Federal Aviation Administration June 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

We propose to supersede an existing airworthiness directive (AD) that applies to the products listed above. The existing AD currently requires frequent inspections of the fuel pressure supply for excessive oscillations to determine if high-pressure fuel pumps have been exposed to damaging pressure oscillations. Pumps that have been exposed require replacement before further flight. Since we issued that AD, Austro Engine, the manufacturer of the pump, introduced a new part number (P/N) fuel pump as mandatory terminating action to the repetitive inspections. This proposed AD would require the initial and repetitive inspections of AD 2010-23-09, but would also require installing HP fuel pump P/N E4A-30-200-000, as mandatory terminating action to the repetitive inspections. We are proposing this AD to prevent engine power loss or in-flight shutdown, which could result in loss of control of the airplane.

The FAA is amending its lightning commit criteria to account for new information about the risks of natural and triggered lightning. This action amends flight criteria for mitigating against naturally occurring lightning and lightning triggered by the flight of an expendable launch vehicle through or near an electrified environment in or near a cloud. These changes will increase launch availability and implement changes already adopted by the United States Air Force.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) amends the lightning protection airworthiness standards by establishing new lightning protection regulations for electrical and electronic systems installed on aircraft certificated under parts 23, 27, and 29, and revises lightning protection regulations for electrical and electronic systems installed on airplanes certificated under part 25. This rule establishes two levels of lightning protection for aircraft systems based on consequences of system function failure: Catastrophic consequences which would prevent continued safe flight and landing; and hazardous or major consequences which would reduce the capability of the aircraft or the ability of the flightcrew to respond to an adverse operating condition. This rule also establishes lightning protection for aircraft systems according to the aircraft's potential for lightning exposure. The airworthiness standards establish consistent lightning protection requirements for aircraft electrical and electronic systems.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above that would supersede an existing AD. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

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 for to renew an information collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on March 10, 2011, vol. 76, no. 47, page 13265. The information is needed to determine an applicant's eligibility for an award of attorney's fees and other expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of RTCA Special Committee 159: Global Positioning System (GPS).

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This proposed AD would require you to install a placard that prohibits flight into known icing conditions and install a placard that increases published speed on approach 17 mph (15 knots) in case of an inadvertent encounter with icing. This proposed AD was prompted by an investigation of recent and historical icing-related accidents and incidents for the products listed above. We are proposing this AD to prohibit flight into known icing conditions as well as increase the approach speed in case of an inadvertent encounter with icing. This condition, if not corrected, could result in unusual flight characteristics that could lead to loss of control after flight into known icing conditions or an inadvertent encounter with icing conditions. Based on the data, an example of the unusual flight characteristics seen in many of the accidents is high sink speeds that resulted in a hard landing.

The FAA is amending its regulations governing operations of aircraft in fractional ownership programs. This document corrects a technical error in the codified text of the regulations.

This action amends Class E airspace for Mosby, MO. Decommissioning of the Mosby non-directional beacon (NDB) at Midwest National Air Center Airport, Mosby, MO, has made this action necessary to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above that are equipped with a Honeywell TPE331-10 or - 12JR turboprop engine installed per Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) SA09866SC. This AD requires incorporating revised airspeed limitations and marking the airspeed indicator accordingly. There is also a requirement for the installation of a temporary placard until the airspeed indicator can be modified but not to exceed a certain period of time. This AD was prompted by analysis that showed that airspeed limitations for the affected airplanes are not adjusted for the installation of a turboprop engine as stated in the regulations. We are issuing this AD to prevent the loss of airplane structural integrity due to the affected airplanes being able to operate at speeds that exceed the speeds established in the Federal aviation regulations for safe operation.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD requires determining if affected seats and seating systems and their components are compliant with certain FAA regulations, and removing those seats, seating systems, and their components that are shown to be unsafe from the affected fleet. This AD was prompted by a determination that the affected seats and seating systems may not meet certain flammability, static strength, and dynamic strength criteria. Failure to meet static and dynamic strength criteria could result in injuries to the flightcrew and passengers during emergency landing conditions. In the event of an in-flight or post- emergency landing fire, failure to meet flammability criteria could result in an accelerated fire. We are issuing this AD to prevent accelerated fires and injuries to the flightcrew and passengers.

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 for to renew an information collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on March 28, 2011, vol. 76, no. 59, pages 17181-17182. The FAA's Fuel Tank Flammability rule requires manufacturers to report to the FAA every six months for up to 5 years after the flammability reduction system is incorporated into the fleet. The data is needed to assure system performance meets that predicted at the time of certification.

This action proposes to amend Class E Airspace at Rutherfordton, NC, to accommodate the additional airspace needed for the Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) developed for Rutherford County Airport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

These special conditions are issued for the Gulfstream GVI airplane. This airplane will have novel or unusual design features when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. These design features include an electronic flight control system. 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.

These special conditions are issued for the Gulfstream GVI airplane. This airplane will have novel or unusual design features when compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. These design features include a high speed protection system. 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 are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. That AD currently requires an inspection to determine if a certain fuel pump housing electrical connector is installed. The existing AD also requires a revision to the FAA-approved airplane flight manual (AFM) to advise the flightcrew of the appropriate procedures for disabling certain fuel pump electrical circuits following failure of a fuel pump housing electrical connector if applicable. The existing AD also requires the deactivation of certain fuel tanks or fuel pumps and the installation of placards if applicable. The existing AD allows the optional replacement of the fuel pump housing electrical connectors with new, improved parts, which would terminate the AFM revisions, deactivation of certain fuel tanks and fuel pumps, and placard installation. This new AD instead requires replacing the fuel pump housing electrical connector assembly with a new part and doing repetitive inspections for continuity, resistance, and insulation resistance, and doing corrective actions if necessary. This AD was prompted by reports of failures of a certain fuel pump housing electrical connector. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct insulation resistance degradation and arcing in the potted backside of the electrical connector assembly of the fuel boost/ transfer pump housing, which could compromise its performance and cause an ignition source in the fuel tank, resulting in a fuel tank explosion and consequent loss of the airplane.