Department of Transportation May 1, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The ICR described the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting public comments on the following information collection was published on November 15, 2013 (Federal Register/Vol. 78, No. 221/pp. 68902-68903).

This proposed notice of enforcement policy announces how the Department of Transportation (DOT) intends, going forward, to enforce compliance with the requirements of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000, which prohibits the Department from subsidizing Essential Air Service (EAS) to communities located within the 48 contiguous States receiving per passenger subsidy amounts exceeding $200, unless the communities are located more than 210 miles from the nearest large or medium hub airport. As proposed, all communities receiving subsidies under the EAS Program would have until September 30, 2015, based on data from October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015, to ensure compliance with the $200 subsidy cap or face termination of subsidy eligibility. After September 30, 2015, the Department would continue enforcement of the $200 subsidy cap on an annual basis based on data compiled at the end of every fiscal year. Consistent with established procedures, DOT will issue each potentially impacted community a show cause order regarding termination of eligibility and provide each such community with a fair and reasonable opportunity to demonstrate compliance with the $200 subsidy cap prior to a final decision by DOT. In addition, any community that is deemed ineligible under the $200 subsidy cap provision may petition the Secretary for a waiver. After receiving a community's petition for a waiver, the Secretary may waive the subsidy cap for a limited period of time, on a case-by-case basis, and subject to availability of funds. To provide the Department with sufficient time to evaluate the FY 2015 data for potentially affected communities, DOT does not intend to begin the Show Cause Order process until January 2016.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain M7 Aerospace LLC Models SA26-T, SA26-AT, SA226-AT, SA226-T, SA226-T(B), SA226-TC, SA227-AC (C-26A), SA227-AT, SA227-TT, SA227-BC (C-26A), SA227-CC, and SA227-DC (C-26B) airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of jamming of the aileron control cable chain in the pilot and copilot control columns due to inadequate lubrication and maintenance of the chain. This AD requires repetitively replacing and lubricating the aileron chain, sprocket, and bearings in the control columns. We are issuing this AD to correct the unsafe condition on these products.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 777F series airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report of a fire that originated near the first officer's seat and caused extensive damage to the flight deck. This AD requires replacing the low-pressure oxygen hoses with non-conductive low-pressure oxygen hoses in the stowage box and supernumerary ceiling area. We are issuing this AD to prevent electrical current from passing through an internal, anti-collapse spring of the low-pressure oxygen hose, which can cause the low-pressure oxygen hose to melt or burn and lead to an oxygen-fed fire near the flight deck.

We are superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2000-11-06 for certain The Boeing Company Model 767 airplanes. AD 2000-11-06 required repetitive inspections to detect discrepancies of the wiring and surrounding Teflon sleeves of the fuel tank boost pumps and override/ jettison pumps; replacement of the sleeves with new sleeves, for certain airplanes; and repair or replacement of the wiring and sleeves with new parts, as necessary. This new AD requires reducing the initial compliance time and repetitive inspection interval in AD 2000-11-06; mandates a terminating action for the repetitive inspections to eliminate wire damage; removes certain airplanes from the applicability; and requires revising the maintenance program to incorporate changes to the airworthiness limitations section. This AD was prompted by fleet information indicating that the repetitive inspection interval in AD 2000-11-06 is too long, because excessive chafing of the sleeving continues to occur much earlier than expected between scheduled inspections. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct chafing of the fuel pump wire insulation and consequent exposure of the electrical conductor, which could result in electrical arcing between the wires and conduit and consequent fire or explosion of the fuel tank.