Federal Aviation Administration December 19, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of nineteenth meeting of RTCA Special Committee 214 to be held jointly with EUROCAE WG-78: Standards for Air Traffic Data Communication Services.

These special conditions are issued for the Bombardier Inc. Models BD-500-1A10 and BD-500-1A11 series airplanes. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with seats that include non-traditional, large, non-metallic panels that would affect survivability during a post-crash fire event. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

This action proposes special conditions for Airbus Model A350- 900 series airplanes. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with permanently installed rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and battery systems. These batteries have certain failure, operational, and maintenance characteristics that differ significantly from those of the nickel-cadmium and lead-acid rechargeable batteries currently approved for installation on large transport-category airplanes. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These proposed special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.

This action proposes to establish two RNAV routes; modify three RNAV routes; and remove one RNAV route in the Charlotte, NC, area. The route changes are proposed to support the Charlotte Optimization of Airspace and Procedures in a Metroplex (OAPM) project. The proposed routes, in combination with existing VOR Federal airways, would provide additional routing options through and around the Metroplex airspace.

This action proposes to amend the description of Area G of the Philadelphia Class B airspace area to correct a design error that resulted in the Class B airspace being published 2.1 nautical miles (NM) larger on the southeast side of the area than intended. No other changes to the Philadelphia Class B airspace are being proposed.