Federal Aviation Administration August 22, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information collection. Wildlife strike data are collected to develop standards and monitor hazards to aviation.

These special conditions are issued for the Beechcraft Corporation (Beechcraft) Model 400A airplane. This airplane, as modified by Garmin International (Garmin), will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport-category airplanes. These airplanes will have a digital-systems network architecture composed of several connected networks that may allow access to or by external computer systems and networks, and may otherwise result in airplane electronic-system security vulnerabilities without appropriate protection. 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.

These special conditions are issued for the Bombardier Aerospace Inc. (Bombardier) Model BD-700-2A12 and BD-700-2A13 airplanes. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual feature when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport-category airplanes. This design feature is associated with a reduced margin between design cruising speed, VC/MC, and design diving speed, VD/ MD, based on the incorporation of a high-speed-protection system that limits nose-down pilot authority at speeds above VD/MD. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for these design features. 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.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all The Boeing Company Model DC-9-81 (MD-81), DC-9-82 (MD-82), DC-9-83 (MD- 83), and DC-9-87 (MD-87) airplanes; and Model MD-88 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of fatigue cracking in a rear spar lower cap of the horizontal stabilizer. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections for cracking of the rear spar lower caps of the horizontal stabilizer, post-modification and post-repair inspections, and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD also provides an optional terminating fatigue life enhancement modification. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking in the rear spar lower caps of the horizontal stabilizer, which, paired with cracking in adjacent areas, could adversely affect the structural integrity of the airplane.