Department of Transportation November 7, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under the provisions of Title 49, U.S.C. 47151(d), notice is being given that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is considering a request from the County of Barnwell to waive the requirement that a 4.0 acre parcel of surplus property, located at the Barnwell County Airport be used for aeronautical purposes. Currently, ownership of the property provides for protection of FAR Part 77 surfaces and compatible land use which would continue to be protected with deed restrictions required in the transfer of land ownership.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 767 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of bearing damage at certain trailing edge (TE) flap support rib assemblies. This proposed AD would require inspecting certain TE flap support rib assemblies to determine if the bearings have a roller retention feature, and performing corrective actions if necessary; and inspecting for bearing damage of each pair of removed bearings, and performing related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct damage to the TE flap support bearings, which can result in damage to the TE rotary actuators and consequent dual flap drive system disconnect in both TE flap rotary actuators, and a possible flap aerodynamic blowback with loss of controllability of the airplane.

We propose to supersede airworthiness directives AD 2003-14- 11, AD 2004-11-08, AD 2004-13-25, AD 2004-18-14, AD 2008-06-07, and AD 2012-04-07 that apply to certain Airbus Model A330 and A340 series airplanes. AD 2003-14-11, AD 2004-11-08, AD 2004-13-25, AD 2004-18-14, AD 2008-06-07, and AD 2012-04-07 required revising the maintenance program to incorporate certain maintenance requirements and airworthiness limitations; replacing certain flap rotary actuators; repetitively inspecting elevator servo-controllers and pressure relief valves of the spoiler servo controls (SSCs); repetitively testing the elevator servo control loops, modifying the elevator servo controls, and repetitively replacing certain retraction brackets of the main landing gear; and revising the airplane flight manual. Since we issued those ADs, we have determined that more restrictive maintenance requirements and airworthiness limitations are necessary. This proposed AD would require revising the maintenance program to incorporate certain maintenance requirements and airworthiness limitations. The proposed AD also removes Airbus Model A340-200, -300, -500, and -600 series airplanes from the applicability. We are proposing this AD to address the aging effects of aircraft systems. Such aging effects could change the characteristics leading to an increased potential for failure, which, in isolation or in combination with one or more other specific failures or events, could result in failure of certain life limited parts, which could reduce the structural integrity of the airplane or reduce the controllability of the airplane.

On December 23, 2010, FAA published a Notice of Proposed Interpretation seeking public comment on the application of certain rest requirements during on-demand operations. Section 346 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 provided that the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may not finalize the interpretation proposed in Docket No. FAA-2010-1259, relating to rest requirements, and published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2010. Consistent with this statute, no further action will be taken with regard to this interpretation.