Department of Transportation June 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

These special conditions are issued for the installation of an AmSafe, Inc., Inflatable Four-Point Restraint Safety Belt with an Integrated Airbag Device on Quest Aircraft Company, LLC, Kodiak Model 100. These airplanes, as modified by the installation of this Inflatable Safety Belt, will have novel and unusual design features associated with the upper-torso restraint portions of the four-point safety belt, which contains an integrated airbag device. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. 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 FAA is correcting references in its Commercial Air Tours and National Parks Air Tour Management regulations to conform to amendments made by the National Air Tour Safety Standards final rule published on February 13, 2007 (72 FR 6884). In addition, the FAA is removing a sentence from the preamble that referred to aircraft certificated as ``Experimental Category'' and clarifying the applicability of the rule to the ``Young Eagles'' program.

The FAA is amending its regulations to reflect technological advances that support area navigation (RNAV); include provisions on the use of suitable RNAV systems for navigation; amend certain terms for consistency with those of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); remove reference to the middle marker in certain sections because a middle marker is no longer operationally required; clarify airspace terminology; and incorporate by reference obstacle departure procedures into Federal regulations. The changes will facilitate the use of new navigation reference sources, enable advancements in technology, and increase efficiency of the National Airspace System.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is issuing this notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared to evaluate alternatives that would improve the roadway capacity, safety, and reliability of Honoapiilani Highway between Maalaea and Launiupoko on the west side of the island of Maui. This section of highway is the main travel way for people and goods between West Maui and the rest of the island. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as provisions of the recently enacted Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy of Users (SAFETEA-LU). The purpose of this Notice of intent is to alert interested parties regarding the plan to prepare the EIS, to provide information on the nature of the proposed project, to invite participation in the EIS process, including comments on the scope of the EIS proposed in this notice, and to announce that a public scoping meeting will be conducted.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

The FAA is revising an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD) for all McDonnell Douglas Model 717-200 airplanes. The original NPRM would have required inspecting the power conversion distribution unit (PCDU) to determine its part number, and modifying certain PCDUs. The original NPRM was prompted by reports of failed PCDUs, the loss of an electrical bus, and the presence of a strong electrical burning odor in the flight deck and forward cabin. This action revises the original NPRM by reidentifying the part number reference for the proposed corrective action. We are proposing this supplemental NPRM to prevent the loss of an electrical bus due to PCDU failure, resulting in the loss of all flight displays for an unacceptable time period, and consequent emergency landing.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for GE CF6-80C2B series turbofan engines with electronic control units (ECUs), installed on Boeing 747 and 767 series airplanes. This AD requires installing software version 8.2.Q1 to the engine ECU, which increases the engine's margin to flameout. This AD results from reports of engine flameout events during flight, including reports of events where all engines simultaneously experienced a flameout or other adverse operation. Though the root cause investigation is not yet complete, we believe exposure to ice crystals during flight is associated with these flameout events. We are issuing this AD to provide increased margin to flameout, which will minimize the potential of an all-engine flameout event caused by ice accretion and shedding during flight.

This action proposes to restructure the restricted areas located in the vicinity of Fort Drum, NY. The Air National Guard (ANG) proposed to redesign the airspace, referred to as the Adirondack Airspace Complex, by making a minor modification to the ceiling of existing restricted area R-5201, and by establishing two new restricted areas: R-5202A and R-5202B. In addition, the ANG proposes to redesign the Military Operations Areas (MOA) associated with the Fort Drum restricted areas. MOAs are not regulatory airspace, but are established administratively. Because the MOAs form an integral part of the Adirondack Airspace Complex, the FAA is also seeking comment on the proposed MOA changes through this NPRM. The ANG proposes these airspace changes to provide additional special use airspace (SUA) needed to conduct high altitude, long-range weapons releases and to allow more realistic training in modern tactics to be conducted in the Adirondack Airspace Complex.

The FTA and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) issue this notice to advise interested agencies and the public of their intent to prepare an EIS in accordance with the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for transit improvements in Fort Worth, and Tarrant County, Texas. Transit improvements from southwest Fort Worth, through downtown Fort Worth, to the northern entrance into the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW Airport), are proposed along what is known as the Southwest-to- Northeast Rail Corridor. The proposed alignment will largely follow the Fort Worth & Western Railroad (FWWR), Union Pacific Railroad Company (UPRR), Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF), and Dallas Area Rapid Transit-owned Cotton Belt rail lines that traverse Tarrant County. Transportation improvements are needed to meet current and future travel demand and to upgrade the transportation facilities in the corridor. The EIS will evaluate the future No-Build Alternative, a Transportation Systems Management (TSM) alternative, the preliminary Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) from the recently completed planning Alternatives Analysis (AA), and any additional reasonable alternatives that emerge from the scoping process.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 747-200B, 747-300, 747-400, 747-400D, and 747- 400F series airplanes. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections of the left- and right-hand flipper door assemblies of the engine core cowls for migrated pins and damaged flipper doors, and corrective actions if necessary. Modification of the hinge assemblies terminates the repetitive inspections. This proposed AD results from two reports of missing flipper doors for the engine core cowls. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct migrated hinge pins and damaged flipper doors, which could allow the flipper door to fall off, resulting in the potential for an engine fire to propagate into the flammable leakage zone of the strut and for the amount of fire extinguishing agent reaching the fire to be diluted, and subsequent uncontained fire in the engine strut.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 737-600, -700, -700C, -800 and -900 series airplanes. This proposed AD would require sealing the fasteners on the front and rear spar inside the main fuel tank and on the lower panel of the center fuel tank, inspecting the wire bundle support installation in the equipment cooling system bays to identify the type of clamp installed and determine whether the Teflon sleeve is installed, and doing related corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD results from a design review of the fuel tank systems. We are proposing this AD to prevent arcing at certain fuel tank fasteners, in the event of a lightning strike or fault current event, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in a fuel tank explosion and consequent loss of the airplane.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes. This AD requires revising the Limitations section of the airplane flight manual to include procedures for pulling the ``HYD PWR XFER'' circuit breaker in the event of the loss of all hydraulic fluid in the No. 1 or No. 2 hydraulic system. This AD results from reports of fluid loss in the No. 2 hydraulic system, causing the power transfer unit to overspeed, increasing the fluid flow within the No. 1 hydraulic system. We are issuing this AD to prevent possible loss of both the No. 1 and No. 2 hydraulic systems, resulting in the potential loss of several functions essential for safe flight and landing of the airplane.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier Model DHC-8-100, DHC-8-200, and DHC-8-300 series airplanes. This AD requires, for certain airplanes, modification of the upper bearing of the main landing gear (MLG) shock strut. This AD also requires, for certain airplanes, revising the de Havilland DHC-8 Maintenance Program Manual to include the MLG shock strut servicing task. This AD results from reports of over-extension of the MLG shock strut piston, which allows the torque links to go over-center and rest on the piston. We are issuing this AD to prevent loss in shock absorption during touchdown and failure of the shock strut housing, which could result in a subsequent loss of directional control.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for GE CF6-80 series turbofan engines with fuel shroud retaining rings, part number (P/N) J204P0084, installed. This AD requires replacing those retaining rings with a more robust design fuel shroud retaining snap ring. This AD results from two events of external engine fuel leakage and a subsequent under-cowl engine fire. We are issuing this AD to prevent an under-cowl engine fire and damage to the airplane during an engine high vibration event.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

On April 20, 2007, the FAA published in the Federal Register a direct final rule entitled Change in Extinguishing Agent Container Requirements. The rule aligned the operational and certification requirements regarding airplane extinguishing agent containers or fire bottles; and it removed an obsolete section reference from part 135. This action withdraws the rule because the FAA received several adverse comments.

The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for renewal of an existing information collection that 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 compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on March 14, 2007 (72 FR 11930). Comments: Comments should be directed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725-17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention NHTSA Desk Officer. Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection. Form Number: This collection of information uses no standard forms.

This action proposes to revise Class E airspace at Hoquiam, WA. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate aircraft using the Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedure (SIAP) at Bowerman Airport. The FAA is proposing this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) aircraft operations at Bowerman Airport, Hoquiam, WA.

This action proposes to establish Class E surface airspace at Everett, WA. Controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate aircraft executing Special Visual Flight Rules (SVFR) operations at Everett, Snohomish County Airport (Paine Field), Everett, WA.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which applies to certain Cessna Model 500, 550, S550, 560, 560XL, and 750 airplanes. That AD currently requires installing identification sleeves on the wires for the positive and negative terminal studs of the engine and/or auxiliary power unit (APU) fire extinguishing bottles, as applicable, and re-connecting the wires to the correct terminal studs. This new AD retains the requirements of the existing AD; adds airplanes to the applicability; and, for certain airplanes only, requires a review of wiring changes made using the original issue of one service bulletin and corrective actions if necessary. This AD results from a determination that additional airplanes are subject to the unsafe condition described in the existing AD. We are issuing this AD to ensure that the fire extinguishing bottles are activated in the event of an engine or APU fire, and that flammable fluids are not supplied during a fire, which could result in an unextinguished fire in the nacelle or APU.