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

This action amends Class E airspace for Springhill, LA. Decommissioning of the Springhill non-directional beacon (NDB) at Springhill Airport has made this action necessary to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport. The geographic coordinates of the airport also are adjusted.

This action proposes to amend Class D airspace at Sault Ste Marie, ON. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to coincide with the Canadian control zone over Sault Ste Marie Airport. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Lemmon, SD. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAP) at Lemmon Municipal Airport. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations for SIAPs at the airport. Geographic coordinates of the airport also would be updated.

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Sweetwater, TX. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAP) at Avenger Field Airport. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations for SIAPs at the airport. Geographic coordinates would also be updated, as well as the airport name.

This action establishes Class E airspace at Branson West, MO, to accommodate new Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Branson West Municipal-Emerson Field Airport. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action amends Class E airspace at New Philadelphia, OH. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Harry Clever Field. The geographic coordinates of the airport also are updated. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport.

This action amends Class E airspace at Leesville, LA. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Leesville Airport. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of the Ninth meeting of RTCA Special Committee 222, Inmarsat Aeronautical Mobile Satellite (Route) Services.

This action would amend the regulations for repair stations by revising the system of ratings, the repair station certification requirements, and the regulations on repair stations providing maintenance for air carriers. This action is necessary because many portions of the existing repair station regulations do not reflect current repair station aircraft maintenance and business practices, or advances in aircraft technology. These changes would modernize the regulations to keep pace with current industry standards and practices.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Fokker Services B.V. Model F.28 Mark 0070 and 0100 airplanes. This AD was prompted by an in-flight failure of the hydraulic control panel, which resulted in the absence of pressure and quantity indication of the hydraulic system and accompanying alerts for ``hydraulic system 1 low quantity'' and ``hydraulic system 2 low quantity.'' This AD requires implementing new abnormal procedures for hydraulics in the airplane flight manual (AFM). We are issuing this AD to prevent loss of control of the airplane due to incorrect hydraulic system failure information being provided to the flightcrew, followed by application of inappropriate procedures.

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 747 series airplanes. That AD currently requires repetitive inspections for cracks of the fuselage skin lap splice between body station (BS) 400 and BS 520 at stringers S-6L and S-6R, and repair if necessary. This new AD shortens the interval for the repetitive inspections, requires modification for certain airplanes, and requires certain post-modification inspections for other airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of multiple adjacent cracks on an airplane, and a recent fleet-wide evaluation of widespread fatigue damage of skin lap joints, which indicated the need for revised procedures and reduced compliance times. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct cracking of the fuselage skin lap splice between BS 400 and BS 520 at stringers S-6L and S-6R, which could result in sudden loss of cabin pressurization and the inability of the fuselage to withstand fail-safe loads.

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. The information will determine if applicant proposals for conducting commercial space launches can be accomplished according to regulations issued by the Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of the 74th meeting of RTCA Special Committee 147, Minimal Operations Performance Standards for Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems Airborne Equipment.

This action reopens the comment period for an NPRM that was published on March 5, 2012. In that document, the FAA proposed to update, simplify, and streamline rules of practice and procedure for filing and adjudicating complaints against federally-assisted airports. The Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), an association representing the local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate the principal airports served by scheduled air carriers in North America, has requested additional time to complete its review and coordinate comments received from members that would be impacted by the proposed changes.

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.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A330-200 freighter series airplanes; Model A330-200 and - 300 series airplanes; and Model A340-200 and -300 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by a report of corrosion found on the main fitting of the nose landing gear (NLG) leg in the vicinity of the dowel pin bushes retaining the lower steering flange. This AD requires modifying the NLG main fitting by adding primer paint to the cadmium around the dowel bush holes. We are issuing this AD to prevent NLG main fitting rupture, which could result in an NLG collapse.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 777 airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of fractured and missing latch pin retention bolts that secure the latch pins on the forward cargo door. This AD requires repetitive detailed inspections for fractured or missing latch pin retention bolts, replacement of existing titanium bolts with new Inconel bolts, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct fractured and missing latch pin retention bolts, which could result in potential separation of the cargo door from the airplane and catastrophic decompression of the airplane.

The FAA is removing the provision describing an abbreviated taxi clearance. Previously, air traffic controllers issued abbreviated taxi instructions to aircraft en route to their assigned departure runway, which allowed pilots to cross all runways that intersected the taxi route to their departure runway. The FAA no longer uses these abbreviated taxi clearances and is removing the provision of the regulation that describes this clearance. This action aligns the regulation with current air traffic control practice and responds to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Safety Recommendation Numbers A-00- 67 and -68.

This action amends Class E airspace at Decatur, IL. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Decatur Airport. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport. The geographic coordinates of the airport are also adjusted.

This action amends Class E Airspace in the Tullahoma, TN area, as the Arnold Air Force Base has been closed and controlled airspace associated with the airport is being removed. Airspace reconfiguration is necessary for the continued safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations within the Tullahoma, TN airspace area. This action also makes a minor adjustment to the geographic coordinates of the Tullahoma Regional Airport/Wm Northern Field.

This action amends Class D and E airspace at Martin State Airport, Baltimore, MD. The geographic coordinates of the Baltimore VORTAC are being adjusted to coincide with the FAA's aeronautical database, which show the correct coordinates. This does not affect the boundaries or operating requirements of the airspace.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A319-111, -112, and -132 airplanes; Model A320-111, -211, -212, -214 and -232 airplanes; and Model A321-111, -211, -212, and -231 airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports that corrosion was found on the overwing refueling aperture on the top wing skin, and that for certain airplanes, repairs made using primer coating may prevent proper electrical bonding provision between the overwing refueling cap adaptor and the wing skin. This AD requires performing an electrical bonding test between the gravity fill re-fuel adaptor and the top skin panels on the left-hand and right-hand wings, and if necessary performing a general visual inspection for corrosion of the component interface and adjacent area, and repairing the gravity fuel adaptor if any corrosion is found. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct corrosion and improper bonding, which in combination with a lightning strike in this area, could create a source of ignition in a fuel tank, resulting in a fire or explosion, and consequent loss of the airplane.

The FAA publishes a monthly notice, as appropriate, of PFC approvals and disapprovals under the provisions of the Aviation Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of 1990 (Title IX of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990) (Pub. L. 101-508) and Part 158 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR Part 158). This notice is published pursuant to paragraph d of Sec. 158.29.

On December 16, 2011, the FAA published a notice of an interim policy, instructing aircraft owners and operators on how they can limit the FAA's dissemination of their aircraft data via the FAA's ASDI program. The notice indicated that the FAA would later propose specific procedures by which aircraft owners and operators can in the future express their preference on the FAA's release of their aircraft data to the public via ASDI. This document is the FAA's proposal and the FAA's invitation to the public to comment on any aspect of it. Until the FAA publishes a document that sets forth the FAA's final decision on the ASDI blocking process, the FAA will continue to operate under the interim policy that the FAA described in the notice published in December 2011.

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. The information collected on the FAA Form 8120-11 is used by those who wish to report suspected unapproved parts to the FAA for review. The information is used to determine if an unapproved, part investigation is warranted.