Department of Transportation March 16, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FMCSA announces that its MCSAC will meet on Monday and Tuesday, March 30-31, 2015. The MCSAC will meet to discuss and analyze data to support the potential benefits and feasibility of voluntary compliance and ways to credit carriers and drivers who initiate and establish programs that promote safety beyond the standards established in FMCSA regulations. The meeting will be open to the public for its entirety with a public comment period at the end of each day. Times and Dates: The meeting will be held MondayTuesday, March 30-31, 2015, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202, (703) 418-1234. Copies of the MCSAC Task Statement and an agenda for the entire meeting will be made available in advance of the meeting at https://mcsac.fmcsa.dot.gov.

This document grants in full the Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.'s (Volkswagen's) petition for exemption of the Audi TT vehicle line in accordance with 49 CFR part 543, Exemption from the Theft Prevention Standard. This petition is granted because the agency has determined that the antitheft device to be placed on the line as standard equipment is likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of 49 CFR part 541, Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard (Theft Prevention Standard).

We are superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2015-02-06 for certain Bombardier, Inc. Model CL-600-2B16 (CL-604 Variant) airplanes. AD 2015-02-06 required a revision to the airplane flight manual, a revision to the maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, and replacement of horizontal stabilizer trim actuators (HSTAs) having certain part numbers. This new AD continues to require those actions and corrects certain typographical errors. This AD was prompted by the discovery of three typographical errors in AD 2015-02-06. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct loose spur gear bolts on the HSTA, which, if combined with the failure of the primary load path, could lead to failure of the HSTA and subsequent loss of the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all The Boeing Company Model 757-200, -200PF, -200CB, and -300 series airplanes; and Model 767-200, -300, -300F, and -400ER series airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports indicating that the counterweights in some hub assemblies of the ram air turbine (RAT) could be understrength and fracture when the RAT is rotating, and that some RAT hub assemblies were delivered with balance washer retention screws that were incorrectly heat-treated, and therefore, susceptible to fracture and cracking. This AD requires a part number and serial number inspection to determine if certain RAT hub assemblies are installed; and, for affected RAT hub assemblies, doing an inspection for missing and fractured balance washer screws, and replacement or rework if necessary. We are issuing this AD to prevent an inoperative RAT, which, following a dual engine shutdown in flight, will cause loss of all hydraulic power to the primary flight controls, resulting in subsequent loss of control of the airplane.