Federal Aviation Administration November 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This Notice provides information to Federal, State, and local agencies; Native American tribes; and other interested persons regarding the FAA's intent to prepare an EIS to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of issuing a Launch Site Operator License to the Camden County Board of Commissioners for a proposed commercial space launch site (``Spaceport Camden''). The Camden County Board of Commissioners proposes to construct and operate Spaceport Camden in an unincorporated area of Woodbine, in Camden County, Georgia. The FAA will prepare the EIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 United States Code 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations parts 1500-1508), and FAA Order 1050.1F, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, as part of its licensing process. Concurrent with the NEPA process, the FAA is initiating National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 Consultation to determine the potential effects of the Proposed Action on historic properties. The FAA is also consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act regarding potential impacts on federally-listed threatened and endangered species. Pursuant to the U.S. Department of Transportation Act of 1966, this EIS will comply with the requirements of Section 4(f) of the Act. Additional information is available online at: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/ environmental/nepa_docs/review/documents_progress/camden_spac eport/.

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or removes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures (ODPs) 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 rule establishes, amends, suspends, or removes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures (ODPs) 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.

The FAA assigned the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) a new task to provide recommendations regarding occupant protection rulemaking in normal and transport category rotorcraft for older certification basis type designs that are still in production. The FAA amended regulations to incorporate occupant protection rules, including those for emergency landing conditions and fuel system crash resistance, for new type designs in the 1980s and 1990s. These rule changes do not apply to newly manufactured rotorcraft with older type designs or to derivative type designs that keep the certification basis of the original type design. This approach has resulted in a very low incorporation rate of occupant protection features into the rotorcraft fleet, and fatal accidents remain unacceptably high. At the end of 2014, only 16% of U.S. fleet had complied with the crash resistant fuel system requirements effective 20 years earlier, and only 10% had complied with the emergency landing requirements effective 25 years earlier. A recent fatal accident study has shown these measures would have been effective in saving lives. This notice informs the public of the new ARAC activity and solicits membership for the new Rotorcraft Occupant Protection Working Group.

This action corrects an error in a final rule published in the Federal Register of October 19, 2015, by amending the magnetic bearing to a true bearing in the Class E surface area airspace description for Farmington Regional Airport, Farmington, MO.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 787-8 airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of missing plugs found prior to airplane delivery, during manufacturing inspections, at various locations in certain stringers of the lower lobe cargo compartments. This AD requires drilling a hole and installing and bonding plugs in certain stringers of the lower lobe cargo compartments. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct missing or misaligned plugs which, in the event of a fire, could cause an increased rate of loss of Halon in the lower cargo compartments, and result in the inability to extinguish a fire and consequent loss of control of the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Lockheed Martin Corporation/Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Model 188 series airplanes. This AD was prompted by an evaluation by the design approval holder (DAH) indicating that the circumferential fuselage splice at fuselage-station (FS) 695 is subject to widespread fatigue damage (WFD). This AD requires an inspection for corrosion and previous repairs, severed stringers, cracking, and loose or distressed fasteners of the forward and aft ends of the stringer splices of certain stringers, inspection for cracking and modification of certain fastener holes common to the stringer and splice member at the forward and aft ends of the splice, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. We are issuing this AD to prevent loss of residual strength of the circumferential fuselage splice at FS 695, which could lead to rapid decompression of the cabin and potential loss of the airplane.

This action proposes special conditions for the Kestrel Aircraft Company, Model K-350 Turboprop airplane. This airplane will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with the installation of a rechargeable lithium battery. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These proposed 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 Embraer Model EMB-545 and EMB-550 airplanes. These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with a seat configuration of side-facing seats positioned forward of aft-facing seats, and with a structural armrest between the side-facing and aft-facing seats. 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.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A330-200, -200 Freighter, and -300 series airplanes; and Model A340-200 and -300 series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports that cracks were found on an adjacent hole of certain frames of the center wing box (CWB). This proposed AD would require removing fasteners, a rototest inspection of fastener holes, installing new fasteners; and if necessary, oversizing the holes and doing rototest inspections for cracks, and repairing any cracking that is found. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracking on certain holes of certain frames of the CWB, which could affect the structural integrity of the airplane.