Federal Aviation Administration August 2, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice proposes to establish Class E3 airspace at Riverside March Field, CA. Class E3 airspace is necessary to contain and protect circling maneuvers for Category E aircraft executing these maneuvers in conjunction with Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) at the airport. This action would establish Class E3 airspace extending upward from the surface to, but not including, the base of the overlying Class C airspace area.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in cooperation with the National Park Service (NPS), began development of an Air Tour Management Plan (ATMP) and associated Environmental Assessment (EA) for Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park in February 2003. The ATMP is being established pursuant to the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-181) and its implementing regulations contained in Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 136, National Parks Air Tour Management. The objective of the ATMP is to develop acceptable and effective measures to mitigate or prevent the significant adverse impacts, if any, of commercial air tour operations upon the natural resources, cultural resources, and visitor experiences of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. The FAA and NPS have now decided to proceed with development of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for this project. This decision is based on information received through the EA scoping process, the environmental analysis completed by the Agencies to date, the consideration of preliminary ATMP alternatives, and through consultations conducted pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. By this notice the FAA and NPS are initiating a 30-day scoping period for this EIS. The FAA and NPS are now inviting the public, agencies, and other interested parties to provide written comments, suggestions, and input regarding the scope of issues and the identification of significant issues to be addressed in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Comments previously submitted in response to the EA scoping will not need to be resubmitted, as they will be considered as part of the EIS process and record. No additional scoping meetings are scheduled.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier Model DHC-7-100, DHC-7-101, DHC-7-102, and DHC-7-103 airplanes. This AD requires revising the Airworthiness Limitations section of the Instructions of Continued Airworthiness to include a new, lower life limit for lower wing skins. This AD results from the discovery that, during the manufacture of the lower wing skins, score marks may have been accidentally inscribed around the edge of the lower wing skin doublers. We are issuing this AD to prevent fatigue cracks from developing at the score marks in the lower wing skins, which could result in the structural failure of the wing.