Department of Transportation February 19, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to Section 9(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C., App. 2.), and in accordance with Title 41, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 102-3.65, and following consultation with the Committee Management Secretariat, General Services Administration, notice is hereby given that the NFAC will be established for a 2-year period. The Committee will provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation on matters related to freight transportation in the United States, including: (1) Implementation of the freight transportation requirements of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (Pub. L. 112-141); (2) establishment of the National Freight Network; (3) development of a National Freight Strategic Plan; (4) development of strategies to help States implement State Freight Advisory Committees and State Freight Plans; (5) development of measures of conditions and performance in freight transportation; (6) development of freight transportation investment, data, and planning tools; and (7) legislative recommendations. Additionally, the establishment of the NFAC is necessary for the Department to carry out its mission and is in the public interest. The Committee will operate in accordance with the provisions of the FACA and the rules and regulations issued in implementation of that Act. This notice also requests nominations for members of the Committee to ensure a wide range of member candidates and a balanced Committee.

This action proposes special conditions for the Embraer S.A. Model EMB-550 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with landing loads due to the automatic braking system. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These proposed special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

These special conditions are issued for the Embraer S.A. Model EMB-550 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with an electronic flight control system with respect to lateral-directional and longitudinal stability and low energy awareness. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew the exemptions from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 12 individuals. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt individuals from the vision requirement if the exemptions granted will not compromise safety. The Agency has concluded that granting these exemption renewals will provide a level of safety that is equivalent to or greater than the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

These special conditions are issued for the Embraer S.A. Model EMB-550 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with the design roll maneuver for electronic flight controls, specifically an electronic flight control system that provides control of the aircraft through pilot inputs to the flight computer. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

These special conditions are issued for the Embraer S.A. Model EMB-550 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with the control surface awareness and mode annunciation of the electronic flight control system. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain serial number Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. PW206B, PW206B2, PW206C, PW207C, PW207D, PW207D1, PW207D2, and PW207E turboshaft engines. This AD was prompted by the discovery that certain power turbine (PT) disks were made to specific heat codes that may not achieve the maximum in- service life. This AD requires re-identification of the PT disk to a part number (P/N) with a lower life limit. We are issuing this AD to prevent possible uncontained PT disk failure and loss of helicopter control.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of the ARAC.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all The Boeing Company Model 757 airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of fuel leaking from the front spar of the wing through the slat track housing. This AD requires a detailed inspection of the inboard and outboard main slat track downstop assemblies and a torque application to the main track downstop assembly nuts of slat numbers 1 through 10, excluding the outboard track of slats 1 and 10; a detailed inspection of all slat track housings for foreign object debris (FOD) and visible damage; and corrective actions if necessary. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct incorrectly installed main slat track downstop assemblies, which, when the slat is retracted, could cause a puncture in the slat track housing and lead to a fuel leak and potential fire.