Federal Aviation Administration February 24, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces its findings on the Noise Compatibility Program submitted by the Westover Metropolitan Development Authority under the provisions of Title I of the Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act of 1979. On September 25, 2014, the FAA determined the noise exposure maps submitted by the Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation under Part 150 were in compliance with applicable requirements. On February 6, 2015 the New England Region Airports Division Manager approved the Noise Compatibility Program.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Title 14 of the Code of Federal 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.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 737-300, -400, and -500 series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of fatigue cracking found at the left-side and right-side upper frame, at a certain area. This proposed AD would require repetitive medium frequency eddy current (MFEC) inspections for cracking of the left-side and right-side upper frame, and repair (including open hole high frequency eddy current (HFEC) inspections for cracking of fastener holes) if necessary. This proposed AD also provides an optional preventative modification which would terminate the repetitive inspections at the modified location. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking, which if not corrected, can grow in size and result in a severed frame, which could lead to rapid decompression and reduced structural integrity of the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all CFM International S.A. (CFM) CFM56-7B series turbofan engines. This AD was prompted by a dual engine thrust instability event that resulted in the overspeed and in-flight shutdown (IFSD) of one engine. This AD requires modification of the engine by removing full authority digital engine control (FADEC) software, version 7.B.V4 or earlier, installed in the electronic engine controls (EECs) on CFM56-7B engines. We are issuing this AD to prevent a thrust instability event, which could lead to overspeed and IFSD of one or more engines, loss of thrust control, damage to the engine, and damage to the airplane.