Department of Transportation November 2, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended) this notice announces the Department of Transportation's (DOT) intention to request extension for a currently approved information collection.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes. This proposed AD would require revising the Airworthiness Limitations Items (ALI) of the maintenance requirements manual to require additional inspection requirements of the maintenance requirements manual for certain principal structural elements (PSEs) related to fuselage cutouts and to reduce an inspection threshold for an existing ALI task on the aft entry door. This proposed AD results from data obtained from the manufacturer's fatigue testing. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of certain PSEs, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

In July 2003, the agency published a final rule updating our Federal motor vehicle safety standard on glazing materials. As part of that rulemaking, boundaries were established for shade bands on vehicle windshields in order to limit their potential encroachment on the driver's field of view. As part of the new shade band requirements, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Recommended Practice J100 (rev. June 1995), ``Class `A' Vehicle Glazing Shade Bands,'' was incorporated by reference into the standard. However, in a July 2005 final rule responding to petitions for reconsideration of that earlier rulemaking, the standard's provisions related to shade bands requirements were amended, and as a result, a later but substantively identical version of SAE J100 (i.e., the November 1999 revision) was inadvertently included in the standard. The July 2005 final rule should have referenced SAE J100 (rev. June 1995), the document properly incorporated by reference into the safety standard. This document corrects this inconsistency resulting from administrative error.

The FAA amends and supersedes proposed special conditions for the Boeing Model 777 series airplanes. The previous notice (Notice No. 25-06-09-SC) published on October 18, 2006 (71 FR 61432), did not reflect the final FAA position on the novel design feature, and was thus in error. This airplane, modified by Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, will have novel or unusual design features associated with overhead cross aisle stowage compartments. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for these design features. These amended proposed special conditions contain the additional safety standards the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.