Department of Transportation October 2, 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Siemens S.A.S. smoke detectors installed on various transport category airplanes. This AD requires inspection and replacement of the affected smoke detectors. This AD was prompted by a report that the affected smoke detectors failed an acceptance test. We are issuing this AD to correct the unsafe condition on these products.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (Department or DOT) is reviewing its existing regulations and other agency actions to evaluate their continued necessity, determine whether they are crafted effectively to solve current problems, and evaluate whether they potentially burden the development or use of domestically produced energy resources. As part of these reviews, the Department invites the public to provide input on existing rules and other agency actions that are good candidates for repeal, replacement, suspension, or modification. The Department may also hold a public meeting to discuss and consider comments from members of the public.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of Thirty Sixth RTCA SC-216 Plenary.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Requirements (ICRs) abstracted below have been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describe the nature of the information collection and their expected burdens. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collections of information was published on June 19, 2017 (82 FR 27958).

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of the FAA's regulatory activities. 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 FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of Twenty-Fourth RTCA SC-223 IPS and AeroMACS Plenary. SC-223 is a subcommittee to RTCA.

This action proposes to remove Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Centerville, MD. Because the Maryland State Police Trooper 6 Heliport has moved, controlled airspace is no longer required at this location. Another rulemaking will be forthcoming establishing controlled airspace at the heliport's new location.

This action establishes Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Marion General Hospital Heliport, Columbia, MS, to accommodate new area navigation (RNAV) global positioning system (GPS) standard instrument approach procedures (SIAPs) serving Marion General Hospital Heliport. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the heliport.

This action modifies Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Wellington Municipal Airport, Wellington, KS. Airspace reconfiguration is necessary due to the decommissioning of the Wellington non-directional radio beacon (NDB), and cancellation of the NDB approach, and enhances the safety and management of standard instrument approach procedures for instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action amends Class D and Class E airspace at Coastal Carolina Regional Airport (formally Craven County Regional Airport), New Bern, NC. The Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) part-time status is removed from Class E airspace designated as an extension. Also, under Class E surface airspace, the segment using the New Bern VHF omnidirectional range/distance measuring equipment (VOR/DME) navigation aid used to describe the northeast and southwest extensions to the airport is removed. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport. This action also updates the geographic coordinates of the airport, updates the airport's name, and makes an editorial change replacing Airport/ Facility Directory with the term Chart Supplement in the legal descriptions of associated Class D and E airspace. Also, the docket number for this rule is corrected to FAA-2017-0230.

This action amends Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface at Hot Springs, VA, by adding controlled airspace for Bath Community Hospital Heliport to the Ingalls Field Airport airspace designation. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the heliport. This action also updates the geographic coordinates of Ingalls Field Airport in the associated Class E airspace. This action enhances the safety and airspace management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier, Inc., Model DHC-8-400 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by the failure of the fire control amplifier (FCA), which was likely caused by an electrical short in a discharged squib for a fire extinguishing bottle. This AD requires replacing certain circuit breakers. We are issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

We are superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2011-01-15, which applied to certain The Boeing Company Model 757-200, -200CB, and -300 series airplanes. AD 2011-01-15 required repetitive inspections for cracking of the fuselage skin of the crown skin panel along the chem-milled step at certain stringers, and repair if necessary. This AD adds repetitive inspections for cracking in additional areas, and repair if necessary; removes airplanes from the applicability; adds an optional skin panel replacement, which terminates all inspections; adds an optional preventive modification, which terminates certain inspections; and reduces the compliance time for certain inspections. This AD was prompted by reports of the initiation of new fatigue cracking in the fuselage skin of the crown skin panel along locally thinned channels adjacent to the chem-milled steps. We are issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.