Department of Transportation August 19, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

These special conditions are issued for the Boeing Company (Boeing) Model 737-8 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 associated with non-rechargeable lithium battery installations. 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.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, the FAA's exemption process. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, the FAA's exemption process. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing this notice under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared to assess the potential impacts of the proposed Airfield Safety Enhancement Project (ASEP) including real property transactions between the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Tucson Airport Authority (TAA); demolition of 12 Earth Covered Magazines (ECM); replacement of the ECMs elsewhere on USAF Plant 44; construction of a new parallel taxiway; relocation of Runway 11R-29L and other associated development at Tucson International Airport. The proposed project also includes transfer of land ultimately to the USAF, on behalf of the National Guard Bureau (NGB), for construction of a Munitions Storage Area and access road to support the 162nd Fighter Wing at Tucson Air National Guard Base. To ensure that all significant issues related to the proposed action are identified, one (1) public scoping meeting and one (1) governmental agency scoping meeting will be held. FAA is the lead agency on the preparation of the EIS and has invited the Department of the Air Force (USAF) and the National Guard Bureau (NGB) to participate as cooperating agencies because the Tucson Airport Authority's proposed action requires federal actions by both U.S. Department of Defense agencies.

We are superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2003-25-07 for certain Airbus Model A319 and A320 series airplanes, and AD 2005-13-39 for certain Airbus Model A321 series airplanes. AD 2003-25-07 required a revision to the airplane flight manual (AFM) and replacement of both elevator aileron computers (ELACs) having L80 standards with new ELACs having L81 standards. AD 2005-13-39 required a revision to the AFM, replacement of existing ELACs with ELACs having L83 or L91 standards, as applicable; and a concurrent action. Since we issued AD 2003-25-07 and AD 2005-13-39, we have determined that new ELAC standards must be incorporated. The ELAC standards have been upgraded to version L97+, which implements enhanced angle-of-attack (AOA) monitoring to better detect AOA blockage, including multiple AOA blockages. This AD requires replacing existing ELACs with new ELACs having L97+ standards or revising the software in an existing ELAC to the L97+ standards, as applicable, which terminates the requirements of AD 2003-25-07 and AD 2005-13-39. This AD also expands the applicability to include all Airbus Model A318, A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes. We are issuing this AD to prevent inadvertent activation of the AOA protections. Inadvertent activation of the AOA protections could result in a continuous nose-down pitch rate that could result in reduced controllability of the airplane.

We are superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2013-20-11, for all Airbus Model A318, A319, A320, and A321 series airplanes. AD 2013-20-11 required modifying the passenger emergency oxygen container assembly. This new AD expands the affected group of oxygen containers to include those labeled ``DAe Systems.'' This AD was prompted by a determination that the unsafe condition also affects oxygen containers labeled ``DAe Systems.'' We are issuing this AD to prevent a high temperature oxygen generator and mask from falling down and possibly resulting in an ignition source in the passenger compartment, injury to passengers, and reduced availability of supplemental oxygen.