Department of Transportation November 20, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of the third meeting of the RTCA Special Committee 231, TAWS-GPWS.

The Board is granting an exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502 from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 10902 for the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad, L.L.C. (WSOR), a Class II rail carrier, to acquire and operate a permanent, exclusive freight rail operating easement over an approximately 15-mile line of railroad (the Line) owned by the City of Fitchburg and the Village of Oregon, Wis. (the Municipalities). The Line, also known as the Evansville Line, extends between milepost 119.0, near Evansville, Wis., and milepost 134.0, near ``MX'' (a crossing of WSOR near Madison, Wis.), in Dane, Green, and Rock Counties. WSOR states that there has been no freight rail traffic on the Line since 1997. However, WSOR asserts that the Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission (WRRTC), which describes itself as a governmental entity representing a consortium of nine Wisconsin counties, has recently been notified that a shipper seeking rail service is locating in the Village of Oregon. Consequently, WRRTC has requested that WSOR initiate service over the Line. WSOR states that it will enter into an agreement with the Municipalities whereby WSOR will acquire the exclusive rail freight easement for resumption of rail operations. The Board is also granting WSOR's request for a waiver of the employee notice requirements of 49 CFR 1121.4(h). This exemption is subject to standard labor protective conditions.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the renewal Information Collection Requests (ICRs) abstracted below are being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on September 3, 2014 (79 FR 52409).

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus Model A318 series airplanes, Model A319 series airplanes, Model A320-211, -212, -214, -231, -232, and -233 airplanes, and Model A321 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report of a circumferential crack at the gland retaining-ring groove of certain retraction actuators on the main landing gear (MLG). This AD requires an inspection to identify the part numbers of MLG retraction actuators and replacement of certain MLG retraction actuators. We are issuing this AD to prevent MLG retraction actuator failure that could prevent the full extension and/or down-locking of the MLG, possibly resulting in MLG collapse during landing or rollout, and consequent damage to the airplane and injury to the occupants.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Agusta Model A109E, A109K2, A119, and AW119 MKII helicopters. This AD requires repetitively performing a magnetic particle inspection of the Gleason crown for a crack. This AD was prompted by a report of a crack that was found on a Gleason crown, which if not detected, could cause damage to or loss of the main rotor drive and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.