Federal Aviation Administration January 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, the FAA's exemption process. 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.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, the FAA's exemption process. 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.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, the FAA's exemption process. 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.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, the FAA's exemption process. 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.

This action requires applicants to apply for a student pilot certificate through a Flight Standards District Office, designated pilot examiner, airman certification representative associated with a pilot school, or certified flight instructor. Aviation Medical Examiners will no longer issue a combination medical certificate and student pilot certificate. Student pilot certificates will be issued on the same medium as other pilot certificates and will have no expiration date. All student pilot certificates issued before the effective date of this final rule will expire according to their terms unless they are replaced by another pilot certificate. This final rule responds to section 4012 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act and facilitates security vetting by the Transportation Security Administration of student pilot applicants prior to certificate issuance. This action withdraws the proposal for pilot certificates to include a photograph of the individual pilot. Section 321 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 supersedes section 4022 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, which provided the basis for the proposed rule. The FAA intends to publish in the future a proposed rule that would implement section 321. Additionally, this action withdraws the proposal to implement fees for pilot certificates.

We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2008-05- 06, which applies to certain The Boeing Company Model 737-100, -200, - 300, -400, and -500 series airplanes. AD 2008-05-06 currently requires repetitive inspections for fatigue cracking in the longitudinal floor beam web, upper chord, and lower chord located at certain body stations, and repair if necessary. Since we issued AD 2008-05-06, we have determined that certain repairs and preventive modifications of certain longitudinal floor beam webs inadvertently omitted installation of tapered fillers. Omission of the tapered fillers creates a preload condition that may promote undetected fatigue cracking and subsequent failure of certain longitudinal floor beams. For certain airplanes, this proposed AD would require an inspection to determine if tapered fillers are installed, and related investigative and corrective actions if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of the upper and lower chords and web of the longitudinal floor beams, which could result in rapid loss of cabin pressure.

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 a currently approved information collection. To determine regulatory compliance, there is a need for airmen to maintain records of certain training and recency of experience; a training center has to maintain records of student's training, employee qualification and training, and training program approvals.

A Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, open a public scoping period, and hold a public scoping meeting for the proposed Spaceport Camden was published in the Federal Register by the Federal Aviation Administration on November 6, 2015. The comment period for the Draft EIS was to end on January 4, 2016 (more than 45 days after publication of the Notice of Intent in the Federal Register). This notice extends the comment period to January 18, 2016 to allow the public additional time to provide scoping comments.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of twenty five meeting of RTCA Special Committee 214 to be held jointly with EUROCAE WG-78: Standards for Air Traffic Data Communication Services.

This action amends and expands a prohibition against certain flights in the territory and airspace of Somalia that applies to all United States (U.S.) air carriers; U.S. commercial operators; persons exercising the privileges of a U.S. airman certificate, except when such persons are operating a U.S.-registered aircraft for a foreign air carrier; and operators of U.S.-registered civil aircraft, except when such operators are foreign air carriers. The prohibition is expanded by raising the minimum Flight Level (FL) for flight operations by such persons from FL200 to FL260. The FAA is taking this action because it has determined that there is an unacceptable risk to U.S. civil aviation operating in the territory and airspace of Somalia at altitudes below FL260 resulting from terrorist and militant activity. The security situation in Somalia remains unstable. In response to this activity, the FAA published a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) on May 12, 2015, prohibiting U.S. civil flight operations in the territory and airspace of Somalia at altitudes below FL260. The prohibition contained in the May 12, 2015 NOTAM was continued in a subsequent NOTAM issued on November 25, 2015 that used a new accountability code for NOTAMs that announce FAA flight advisories or prohibitions for U.S. civil aviation operations in airspace for which the FAA is not the air navigation service provider. This amendment incorporates the flight prohibition set forth in the November 25, 2015 NOTAM into the rule; revises the approval process for proposed operations sponsored by other U.S. Government departments, agencies, and instrumentalities to align with the approval processes established for other recently published flight prohibition rules and clarifies the FAA's expectations regarding requests for approval; adds information about requests for exemption; reorganizes the placement of the rule within the General Operating and Flight Rules; and makes technical corrections to the regulatory text. This final rule will remain in effect for two years.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Park Service (NPS) are inviting interested persons to apply to fill two upcoming openings on the National Parks Overflights Advisory Group (NPOAG) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). The upcoming openings will represent commercial air tour operator and environmental interests, respectively. The selected members will serve 3-year terms.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Sikorsky) Model S-76A, S-76B, and S-76C helicopters. This AD requires inspecting the main gearbox (MGB) lower housing jet bores for leaks, paint or caulk blistering, and liner protrusion. This AD was prompted by several reports of MGB low oil pressure warnings which were determined to be the result of unsecured jet bore liners that had protruded. The actions are intended to prevent failure of the MGB from loss of oil, which could result in subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of the Thirty-Eighth RTCA Special Committee 224 meeting.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of the Twenty-Fifth RTCA Special Committee 214 meeting.

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 reported voluntarily by manufacturers, repair stations, aircraft owner/ operators, air carriers, and the general public who wish to report suspected unapproved parts to the FAA for review. The report information is collected and correlated by the FAA, Aviation Safety Hotline Program Office, and used to determine if an unapproved part investigation is warranted.

The FAA is correcting a final rule published on July 15, 2013. In that rule, the FAA amended its regulations to create new certification and qualification requirements for pilots in air carrier operations. The FAA unintentionally required without notice and comment that if a certificate holder conducting part 135 operations who has voluntarily chosen and been authorized to comply with the part 121 training and qualification requirements, a pilot serving as a second in command in part 135 for that certificate holder is required to have an airline transport pilot certificate and an aircraft type rating. This document corrects those errors and makes several additional miscellaneous corrections to part 61 and a cross-reference error in part 121.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Technify Motors GmbH (type certificate previously held by Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH) TAE 125-02-99 and TAE 125-02-114 reciprocating engines. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of in- flight shutdowns (IFSDs) on TAE 125-02 engines. This proposed AD would require removal of affected fuel feed pumps. We are proposing this AD to prevent failure of the fuel feed pump, which could result in damage to the engine and damage to the airplane.

We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2011-17- 10 for all Fokker Services B.V. Model F.28 Mark 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 airplanes. AD 2011-17-10 currently requires inspecting for a by- pass wire between the housing of each in-tank fuel quantity indication (FQI) cable plug and the cable shield, and corrective actions if necessary. AD 2011-17-10 also requires revising the airplane maintenance program. Since we issued AD 2011-17-10, revised service information has been issued to update the critical design configuration control limitations (CDCCLs) that address potential ignition sources inside fuel tanks. This proposed AD would require revising the airplane maintenance or inspection program by incorporating the instructions in the revised service information. The proposed AD also removes certain airplanes from the applicability. We are proposing this AD to prevent potential ignition sources inside the fuel tanks, which, in combination with flammable fuel vapors, could result in fuel tank explosions and consequent loss of the airplane.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 767-200, -300, and -400ER series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by multiple reports of un- commanded escape slide inflation. This proposed AD would require modifying the regulator valves of the forward entry door, forward service door, aft entry door, and aft service door, and as applicable, modifying the regulator valves of the mid entry door and mid service door. We are proposing this AD to prevent out-of-tolerance trigger mechanism components (sector and sear) in the regulator valves, which can produce insufficient trigger engagement and reduced pull force values, possibly leading to un-commanded deployment of the slide during normal airplane maintenance or operation, and could result in injury to passengers and crew, damage to equipment, and the slide becoming unusable in an emergency evacuation.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier, Inc. Model CL-600-2B16 (CL-604 Variant) airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a determination that certain maintenance tasks for the horizontal stabilizer trim actuator (HSTA) are inadequate. This proposed AD would require revising the maintenance or inspection program, as applicable, to incorporate new airworthiness limitations for the HSTA. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct premature wear and cracking of the HSTA, which could result in failure of the HSTA and consequent loss of control of the airplane.