Department of Transportation March 14, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FRA is issuing Safety Advisory 2013-02 to alert railroads and other industry members about low-speed, wheel-climb derailments of certain passenger equipment designs having ``stiff'' suspension systems. These derailments have occurred when such equipment was negotiating track with a high degree of curvature and crosslevel variations (commonly referred to as ``track warp'') that were still within the limits set forth in FRA's Track Safety Standards. The findings from the derailment investigations conducted by FRA and the respective railroads highlight the need to ensure that passenger equipment suspension systems are suitable for more-demanding track conditions found in low-speed operating environments. To avoid similar low-speed, wheel-climb derailments, this notice recommends that railroads and other industry members evaluate the trackworthiness of certain passenger equipment to determine whether the suspension systems meet truck-equalization industry standards, prevent wheel climb, and control static wheel-load distribution under the conditions and within the limits described in the notice; and take appropriate action to address the derailment tendency, if any, of the evaluated equipment. In order to minimize the risk of suspension spring failure, this notice also recommends that railroads and other industry members assessing the fatigue life of suspension springs and their corresponding maintenance intervals use a fatigue-evaluation load equal to the equipment's full- capacity loading conditions.

This action proposes to amend Class E Airspace at Selmer, TN, as the Sibley Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) has been decommissioned and new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures have been developed at Robert Sibley Airport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport. This action also would update the geographic coordinates of airport.

FMCSA promulgates the regulatory exemptions for the ``transportation of agricultural commodities and farm supplies'' and for ``covered farm vehicles'' and their drivers enacted by sections 32101(d) and 32934, respectively, of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). Although prior statutory exemptions involving agriculture are unchanged, some of these exemptions overlap with MAP-21 provisions. In these cases, regulated entities will be able to choose the exemption, or set of exemptions, under which to operate. They must, however, comply fully with the terms of each exemption they claim.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Eurocopter France (Eurocopter) Model AS350 and AS355 helicopters. This proposed AD would require inspecting the tail rotor control stop screws to determine if they are correctly aligned and adjusting the screws if they are misaligned. This proposed AD is prompted by the discovery of a loose nut on the tail rotor control stop and a misaligned tail rotor control stop screw. The proposed actions are intended detect a loose nut or a misaligned stop screw, which, if not corrected, could limit yaw authority, and consequently, result in a loss of helicopter control.

We propose to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain The Boeing Company Model MD-11 and MD-11F airplanes. The existing AD currently requires inspecting to determine if wires touch the upper surface of the center upper auxiliary fuel tank, and marking the location, as necessary; inspecting all wire bundles above the center upper auxiliary fuel tank for splices and damage; inspecting for damage to the fuel vapor barrier seal and upper surface of the center upper auxiliary fuel tank; and performing corrective actions, as necessary. The existing AD also requires installing nonmetallic barrier/shield sleeving, new clamps, new attaching hardware, and a new extruded channel. The existing AD resulted from fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer. Since we issued that AD, we have identified additional center upper auxiliary fuel tank locations where inspections and corrective actions are needed. We are proposing this AD to reduce the potential of ignition sources inside fuel tanks, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in fuel tank explosions and consequent loss of the airplane.