Department of Transportation October 5, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

These special conditions are issued for the Gulfstream Model GVII-G500 airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. This design feature is side-stick controllers, instead of conventional-control wheel-and-column design, for pitch and roll control. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These 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.

The FHWA is issuing this notice to announce actions taken by FHWA and other Federal agencies that are final within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). The actions relate to a proposed highway reconstruction project: Knik-Goose Bay Road Reconstruction: MP 0.3 to 6.8, Centaur Avenue to Vine Road, in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska. Those actions grant licenses, permits, and approvals for the project.

We are publishing a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Airbus Helicopters Model AS332C, AS332C1, AS332L, and AS332L1 helicopters, which was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of these helicopters. This AD requires inspecting certain tail rotor (T/R) blades, replacing the set of T/R blades if there is damage, deactivating the rotor de-icing system, revising the rotorcraft flight manual (RFM), and installing a placard. This AD is prompted by a report of a T/R de-icing system power supply box stuck in a ``closed'' position providing an uncontrolled and un-annunciated power supply to the system. These actions are intended to detect and prevent structural damage to the T/R blades caused by overheating, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

This document provides clarity and guidance regarding the use of the contraction ``EST'', which stands for ``Estimated'', when appended to the end of validity time in a NOTAM. The FAA is taking this action to align NOTAM policy with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and recommended practices.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has published final guidance on FTA's Emergency Relief (ER) Program for states and transit agencies that may be affected by a declared emergency or disaster and that may seek Federal funding under FTA's ER Program. The guidance is contained in the newly revised Reference Manual for States & Transit Agencies on Response and Recovery from Declared Disasters and FTA's Emergency Relief Program, which replaces Response and Recovery from Declared Emergencies and Disasters: A Reference for Transit Agencies, last updated in June 2013. This final guidance addresses one public comment received in response to the proposed guidance published on February 4, 2015. In addition to guidance on the ER Program, this document provides information on other disaster relief resources available through FTA and from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This guidance is now available on FTA's Web site at www.fta.dot.gov/emergencyrelief.