Department of Transportation August 31, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document provides notice that, due to the complex issues raised in both the petitions for reconsideration of the final rule published November 30, 2011, and the comments received on the petitions, FRA continues to formulate an appropriate response to the petitions and comments. FRA's response will be published as soon as practicable and will be filed in the same docket.

The FAA seeks comments on current policy, guidance, and procedures that aircraft operators (ranging from pilots of general aviation aircraft up to and including air carrier certificate holders at the major airlines) use when determining if passenger use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) may be allowed during any phase of flight on their aircraft. Current FAA regulations generally prohibit the use of all PEDs during flight, with the exception of portable voice recorders, hearing aids, heart pacemakers, and electric shavers. These regulations also provide an exception for any other PED that the aircraft operator has determined will not cause interference with the navigation or communication systems on the aircraft. To better effectuate the safety purposes of these regulations, this notice requests comments about key areas of policy and guidance that are used by aircraft operators when making these determinations. It also requests comments about other technical challenges for addressing the problems associated with determining if and when PEDs can be used. The desired outcome of this solicitation is to have sufficient information to allow operators to better assess whether more widespread use of PEDs during flight is appropriate, while maintaining the highest levels of safety to passengers and aircraft. The Agency stresses that the existing regulations allow the operator to authorize the use of PEDs, and that no specific FAA approval is required. The aircraft operator is responsible for assuring that the interference from PEDs does not pose a flight risk. Once all the comments have been collected, the FAA intends to establish an Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) to review the comments and provide recommendations that might permit the more widespread use of PEDs during flight while maintaining the highest levels of safety for the passengers and aircraft. The FCC will be a key partner in this activity working collaboratively with the FAA, airlines, and the manufacturers to explore broader use of PEDS in flight.

In preparation for the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Dangerous Goods Panel's (DGP's) Fall Working Group to be held October 15-19, 2012, in Montreal, Canada, the FAA's Office of Hazardous Materials Safety and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) Office of Hazardous Materials Safety announce a public meeting.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for an existing information collection. The FAA collects information to allocate slots and maintain accurate record of slot transfers at slot-controlled airports. The information is provided by air carriers and other operators at slot controlled airports.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all TAE 125-02-99 and TAE 125-02-114 reciprocating engines. This proposed AD was prompted by an in-flight shutdown of an airplane equipped with a TAE 125-02-99 engine. This proposed AD would require inspection of the oil filler plug vent hole at the next scheduled maintenance or within 110 flight hours after the effective date of this AD. If chips are found to be blocking the vent hole, additional corrective action is required before next flight. We are proposing this AD to prevent engine in-flight shutdown or power loss, possibly resulting in reduced control of the airplane.