Federal Aviation Administration April 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of the second meeting of RTCA Special Committee 227, Standards of Navigation Performance.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 737-500 series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of chem-mill step cracking on the aft lower lobe fuselage skins. This proposed AD would require inspections of the fuselage skin at the chem-mill steps, and repair if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracking on the aft lower lobe fuselage skins, which could result in decompression of the airplane.

This action establishes nine new RNAV routes originating within Seattle Air Route Traffic Control Center's (ARTCC) airspace. The routes extend generally east-west providing connection between the Seattle, WA terminal area and destinations east and southeast of Seattle. This action enhances the navigation routes within the National Airspace System (NAS).

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or revokes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

This amendment corrects a number of errors in the airworthiness standards for aircraft engine endurance tests. None of the changes are substantive in nature, and none will impose any additional burden on any person.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of 14 CFR. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, this aspect of FAA's regulatory activities. 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.

On February 14, 2012, the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 was signed into law (Pub. L. 112-95). Provisions contained in this law necessitate modifications to five grant assurances.

This action amends Class E Airspace at Columbia, SC, by removing Corporate Airport from the airspace designation, and establishes Class E Airspace at Pelion, SC, using the new airport name, as new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures have been developed at Lexington County Airport at Pelion. This action enhances the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations within the National Airspace System. This action also updates the geographic coordinates of the airport.

These special conditions are issued for the Boeing Model 777F airplane. This airplane, as modified by the FedEx Express Corporation, will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with an advanced, enhanced flight vision system (EFVS). The EFVS consists of a head-up display (HUD) system modified to display forward-looking infrared (FLIR) imagery. 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 amends Class D airspace at Cape Canaveral Skid Strip, Cocoa Beach, FL, by correcting the geographic coordinates of the airport to aid in the navigation of our National Airspace System and by removing the reference of St. Petersburg Automated Flight Service Station from the descriptor. This action enhances the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations for standard instrument approach procedures at the airport.

This action proposes to amend Class E Airspace in the Tallahassee, FL area. Tallahassee Commercial Airport has been abandoned and controlled airspace is no longer needed. Airspace reconfiguration is necessary for the continued safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations within the Tallahassee, FL airspace area.

This action proposes to amend Class E Airspace in Augusta, GA. The Bushe Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) and the Burke County NDB have been decommissioned and new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures have been developed at Augusta Regional Airport at Bush Field, and Burke County Airport, Waynesboro, GA, respectively. Airspace reconfiguration is necessary for the continued safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations within the Augusta, GA, airspace area. This action also would update the geographic coordinates of Burke County Airport.

This action proposes to amend Class D and Class E surface airspace at Blountville, TN, and remove Class E airspace at Tri-City, TN, as new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures have been developed at Tri-Cities Regional Airport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations for SIAPs at the airport. This action would also update the geographic coordinates, airport name, and airspace designation.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Lockheed Martin Corporation/Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Model 382, 382B, 382E, 382F, and 382G airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report of incidents involving fatigue cracking and corrosion in transport category airplanes that are approaching or have exceeded their design service objective. This AD requires revising the maintenance inspection program to include inspections that will give no less than the required damage tolerance analysis for each principal structural element (PSE), doing repetitive inspections to detect cracks of all PSEs, and repairing cracked structure. We are issuing this AD to maintain the continued structural integrity of the fleet.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 777 airplanes. This AD was prompted by a new revision to the airworthiness limitations of the maintenance planning document. This AD requires revising the maintenance program to update inspection requirements to detect fatigue cracking of principal structural elements (PSEs). We are issuing this AD to ensure that fatigue cracking of various PSEs is detected and corrected; such fatigue cracking could adversely affect the structural integrity of these airplanes.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Fokker Services B.V. Model F.27 Mark 050 airplanes. This proposed AD would require performing a low frequency eddy current inspection for cracks of the lap joint of the rear fuselage, and repair if necessary. This AD was prompted by reports of cracking in the fuselage lap joint. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct exponential crack growth, which could lead to failure of the lap joint over a certain length and consequent in-flight decompression of the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Cessna Aircraft Company Model 680 airplanes. This AD was prompted by a false cross-feed command to the right-hand fuel control card, due to the cross-feed inputs on the left- and right-hand fuel control cards being connected together and causing an imbalance of fuel between the left and right wing tanks. This AD requires adding diodes to the fuel cross-feed wiring, and revising the airplane flight manual to include procedures to use when the left or right generator is selected OFF. We are issuing this AD to prevent lateral imbalance of the airplane, resulting from uncontrolled fuel cross-feed, which can be corrected by deflecting the aileron trim; deflecting the aileron trim increases the pilot's workload and could exceed the airplane's limitation in a short period of time, resulting in reduced controllability of the airplane.

On April 14, 2011, the FAA issued a Notice in the Federal Register (76 FR 21,420, April 15, 2011) seeking comment on a petition submitted by Clark County Department of Aviation (CCDOA), owner and operator of Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (Airport). The petition requested a determination by the Federal Aviation Administration (``FAA'') that its proposed air service incentives program (``Incentives Program''), intended to induce increases in landed weight by air carriers at McCarran International Airport (the ``Airport'' or ``LAS'') in Las Vegas, is consistent with Federal law and policies on the use of airport revenue and on airport rates and charges. In its petition, CCDOA proposed the FAA amend its interpretation of ``new air service'' to include ``increases in landed weight.'' The FAA has interpreted these policies, and the underlying Federal statutes, to permit a temporary waiver of standard airport fees for carriers that provide new air service at an airport, as an incentive to begin or expand air service. In September 2010, the agency issued the Air Carrier Incentive Program Guidebook to provide specific guidance to airport operators on the use of air service incentive programs. That guidance restates FAA's previously issued opinions regarding what constitutes new service as characterized in the FAA's Policy and Procedures Concerning the Use of Airport Revenue (Revenue Use Policy) (64 FR 7,696 (Feb. 16, 1999)). Since the inception of the Revenue Use Policy in 1999, the FAA has defined new air service as: (a) Service to an airport destination not currently served, (b) nonstop service where no nonstop service is currently offered, (c) new entrant carrier, and/ or (d) increased frequency of flights to a specific destination. The FAA's interpretation has not permitted an airport operator to offer an incentive program that provides discounts based on increased aircraft weight or an increased number of seats on existing flights. CCDOA proposes an incentive program that would reward air carriers for an increase in landed weight. An increase in landed weight could result from an increase in the size of aircraft used, or ``upgauging,'' on existing flights, consolidation of existing flights, and/or added flights. CCDOA requests that the FAA amend existing guidance to make clear that its proposed incentive plan is consistent with Federal law and existing agency policies on the use of airport revenue and on airport rates and charges. This notice responds to the comments received and grants a portion of the petition as written.

This action proposes to modify Class E airspace at Billings Logan International Airport, Billings, MT, to accommodate aircraft using Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) standard instrument approach procedures at Billings Logan International Airport. This action also would make a minor adjustment to the geographic coordinates of the airport. The FAA is proposing this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

In 2010, Congress transferred the statute authorizing the FAA's commercial space transportation regulations. This action is necessary to correct affected citations in the Code of Federal Regulations to reflect this transfer of authority. The intended effect of this action is to make the affected regulations comply with the statute.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of the twenty-ninth meeting of RTCA Special Committee 206, Aeronautical Information and Meteorological Data Link Services.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for all Rolls-Royce plc (RR) RB211-Trent 875-17, RB211-Trent 877-17, RB211-Trent 884-17, RB211-Trent 884B-17, RB211-Trent 892-17, RB211- Trent 892B-17, and RB211-Trent 895-17 turbofan engines. That AD currently requires initial and repetitive ultrasonic inspections (UIs) of certain low-pressure (LP) compressor blades identified by serial number (S/N). This AD requires the same actions but expands the population of blades. This AD was prompted by RR concluding that additional blades affected must be inspected. We are issuing this AD to prevent LP compressor blades from failing due to blade root cracks, which could lead to uncontained engine failure and damage to the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Agusta S.p.A. (Agusta) Model AB412 helicopters with certain tail rotor blades (blades) installed. This AD requires, before further flight, removing and replacing each affected blade with an airworthy blade. This AD is prompted by incidents where a blade tip weight separated from a blade in flight on other model helicopters with common part-numbered blades. It has been determined that this unsafe condition may also exist on the specified Agusta model helicopters. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent loss of the blade tip weight, loss of a blade, and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for all Lockheed Martin Corporation/Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Model L-1011-385-1, L-1011-385-1-14, and L-1011-385-1-15 airplanes. That AD currently requires implementation of a Supplemental Inspection Document (SID) program of structural inspections to detect fatigue cracking, and repair if necessary, to ensure continued airworthiness of these airplanes as they approach the manufacturer's original fatigue design life goal. This new AD adds Model L-1011-385-3 airplanes to the applicability, changes certain inspection thresholds, adds three new structurally significant details (SSDs), and removes an SSD that has been addressed by a different AD. This AD was prompted by an evaluation by the manufacturer of usage and flight data that provided additional information about certain SSDs where fatigue damage is likely to occur. We are issuing this AD to prevent fatigue cracking that could compromise the structural integrity of these airplanes.