Department of Transportation June 29, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document denies a petition for rulemaking submitted by General Motors on December 20, 2001. The petitioner requested that the agency amend the Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) on lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment to require the installation of daytime running lamps on passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses that have a gross vehicle weight rating under 4,536 kilograms (10,000 lbs). NHTSA has reviewed the petition and performed an extensive analysis of real world crash data. Based on the results of our study we were unable to find solid evidence of an overall safety benefit associated with daytime running lamps and are therefore denying the petition for rulemaking. The agency maintains its neutral position with respect to the safety benefits from the use of daytime running lamps.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for International Aero Engines AG (IAE) V2500-A1, V2527E-A5, V2530-A5, and V2528-D5 turbofan engines. This proposed AD would require reducing the published life limit of certain high-pressure compressor (HPC) stage 9-12 disc assemblies. This proposed AD would also remove from service those HPC stage 9-12 disc assemblies using a drawdown schedule. This proposed AD results from IAE updating the low-cycle-fatigue (LCF) life analysis for certain HPC stage 9-12 disc assemblies. We are proposing this AD to prevent an uncontained failure of the HPC stage 9- 12 disc assembly, resulting in an in-flight engine shutdown and possible damage to the airplane.

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which applies to certain Boeing Model 747 airplanes. That AD currently requires repetitive inspections to detect evidence of wear damage in the area at the interface between the vertical stabilizer seal and fuselage skin, and corrective actions, if necessary. The existing AD also provides for an optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections. For all Boeing Model 747-100, 747-100B, 747- 100B SUD, 747-200B, 747-200C, 747-200F, 747-300, 747-400, 747-400D, 747-400F, 747SR, and 747SP series airplanes, this new AD requires repetitive inspections for wear damage and cracks of the fuselage skin in the interface area of the vertical stabilizer seal and fuselage skin, a detailed inspection for wear damage and cracks of the surface of any skin repair doubler in the area, and corrective actions if necessary. For airplanes on which the fuselage skin has been blended to remove wear damage, this new AD requires repetitive external detailed inspections or high frequency eddy current inspections for cracks of the blended area of the fuselage skin, and corrective actions if necessary. This AD results from reports of wear damage on airplanes with fewer than 8,000 total flight cycles. In addition, there have been three reports of skin wear damage on airplanes that applied Boeing Material Specifications 10-86 Teflon-filled coating (terminating action per the existing AD). We are issuing this AD to detect and correct wear damage and cracks of the fuselage skin in the interface area of the vertical stabilizer seal and fuselage skin in sections 46 and 48, which could cause in-flight depressurization of the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above, on which the exhaust thermal insulation has been replaced since January 1, 1995. 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:

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD), which applies to certain Fokker Model F.28 Mark 0100 airplanes. That AD currently requires revisions to the airplane flight manual (AFM) to include procedures to prohibit use of reverse engine thrust power settings between idle and emergency maximum and to prohibit stabilized engine operation in a certain engine speed range on the ground. This new AD continues to require revising the AFM to include certain procedures. This AD also requires removing the normal maximum (second) detent for the reverse-thrust control. In addition, this AD requires revising the AFM to prohibit use of reverse thrust in flight and to limit operation of Max Reverse thrust. This AD results from issuance of mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. We are issuing this AD to prevent inadvertent operation in the prohibited stabilized engine speed range on the ground, which could result in uncontained engine fan blade failure due to high cycle fatigue cracking.