Federal Aviation Administration June 7, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action amends Control 1234L offshore airspace area in Alaska. Specifically, this action modifies Control 1234L in the immediate vicinity of the Saint Paul Island Airport, AK, by lowering the airspace floor from 2,000 feet above ground level (AGL) to 700 AGL. Additionally, outside the vicinity of the airport this action lowers the airspace floor from 2,000 AGL to 1,200 feet AGL within a 73-mile radius of the St. Paul Island Airport. The FAA is taking this action to provide additional controlled airspace for aircraft instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the St. Paul Island Airport.

The FAA is revising an earlier proposed airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 767-200 and -300 series airplanes. For certain airplanes, the original NPRM would have required repetitive inspections for discrepancies of the tube assemblies and insulation of the metered fire extinguisher system and the bleed air duct couplings of the auxiliary power unit (APU) located in the aft cargo compartment; and corrective actions if necessary. For certain other airplanes, the original NPRM would have required a one-time inspection for sufficient clearance between the fire extinguishing tube and the APU bleed air duct in the aft cargo compartment, and modification if necessary. The original NPRM resulted from one report indicating that an operator found a hole in the discharge tube assembly for the metered fire extinguishing system; and another report indicating that an operator found chafing of the fire extinguishing tube against the APU duct that resulted in a crack in the tube. This action revises the original NPRM by expanding the applicability and adding an inspection for signs of chafing and to verify sufficient clearance between the fire extinguisher system and the bleed air duct couplings of the APU. We are proposing this supplemental NPRM to prevent fire extinguishing agent from leaking out of the tube assembly in the aft cargo compartment which, in the event of a fire in the aft cargo compartment, could result in an insufficient concentration of fire extinguishing agent, and consequent inability of the fire extinguishing system to suppress the fire.

This document contains a correction to the final rule (FAA- 2005-23075; 05-ASO-12), which was published in the Federal Register of February 28, 2006, (71 FR 9908), establishing Class E airspace at Nicholasville, KY. This action corrects an error in the geographic coordinates for the Class E5 airspace at Nicholasville, KY.

This action will remove the Class D and E airspace at Roosevelt Roads, PR, and amend the Class E airspace at Isla de Vieques, PR. The Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Ofstie Field, PR, is permanently closed and no longer operational. The closure necessitates the removal of Class D and E airspace. The removal of Class E airspace at Roosevelt Roads, PR, requires the amendment of Class E airspace at Isla de Vieques, PR, since it is included as part of the Roosevelt Roads, PR, Class E airspace.

This action revises Class E airspace at Vandenberg AFB, CA. This airspace change places aircraft in controlled airspace from final descent to runway and protects Category E aircraft while conducting a circling approach to land.

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 747-100B, 747-200B, 747-200F, 747-300, 747-400, 747-400F, and 747SP series airplanes. This AD requires doing inspections of the midpivot bolt and midpivot bolt access door of the spring beam of the inboard side of the outboard struts for discrepancies, installing a placard on the midpivot bolt access door, and applicable corrective actions if necessary. This AD results from reports indicating that the midpivot bolt and midpivot bolt access door of the spring beam of the inboard side of the outboard struts were installed in the incorrect position. We are issuing this AD to ensure that the subject midpivot bolts and midpivot bolt access doors are installed in the correct position. If not installed in the correct position, a midpivot bolt could be overloaded and crack or fracture, which could result in the loss of the spring load path and consequent separation of the associated outboard strut and engine from the airplane.

The FAA is revising an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to certain Airbus Model A321-111, -112, and -131 airplanes. That AD currently requires repetitive inspections to detect fatigue cracking in the area surrounding certain attachment holes of the forward pintle fittings of the main landing gear (MLG) and the actuating cylinder anchorage fittings on the inner rear spar; and repair, if necessary. That AD also provides for optional terminating action for the repetitive inspections, adds inspections of three additional mounting holes, and revises the thresholds for the currently required inspections. We issued that AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking on the inner rear spar of the wings, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane. This new AD retains the requirements and revises the applicability of that AD. This AD results from the discovery of a typographical error in the applicability of that AD, which could cause the unsafe condition on an affected airplane to remain uncorrected. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking on the inner rear spar of the wings, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the airplane.