Department of Transportation 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Austro Engine GmbH E4 and E4P model diesel piston engines. This AD was prompted by reports of an oil pump blockage on E4 model diesel piston engines. This AD requires replacing a certain oil pump as well as the oil filter and engine oil. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all The Boeing Company Model 737-100, -200, -200C, -300, -400, and -500 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by crack indications found in the lower aft wing skin bolt holes where the flap tracks attach to the track support fitting. This AD requires repetitive inspections for cracking of the left and right wing, lower aft wing skin aft edge, at certain flap track locations, and applicable on-condition actions. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This action establishes a Class E airspace area extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface over the State of North Dakota and removes the enroute domestic airspace areas at Harvey and Linton, ND. This action is at the request of Salt Lake Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) and Minneapolis ARTCC to simplify and close gaps in the existing class E airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface over the State of North Dakota; provide transitional airspace to support instrument flight rule (IFR) operations to and from the terminal and enroute environments within the state; and to improve air traffic control services over the state of North Dakota.

Mercedes-Benz AG (MBAG) and Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA), (collectively, ``Mercedes-Benz''), have determined that certain model year (MY) 2020-2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE and GLS Class motor vehicles do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 Kilograms (10,000 pounds) or Less. Mercedes-Benz filed a noncompliance report dated October 30, 2020. Mercedes-Benz subsequently petitioned NHTSA on November 16, 2020, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. This notice announces receipt of Mercedes-Benz's petition.

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW), a subsidiary of BMW AG, Munich, Germany, has determined that certain (MY) 2019-2012; BMW and 2020-2021 Toyota motor vehicles do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 104, Windshield Wiping and Washing Systems. BMW filed a noncompliance report dated September 11, 2020. BMW subsequently petitioned NHTSA on October 9, 2020, and submitted a supplement to the petition on February 23, 2021, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. This notice announces receipt of BMW's petition.

This action proposes to establish Class E domestic en route airspace extending upward from 1,200 feet above the surface at Mountain Home, ID. This airspace would facilitate vectoring of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) aircraft and it would properly contain IFR aircraft operating on direct routes under the control of Salt Lake City Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). The FAA is proposing this action to enhance the safety and management of IFR operations within the National Airspace System (NAS).

This action proposes to modify three existing high altitude area navigation (RNAV) routes (Q-routes), and establish one new Q- route, in support of the Northeast Corridor Atlantic Coast Route (NEC ACR) Project. This proposal would improve the efficiency of the National Airspace System (NAS) by expanding the availability of RNAV routing and reducing the dependency on ground-based navigational systems.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Uninsured United Parachute Technologies, LLC (UPT) parachutes. This AD results from reserve pin covers (RPCs) catching on the parachute container flaps and preventing the reserve parachute from deploying. This AD requires modifying the RPC before the next parachute jump and replacing the RPC at the next reserve parachute packing. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This action amends Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface for Calais Regional Heliport, Calais, ME. The FAA discovered that necessary language was inadvertently omitted to the description of the airspace that excluded airspace outside of the United States.

Combi USA (Combi), has determined that certain Combi USA BabyRide rear-facing child restraint systems manufactured between March 1, 2016, and September 2, 2019, do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, Child Restraint Systems. Combi filed an original noncompliance report dated March 8, 2021, and later amended it on March 10, 2021, and March 11, 2021. Subsequently, Combi petitioned NHTSA on March 30, 2021, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. This notice announces receipt of Combi's petition.

This action proposes to amend Jet Route J-181 and VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) Federal airways V-13, V-14, V-15, and V- 307; establish Area Navigation (RNAV) routes T-411 and T-413; and remove VOR Federal airway V-506. The FAA is proposing this action due to the planned decommissioning of the VOR portion of the Neosho, MO (EOS), VOR/Distance Measuring Equipment (VOR/DME) navigation aid (NAVAID). The Neosho VOR is being decommissioned in support of the FAA's VOR Minimum Operational Network (MON) program.

FMCSA proposes to amend its regulations to extend the compliance date from June 22, 2021, to June 23, 2025, for several provisions of its April 23, 2015, Medical Examiner's Certification Integration final rule. FMCSA issued an interim final rule (IFR) on June 21, 2018, extending the compliance date for these provisions until June 22, 2021. FMCSA proposes to finalize the IFR by further extending the compliance date to June 23, 2025. This action is being taken to provide FMCSA time to complete certain information technology (IT) system development tasks for its National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (National Registry) and to provide the State Driver's Licensing Agencies (SDLAs) sufficient time to make the necessary IT programming changes after the new National Registry system is available.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2014-11-02 for Airbus Helicopters Model SA-365N, SA-365N1, AS-365N2, and AS 365 N3 helicopters. AD 2014-11-02 requires repetitively inspecting frame number (No.) 9 for a crack. Since the FAA issued AD 2014-11-02, Airbus Helicopters developed a modification that would provide an optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections required by AD 2014-11-02. This proposed AD would retain the requirements of AD 2014-11-02, provide an optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections, and reduce the applicability by excluding certain post-modified helicopters. The actions of this proposed AD are intended to address an unsafe condition on these products.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Helicopters Model EC155B1 helicopters. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of difficulties when jettisoning the co- pilot door during non-scheduled maintenance. This proposed AD would require a functional check of the pilot and co-pilot door jettisoning system and corrective actions if necessary, as specified in a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is proposed for incorporation by reference (IBR). The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (Canadian Pacific), Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CPRC), and their U.S. rail carrier subsidiaries, Soo Line Railroad Company (Soo Line), Central Maine & Quebec Railway US Inc., Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corporation, and Delaware & Hudson Railway Company, Inc. (collectively, CP) and Kansas City Southern and its U.S. rail carrier subsidiaries, The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSR), Gateway Eastern Railway Company, and The Texas Mexican Railway Company (collectively, KCS) (CP and KCS collectively, Applicants) have notified the Surface Transportation Board (Board) of their intent to file an application seeking authority for the acquisition of control by Canadian Pacific, through its indirect, wholly owned subsidiary Cygnus Merger Sub 2 Corporation (Cygnus Merger Sub 2 Corp.), of Kansas City Southern, and through it, of KCSR and its railroad affiliates, and for the resulting common control by Canadian Pacific of its U.S. railroad subsidiaries, and KCSR and its railroad affiliates. Applicants have indicated that 2019 will be the base year for their impact analysis and that they anticipate filing their application on or shortly after June 28, 2021.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Federal Aviation 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 FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2013-07- 09, which applied to certain The Boeing Company Model 737-700, -700C, - 800, and -900ER series airplanes, Model 747-400F series airplanes, and Model 767-200 and -300 series airplanes. AD 2013-07-09 required a general visual inspection for affected serial numbers of the crew oxygen mask stowage box units, and replacement or re-identification as necessary. This AD retains the requirements of AD 2013-07-09 and expands the applicability. This AD was prompted by a determination that the affected parts may be installed on airplanes outside the original applicability of AD 2013-07-09. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

This document announces the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) receipt of a petition for a decision that model year (MY) 2020-2021 GMC Sierra 3500HD Trucks (TKs) that were not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) with a GVWR range of 6,231-7,059 lbs, are eligible for importation into the United States because they are substantially similar to vehicles that were originally manufactured for sale in the United States and that were certified by their manufacturer as complying with the safety standards (the U.S.-certified version of the 2020-2021 GMC Sierra 3500HD TKs) and are capable of being readily altered to conform to the standards.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, this notice announces that FRA is forwarding the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the information collection and its expected burden. On December 18, 2020, FRA published a notice providing a 60-day period for public comment on the ICR.

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 an information collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on January 29, 2021. The collection involves the gathering of information necessary for FAA to ensure proposed outdoor laser operations will not interfere with air traffic operations. The information to be collected will be used by FAA to evaluate proposed outdoor laser operations (e.g., laser light show, display, or device) requiring approval of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) variance.

This action establishes the FAA's policy applicable to waivers of FAA ground safety requirements for licensed commercial launch and reentry activities at certain Federal ranges. The Federal ranges that currently meet the criteria for application of this policy are: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Wallops Flight Facility, and Kennedy Space Center.

The FAA is superseding Airworthiness Directive (AD) 97-06-10 for certain Raytheon Aircraft Company (type certificate now held by Textron Aviation Inc. (Textron)) Model 76 airplanes. AD 97-06-10 required repetitively inspecting the main landing gear (MLG) ``A'' frame assemblies for cracks and replacing any cracked assembly. Since the FAA issued AD 97-06-10, the replacement parts have also experienced failure due to cracking. This AD requires magnetic particle inspections of the MLG ``A'' frame assemblies for cracks and replacement of the affected parts if necessary. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

FMCSA announces its decision to deny applications from 28 individuals who requested an exemption from the vision standard in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Airbus SAS Model A350-941 and -1041 airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report that a welding quality issue has been identified in the gimbal joint of the air bleed duct located at each wing-to-pylon interface; the inner ring of a gimbal had deformed to an oval shape, which could lead to cracking caused by direct contact between metal parts. This AD requires replacing affected bleed duct assemblies and bleed gimbals at the wing-to-pylon interface with a serviceable part, as specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is incorporated by reference. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.