Federal Aviation Administration October 3, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public that a Record of Decision (ROD), resulting from an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been prepared for Theodore Francis Green Airport, in Warwick, Rhode Island.

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or revokes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. The existing AD currently requires reviewing the airplane maintenance records to determine whether an engine has been removed from the airplane since the airplane was manufactured. For airplanes on which an engine has been removed, the existing AD also requires an inspection of the aft engine mount to determine if the center link assembly is correctly installed, and follow-on actions if necessary. This new AD expands the applicability to include airplanes on which the engine has not been previously removed, and Model 737-900ER airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports indicating that operators found that the center link assembly for the aft engine mount was reversed on several airplanes that had not had an engine removed since delivery. We are issuing this AD to prevent increased structural loads on the aft engine mount, which could result in failure of the aft engine mount and consequent separation of the engine from the airplane.