Department of Transportation September 20, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action establishes Class E airspace at Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, Oakland, CA, to accommodate aircraft using the Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) standard instrument approach procedures at Metropolitan Oakland International Airport. This action also modifies Class E surface airspace designated as an extension to Class C airspace by removing the navigation aids from the airspace designation. This improves the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

FMCSA proposes to adopt regulations governing the lease and interchange of passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) to: identify the motor carrier operating a passenger-carrying CMV and responsible for compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) and all other applicable Federal regulations; ensure that a lessor surrenders control of the CMV for the full term of the lease or temporary exchange of CMVs and drivers; and require motor carriers subject to a prohibition on operating in interstate commerce to notify FMCSA in writing before leasing or otherwise transferring control of their vehicles to other carriers. This action is necessary to ensure that unsafe passenger carriers cannot evade FMCSA oversight and enforcement by operating under the authority of another carrier that exercises no actual control over those operations. This action will enable the FMCSA, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and our Federal and State partners to identify motor carriers transporting passengers in interstate commerce and correctly assign responsibility to these entities for regulatory violations during inspections, compliance investigations, and crash studies. It also provides the general public with the means to identify the responsible motor carrier at the time of transportation. While detailed lease and interchange regulations for cargo-carrying vehicles have been in effect since 1950, these proposed rules for passenger-carrying CMVs are focused entirely on operational safety.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A330-200, -200 Freighter, and -300 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report that a certain wire harness located in the tail cone has wiring of a narrower gauge than design requires. This AD requires replacing the affected wire harness. We are issuing this AD to prevent damage to the affected wiring, which could create an ignition source in an area that might contain fuel vapors, possibly resulting in an uncontrolled fire and subsequent loss of the airplane.