Department of Transportation January 22, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of the first meeting of the RTCA Special Committee 233, Addressing Human Factors/Pilot Interface Issues for Avionics.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew the exemptions from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 13 individuals. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt individuals from the vision requirement if the exemptions granted will not compromise safety. The Agency has concluded that granting these exemption renewals will provide a level of safety that is equivalent to or greater than the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew the exemptions from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 11 individuals. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt individuals from the vision requirement if the exemptions granted will not compromise safety. The Agency has concluded that granting these exemption renewals will provide a level of safety that is equivalent to or greater than the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

FMCSA announces that 14 individuals have applied for a medical exemption from the hearing requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). In accordance with the statutory requirements concerning applications for exemptions, FMCSA requests public comments on these requests. The statute and implementing regulations concerning exemptions require that exemptions must provide an equivalent or greater level of safety than if they were not granted. If the Agency determines the exemptions would satisfy the statutory requirements and decides to grant theses requests after reviewing the public comments submitted in response to this notice, the exemptions would enable 14 individuals to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A319-115, A319-133, A320-214, A320-232, and A320-233 airplanes. This emergency AD was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of these airplanes. This AD requires repetitive detailed visual inspections to detect discrepancies of the wing lower skin surface and inboard main landing gear (MLG) support rib lower flange location fasteners and, depending on findings, accomplishment of applicable corrective action(s). This AD was prompted by reports of failure of certain fasteners located at the wing lower skin surface and inboard MLG support rib lower flange. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct discrepancies of the fasteners at the external surface of the lower wing skin and inboard MLG support rib lower flange, which could result in an airplane not meeting its maximum loads expected in service. This condition could result in structural failure.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus Model A330-200 Freighter, -200, and -300 series airplanes and Model A340-200, -300, -500, and -600 series airplanes. This emergency AD was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of these airplanes. This AD requires revising the airplane flight manual to advise the flightcrew of emergency procedures for abnormal Alpha Protection (Alpha Prot). This AD was prompted by a report of Angle of Attack (AoA) probes jamming on an in-service Airbus Model A321 airplane. We are issuing this AD to ensure that the flightcrew has procedures to counteract the pitch down order due to abnormal activation of the Alpha Prot. An abnormal Alpha Prot, if not corrected, could result in loss of control of the airplane.

We are superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2011-09-11, for certain The Boeing Company Model 777-200 and -300 series airplanes. AD 2011-09-11 required repetitive inspections for hydraulic fluid contamination of the interior of the strut disconnect assembly; repetitive inspections for discrepancies of the interior of the strut disconnect assembly, if necessary; repetitive inspections of the exterior of the strut disconnect assembly for cracks, if necessary; corrective action if necessary; and an optional terminating action for the inspections. This new AD adds, for certain airplanes, an inspection of the side and top cover plates to determine if all cover plate attach fasteners have been installed, and installing any missing fasteners including doing an inspection for damage, and repair if necessary. This AD was prompted by reports of side and top cover plates installed with missing fastener bolts, which results in an unsealed opening on the system disconnect assembly. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct hydraulic fluid contamination, which can cause cracking of titanium parts in the system disconnect assembly; and also to detect and correct missing fasteners, which results in unsealed openings on the system disconnect assembly. Both unsafe conditions can compromise the engine firewall and result in fire hazards for both the engine compartment and the strut.