Department of Transportation April 10, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action proposes to remove Class D Airspace at Andalusia, AL, as the Air Traffic Control Tower at South Alabama Regional Airport at Bill Benton Field has closed, and amend Class E Airspace at Fort Rucker, AL, by recognizing the airport's name change to South Alabama Regional Airport at Bill Benton Field. This action also would update the geographic coordinates of the two listed Class E airports.

This Notice provides information to Federal, State, and local agencies, Native American tribes, and other interested persons regarding the FAA's intent to prepare an EIS for Space Exploration Technologies' (SpaceX's) proposal to launch the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy orbital vertical launch vehicles from a private site located in Cameron County, Texas. Under the Proposed Action, SpaceX proposes to construct a vertical launch area and a control center area to support up to 12 commercial launches per year. The vehicles to be launched include the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy (up to two per year), and a variety of smaller reusable suborbital launch vehicles. SpaceX would be required to apply for the appropriate launch licenses and/or experimental permits to be issued by the FAA. The FAA will prepare the EIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 United States Code [U.S.C.] 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] parts 1500- 1508), and FAA Order 1050.1E, Change 1, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, as part of its licensing and permitting process.

This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Eureka, NV. Controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate aircraft using a new Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) standard instrument approach procedures at Eureka Airport, Eureka, NV. The FAA is proposing this action to enhance the safety and management of aircraft operations at the airport.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for all The Boeing Company 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. That AD currently requires an inspection of the No. 2 and No. 3 windows on the left and right sides of the airplane to determine their part numbers, related investigative and corrective actions if necessary, and repetitive inspections of single pane windows. This new AD requires installing dual pane No. 2 and No. 3 windows. This new AD also removes certain airplanes from the applicability. This AD was prompted by loss of a No. 3 window in flight, which could result in consequent rapid loss of cabin pressure. Loss of the window could also result in crew communication difficulties or incapacitation of the crew. We are issuing this AD to correct the unsafe condition on these products.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 777 airplanes. This AD was prompted by a new revision to the airworthiness limitations of the maintenance planning document. This AD requires revising the maintenance program to update inspection requirements to detect fatigue cracking of principal structural elements (PSEs). We are issuing this AD to ensure that fatigue cracking of various PSEs is detected and corrected; such fatigue cracking could adversely affect the structural integrity of these airplanes.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Fokker Services B.V. Model F.27 Mark 050 airplanes. This proposed AD would require performing a low frequency eddy current inspection for cracks of the lap joint of the rear fuselage, and repair if necessary. This AD was prompted by reports of cracking in the fuselage lap joint. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct exponential crack growth, which could lead to failure of the lap joint over a certain length and consequent in-flight decompression of the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Cessna Aircraft Company Model 680 airplanes. This AD was prompted by a false cross-feed command to the right-hand fuel control card, due to the cross-feed inputs on the left- and right-hand fuel control cards being connected together and causing an imbalance of fuel between the left and right wing tanks. This AD requires adding diodes to the fuel cross-feed wiring, and revising the airplane flight manual to include procedures to use when the left or right generator is selected OFF. We are issuing this AD to prevent lateral imbalance of the airplane, resulting from uncontrolled fuel cross-feed, which can be corrected by deflecting the aileron trim; deflecting the aileron trim increases the pilot's workload and could exceed the airplane's limitation in a short period of time, resulting in reduced controllability of the airplane.