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

This action reopens the comment period for a Petition for Exemption that was published on June 12, 2012. The petition for exemption from Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), if granted, would allow AOPA and EAA members to conduct certain operations of aircraft without having to hold an FAA-issued medical certificate.

This document notifies the public of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) approval of the information collection requirement contained in the FAA's final rule, ``Operations Specifications,'' which was published on February 10, 2011.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Rolls-Royce Corporation (RRC) 250-C20, -C20B, and -C20R/2 turboshaft engines. This AD was prompted by seven cases reported of released turbine blades and shrouds, which led to loss of power and engine in- flight shutdowns (IFSDs). This AD requires a one-time visual inspection and fluorescent penetrant inspection (FPI) on certain 3rd and 4th stage turbine wheels for cracks in the turbine blades. We are issuing this AD to prevent failure of 3rd or 4th stage turbine wheel blades which could cause engine failure and damage to the airplane.

This action removes eighteen Domestic and Alaskan compulsory reporting points defined by navigation aids previously decommissioned, removed, or shutdown and taken out of the FAA aeronautical database as compulsory reporting points. Additionally, this action also requires changes to the name of four navigation aids that define associated compulsory reporting points. The FAA is removing the outdated Part 71 compulsory reporting points since they are no longer valid, and amending those Part 71 compulsory reporting points that require name changes, to be consistent with the FAA's aeronautical database.

This action changes the name of the airport associated with the Class D and Class E airspace at Lakehurst, NJ. The airport's name is being changed to Lakehurst Naval Support Activity/Maxfield Field (Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst). The FAAs Aeronautical Products office requested the change to reflect the current airport name.

This action removes Class D Airspace at Andalusia, AL, as the Air Traffic Control Tower at South Alabama Regional Airport at Bill Benton Field has closed, and amends 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 updates the geographic coordinates of the three listed Class E airports. This action enhances the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 747-100, 747-100B, 747-200B, 747- 200C, 747-200F, 747-400F, 747SR, and 747SP series airplanes, without a stretched upper deck or stretched upper deck modification. That AD currently requires repetitive inspections for cracks of each affected tension tie and of the surrounding structure, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. This new AD requires, for certain airplanes, modifying the tension tie structure or tension tie and frame structure at certain stations; and a post-modification inspection of the modified area and post-modification repetitive inspections of the unmodified area, and repair if necessary. Doing the modification would terminate the repetitive inspection requirements in the existing AD. This AD reduces the compliance time and adds inspections for certain airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports that certain airplanes have tension ties that are susceptible to widespread fatigue damage. This AD also results from reports of cracks on the forward and aft tension tie channels at station (STA) 740 and STA 760, and a determination that initial inspection intervals need to be reduced. We are issuing this AD to prevent tension ties from becoming severed or disconnected from the frames, which could lead to rapid in-flight decompression.