Department of Transportation February 27, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On March 8, 2011, the FAA published an interim final rule, request for comments (Amendment Nos. 21-94, 25-133, 121-354, 129-50; SFAR 111) on security considerations for lavatory oxygen systems (77 FR 12550). The interim final rule addresses a security vulnerability and is needed so the affected airplanes can continue operating until the non- compliance to airworthiness standards and operating rules is resolved. We sought public comment on the interim final rule even though it became effective upon publication. This action responds to the public comments the FAA received.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the following information collection: Transit Safety Survey.

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 November 25, 2011 (76 FR 72747). No comments were received. This document describes a collection of information on nine Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) and two regulations, for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval. The information collection pertains to requirements that specify certain safety precautions regarding items of motor vehicle equipment that must appear in the vehicle owner's manual.

This final rule amends the Federal motor vehicle safety standard for child restraint systems to expand its applicability to child restraints sold for children weighing up to 36 kilograms (kg) (80 pounds (lb)). This rule also amends the standard to incorporate use of a Hybrid III 10-year-old child test dummy (HIII-10C), weighing 35 kg (78 lb), in compliance tests of child restraints newly subject to the standard. In a companion document published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, NHTSA is adding specifications and qualification requirements for the HIII-10C to our regulation for anthropomorphic test devices. This rulemaking establishes performance and other requirements for child restraint systems heretofore not regulated by a safety standard, i.e., child restraints manufactured for children weighing 65 to 80 lb.

We propose to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain transport category airplanes. The existing AD currently requires either activating all chemical oxygen generators in the lavatories until the generator oxygen supply is expended, or removing the oxygen generator(s); and, for each chemical oxygen generator, after the generator is expended (or removed), removing or restowing the oxygen masks and closing the mask dispenser door. Since we issued that AD, we have identified means to provide a supplemental oxygen system that does not have the unsafe condition. This proposed AD would require installing a supplemental oxygen system in affected lavatories, which would terminate the requirements of the existing AD. We are proposing this AD to eliminate a hazard that could jeopardize flight safety, and to ensure that all lavatories have a supplemental oxygen supply.