Federal Aviation Administration June 28, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on April 18, 2019. The collection involves Certificated Training Centers. Operators pay Certificated Training Centers to provide training to their employees, typically pilots, on different types of equipment if training is not done in house. The information to be collected is necessary because it allows aviation safety inspectors (operations) to review and to provide surveillance to training centers to ensure compliance with airman training, testing, and certification requirements specified in other parts of the regulations. If the information were not collected, inspectors would not be able to determine if airmen who are clients are being trained, checked or tested to meet the safety standards established in other parts of the regulations. To date, FAA inspectors have used the information collected to determine and assess regulatory compliance during routine program surveillance.

The FAA proposes to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2017-23-06, which applies to certain General Electric Company (GE) CF34-8C1, CF34-8C5, CF34-8C5A1, and CF34-8C5B1 engines. AD 2017-23-06 requires an inspection of the bleed air manifold link rod assemblies and the supply, return, and drain fuel fittings on the operability bleed valve (OBV). Since the FAA issued AD 2017-23-06, the manufacturer developed improved inspection techniques and determined these inspections should be applied to additional engine models. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections of the OBV fuel tubes, OBV bleed air manifold link rod assemblies, and the OBV fuel fittings and replacement of OBVs or related hardware that fail inspection. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Leonardo S.p.A. (Leonardo) Model AB139 and AW139 helicopters. This AD requires replacing screws installed on the left and right main landing gear (MLG) shock absorber assembly. This AD was prompted by a report that some screws may have been manufactured without meeting specifications. We are issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

Current regulations prohibit overland supersonic civil flights in the United States, but include a procedure to request authorization for these flights for the purposes of test and development of new aircraft. The criteria for such authorizations were developed in the 1970s and placed in an appendix to the operating regulations. With renewed interest in supersonic aircraft development, the FAA is proposing to modernize the procedure for requesting these special flight authorizations.