Department of Transportation December 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew a previously approved information collection. The information collected is used by the FAA to register aircraft or hold an aircraft in trust. The information required to register an prove ownership of an aircraft is required by any person wishing to register an aircraft.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew a previously approved information collection. The ``Aging Aircraft Program (Widespread Fatigue Damage)'' final rule amended FAA regulation pertaining to certification and operation of transport category airplanes to preclude widespread fatigue damage in those airplanes.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew a previously approved information collection. The FAA is collecting safety-related data regarding the voluntary implementation of Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) safety enhancements (SEs) from certificate holders conducting operations under 14 CFR part 121 and parts 121/135.

The Board hereby gives notice of vacancies on RSTAC for (1) a representative of a small shipper; and (2) a representative for a Class I railroad. The Board is soliciting suggestions for candidates to fill these vacancies.

The Department of Transportation (DOT or the Department) is proposing to protect airline passengers from being unwillingly exposed to voice calls within the confines of an aircraft. Specifically, the Department proposes to require sellers of air transportation to provide adequate advance notice to passengers if the carrier operating the flight allows passengers to make voice calls using mobile wireless devices. The Department also seeks comment on whether to prohibit airlines from allowing voice calls via passenger mobile wireless devices on domestic and/or international flights.

Pursuant to a delegation of authority from the Secretary of Transportation, the Maritime Administrator is authorized to issue waivers allowing documented vessels with only registry endorsements or foreign flag vessels to be used in operations that treat aquaculture fish or protect aquaculture fish from disease, parasitic infestation, or other threats to their health when suitable vessels of the United States are not available that could perform those services. A request for such a waiver has been received by the Maritime Administration (MARAD). This notice is being published to solicit comments intended to assist MARAD in determining whether a suitable vessel of the United States is available that could perform the required services. If no suitable U.S.-flag vessel is available, the Maritime Administrator may issue a waiver necessary to comply with USCG Aquaculture Support regulations. A brief description of the proposed aquaculture support service is listed in the Supplementary Information section below.

The Department of Transportation (DOT), Office of the Secretary (OST), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) announces the opportunity for business centered community-based organizations, transportation-related trade associations, colleges and universities, community colleges, or chambers of commerce, registered with the Internal Revenue Service as 501 C(6) or 501 C(3) tax-exempt organizations, to compete for participation in OSDBU's Small Business Transportation Resource Center (SBTRC) program in the Northwest Region (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington).

FMCSA announces its decision to renew exemptions for 87 individuals from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) for interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. The exemptions enable these individuals to continue to operate CMVs in interstate commerce without meeting the vision requirement in one eye.

FMCSA announces receipt of applications from 43 individuals for exemption from the prohibition against persons with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. If granted, the exemptions would enable these individuals with ITDM to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

This notice provides information regarding FHWA's finding that a Buy America waiver is appropriate for the use of non-domestic iron and steel components of trunnion bearings for emergency repair of Willow Avenue Lift Bridge in Cleveland, Ohio.

PHMSA is issuing this safety advisory notice to inform offerors and users of DOT Specification 39 (DOT-39) cylinders that DOT- 39 cylinders with an internal volume exceeding 75 cubic inches (in\3\) (1.23 L) should not be filled with liquefied flammable compressed gas. PHMSA maintains filling or transporting DOT-39 cylinders with an internal volume exceeding 75 in\3\ (1.23 L) is not safe.

The FAA is considering a proposal to change 162.71 acres of airport land from aeronautical use to non-aeronautical use and to authorize the sale of airport property located at the former Bowman Municipal Airport, BPP, Bowman, ND. The aforementioned land is not needed for aeronautical use because the new Bowman Regional Airport, BWW, Bowman, ND is open and available for public aeronautical use. The former Bowman Airport BPP site is located one mile west of the City of Bowman, ND and parallel to the north of U.S. Highway 12. The airport's prior aeronautical use was for general aviation and recreational flying. The proposed non-aeronautical use of the property will be converted to industrial use by the local economic development group.

These special conditions are issued for the installation of an inflatable four-point restraint safety belt with an integrated airbag device at the pilot and copilot seats on the DAHER-SOCATA, Model TBM 700 airplane. These airplanes, as modified by the installation of these inflatable safety belts, will have novel and unusual design features associated with the upper-torso restraint portions of the four-point safety belts, which contain an integrated airbag device. 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 FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of Twenty Sixth RTCA SC-214 Standards for Air Traffic Data Communications Services Plenary.

Prior to this final rule, persons could only use an Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS) in lieu of natural vision to descend below the decision altitude, decision height, or minimum descent altitude (DA/DH or MDA) down to 100 feet above the touchdown zone elevation (TDZE) using certain straight-in landing instrument approach procedures (IAPs). This final rule permits operators to use an EFVS in lieu of natural vision to continue descending from 100 feet above the TDZE to the runway and to land on certain straight-in IAPs under instrument flight rules (IFR). This final rule also revises and relocates the regulations that permit operators to use an EFVS in lieu of natural vision to descend to 100 feet above the TDZE using certain straight-in IAPs. Additionally, this final rule addresses provisions that permit operators who conduct EFVS operations under parts 121, 125, or 135 to use EFVS-equipped aircraft to dispatch, release, or takeoff under IFR, and revises the regulations for those operators to initiate and continue an approach, when the destination airport weather is below authorized visibility minimums for the runway of intended landing. This final rule establishes pilot training and recent flight experience requirements for operators who use EFVS in lieu of natural vision to descend below the DA/DH or MDA. EFVS-equipped aircraft conducting operations to touchdown and rollout are required to meet additional airworthiness requirements. This final rule also revises pilot compartment view certification requirements for vision systems using a transparent display surface located in the pilot's outside field of view. The final rule takes advantage of advanced vision capabilities, thereby achieving the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) goals of increasing access, efficiency, and throughput at many airports when low visibility is the limiting factor. Additionally, it enables EFVS operations in reduced visibilities on a greater number of approach procedure types while maintaining an equivalent level of safety.

We are revising an earlier proposal to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2011-24-06. AD 2011-24-06 applies to all BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Model Bae 146-100A, -200A, and -300A airplanes; and Model Avro 146-RJ70A, 146-RJ85A, and 146-RJ100A airplanes. This action revises the NPRM by adding airplanes to the applicability. We are proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. Since these actions impose an additional burden over those proposed in the NPRM, we are reopening the comment period to allow the public the chance to comment on these proposed changes.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) received a request from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) for a Buy America public interest waiver for the procurement of equipment to replace what was damaged at the World Trade Center Transportation Hub (WTC Hub) project during Hurricane Sandy. A public interest waiver is needed because Hurricane Sandy damaged an existing construction site that receives federal funds but is not subject to FTA's Buy America requirements and the only option PANYNJ had to implement Sandy recovery work was to replace the damaged equipment with the same equipment. 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(2)(A) and 49 CFR 661.7(b). In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(3)(A), FTA provided notice of the public interest waiver request and sought comment on whether to grant the request. FTA received one comment in support of the waiver, and no comments objecting to the waiver. Therefore, FTA is issuing a general public interest waiver for two PANYNJ Hurricane Sandy grants, NY-44-X005 and NY-44-X014. This public interest waiver is limited to the Hurricane Sandy recovery projects at the WTC Hub only and does not apply to separately funded resiliency projects.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) received a request from the Central Puget Sound Transit Authority (Sound Transit) for a Buy America non-availability waiver for the procurement of ultrastraight rail. Sound Transit seeks to procure approximately 15,100 feet ultrastraight rail for a portion of its Northgate Link light rail extension to avoid exceedance of contractually-mandated vibration thresholds. The FTA hereby waives its Buy America requirements, finding that the materials for which the waiver is requested are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of satisfactory quality. This waiver is limited to a single procurement by Sound Transit.

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 action proposes to establish Class E Airspace at Louisville, GA, to accommodate new Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) serving Louisville Municipal Airport. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the heliport.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation Model G-IV airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report indicating that the G-IV gust lock system allows more throttle travel than was intended and could allow the throttle to be advanced to reach take-off thrust. This proposed AD would require modification of the gust lock system, and a revision of the maintenance or inspection program to incorporate functional tests. We are proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Fokker Services B.V. Model F28 Mark 0070 and 0100 airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report of cracking in a certain section of the secondary structure of the wing. This AD requires a one-time inspection of the trailing edge rib, and corrective action if necessary. We are issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the revisions of the following information collection:

This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Grand Chenier, LA. Controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new special Instrument Approach Procedures developed at Little Pecan Island Airport, for the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

These special conditions are issued for the BHTI Model 525 helicopter. This helicopter will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with fly-by-wire flight control system (FBW FCS) functions that affect the structural integrity of the rotorcraft. 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.