vehicle line beginning with model year (MY) 2007. This petition is granted because the agency has determined that the antitheft device to be placed on the line as standard equipment is likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of the Theft Prevention Standard.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew the exemptions from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 22 individuals. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt individuals from vision standards if the exemptions granted will not compromise safety. The agency has concluded that granting these exemptions will provide a level of safety that will be equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

Under the provisions of Title 49, U.S.C. 47153(c), notice is being given that the FAA is considering a request from the City of Aiken to waive the requirement that approximately 94 acres of surplus property, located at the Aiken Municipal Airport, be used for aeronautical purposes.

This notice proposes to establish Class E airspace at Nicholasville, KY. Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) Runway (RWY) 9 and RWY 27 have been developed for Lucas Field Airport. As a result, controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet Above Ground Level (AGL) is needed to contain the SIAPs and for Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at Lucas Field Airport. The operating status of the airport will change from Visual Flight Rules (VFR) to include IFR operations concurrent with the publication of the SIAPs.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which applies to certain Sabreliner Model NA-265-40, NA-265-50, NA-265-60, NA-265-70, and NA-265-80 series airplanes. That AD currently requires repetitive inspections for discrepancies in the front and rear spars of the wing in the area of the wing center section, and in the lugs on the rear spar and wing trailing edge panel rib, and corrective actions if necessary. This new AD expands the applicability of the existing AD and requires new repetitive inspections for fuel leaks of the front and rear spars of the wing, and for discrepancies in the front and rear spars of the wing in the area of the wing center section, and in the lugs on the rear spar and wing trailing edge panel rib. This AD also requires related investigative and corrective actions, if necessary. This AD results from reports of cracking in the upper and lower flanges of the front and rear spars of the wing near the wing center section, and in the lugs on the rear spar. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct cracking or other discrepancies in these areas, which could result in structural failure of the wing.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A330-243, -341, -342, and -343 airplanes equipped with Rolls-Royce RB211 TRENT 700 engines. This AD requires modifying the cowl assemblies of the left- and right-hand thrust reversers. This AD results from a review of certification tests of the thrust reverser, which revealed that certain structural components within the C-duct need strengthening to meet high fatigue loads and maintain structural integrity. We are issuing this AD to prevent fatigue cracking of the hinges integrated into the 12 o'clock beam of the thrust reversers, which could result in separation of a thrust reverser from the airplane, and consequent reduced controllability of the airplane.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus transport category airplanes. This AD requires repetitive eddy current inspections for cracks of the stiffener fittings of the fuselage at frame (FR) 12A, and corrective actions if necessary. This AD also provides a terminating action for the inspections. This AD results from reports of cracks on the upper attachment fitting of the stiffener fitting at FR12A. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of the stiffener fittings, which could result in the reduced structural integrity of the floor and rods around FR 12A.

The Department is considering amending its rule on price advertising, and it is seeking comment on several options. Under the existing rule, the Department considers any advertisement that states a price for air transportation that is not the total price the consumer will pay to be unfair or deceptive in violation of the statute under which this provision was adopted in 1984. Although it has not amended the codified rule, in practice the Department has long allowed an exception to it for certain taxes, fees, and other charges that are imposed by a government entity. As a matter of prosecutorial discretion, the Department does not take enforcement action against any advertisement that omits these charges from the quoted fare, provided that the charges are collected on a per-passenger basis and are not ad valorem in nature, and provided further that the advertisement clearly indicates the existence and amount of these charges so that consumers can easily calculate the total fare. The Department has consistently prohibited sellers of air transportation from breaking out other cost elements, such as fuel surcharges, from the advertised fare. Although the Department has denied a recent request to allow separate listing of the fuel surcharges that carriers are adopting in response to soaring fuel costs, the Department has also decided that the time is ripe after 21 years of marketing innovations for a reexamination of the fare- advertising rule and its long-time enforcement policy. Therefore, the Department is asking interested persons to comment on four alternative options: Maintain the current practice either with or without codifying all of its elements in the rule; end the exception for government- imposed charges and enforce the rule as written; revise the rule to eliminate most or all requirements for airfare advertisements but to require that consumers be apprised of the total purchase price before the purchase is made; or eliminate the full-fare advertising rule in its entirety.