Department of Transportation January 14, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On September 10, 2020, FMCSA proposed a pilot program to allow persons ages 18, 19, and 20 to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. That pilot was never implemented. However, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was signed into law on November 15, 2021, requires FMCSA to establish a pilot program that would allow employers to establish an apprenticeship program for certain 18-, 19-, and 20-year-old drivers to operate commercial vehicles in interstate commerce. This notice addresses the comments received on the September 10, 2020, notice and provides the details on the establishment of the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program required by the IIJA.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Claremont Airport, Elkton, MD, as an airspace review found the airspace radius required an increase, as well as updating the airport's name. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations in the area.

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

This action proposes to establish United States Area Navigation (RNAV) route T-370 in the vicinity of Kenai, AK in support of a large and comprehensive T-route modernization project for the state of Alaska.

This action proposes to modify the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Rifle Garfield County Airport, Rifle, CO. This action would ensure the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action amends VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) Federal airways V-37 and V-270, and removes VOR Federal airway V-43, in the vicinity of Erie, Pennsylvania. The airway amendments are necessary due to the planned decommissioning of the VOR portion of the Erie, PA, VOR/ Tactical Air Navigation (VORTAC), which provides navigational guidance for these airways. The Erie VOR is being decommissioned as part of the FAA's VOR Minimum Operational Network (MON) program.

This action modifies the Class D airspace at China Lake NAWS (Armitage Field) Airport, China Lake, CA. This action also modifies the Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface. Additionally, this action removes the China Lake (Navy) TACAN from the Class E5 text header and airspace description. Lastly, this action implements numerous administrative updates to the Class D and Class E5 text headers and the Class D airspace description. This action ensures the safety and management of instrument flight rule (IFR) operations at the airport.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2020-20-06, which applies to certain Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Limited (now Bell Textron Canada Limited) Model 429 helicopters. AD 2020-20-06 requires repetitive inspections of certain cyclic and collective assembly bearings. Since the FAA issued AD 2020-20-06, the collective and cyclic bellcrank assemblies have been upgraded with corrosion resistant steel bearings. This proposed AD would retain some of the requirements of AD 2020-20-06 and depending on the inspection results, would require removing certain parts from service and installing the upgraded cyclic and collective bellcrank assemblies. This proposed AD would also require installing the upgraded collective and cyclic bellcrank assemblies on certain helicopters if not already installed, and would prohibit installing certain bellcrank assemblies. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.