Department of Transportation January 8, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Holdrege, NE. Decommissioning of the Holdrege non-directional radio beacon (NDB) at Brewster Field Airport has made airspace reconfiguration necessary for standard instrument approach procedures and for the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport. Geographic coordinates also would be adjusted.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Jefferson City, MO. Decommissioning of the Noah non-directional radio beacon (NDB) at Jefferson City Memorial Airport has made reconfiguration necessary for standard instrument approach procedures and for the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action proposes special conditions for the Airbus Model A350-900 series airplanes. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with a lateral trim function that deploys flaps asymmetrically for airplane lateral trim control. This function replaces the traditional method of providing airplane lateral trim over a small range through flap and aileron mechanical rigging. 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.

This action proposes special conditions for Airbus Model A350- 900 series airplanes. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature(s) associated with the post-crash fire survivability of composite fuel tanks. 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.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Rolls-Royce plc (RR) RB211-524G2-19, RB211-524G3-19, RB211-524H-36, and RB211-524H2-19 turbofan engines. This AD requires a one-time reduction in the cyclic life of certain high-pressure (HP) compressor rotor stage 1 and stage 2 discs, and removal of discs that exceed the reduced cycle life. This AD was prompted by a review by RR of the cyclic life of life-limited parts (LLPs) for RB211-524 series engines. We are issuing this AD to prevent the failure of certain LLPs, which could result in uncontained engine damage and damage to the airplane.

On December 31, 2013, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued Safety Advisory 14-1 to provide guidance to State Safety Oversight Agencies (SSOAs) and rail fixed guideway public transportation agencies on redundant protections for roadway workers in the rail transit industry, and review and revision of rules and procedures to protect roadway workers from trains and moving equipment. FTA issued this guidance in response to a number of recent accidents in the industry, and two urgent recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). FTA's Safety Advisory 14-1, ``Right-of-Way Worker Protection,'' is available in its entirety on the agency's public Web site (https://www.fta.dot.gov/tso.html). Further, FTA has asked each SSOA to coordinate with every rail transit agency within its jurisdiction to complete and submit Appendix 1 to Safety Advisory 14-1, ``Right-of-Way Worker Protection Assessment Checklist,'' and to conduct formal hazard analyses regarding the presence of workers in rail transit rights-of-way.