Compliance Regulations and Guidance Affecting your Industry

The White House has announced plans for an ambitious regulatory reform across federal departments and agencies. This is the final regulatory reform plan of the Department of Transportation.

In 2009, a Colgan Air turboprop plane crashed near Buffalo, New York. Investigators looking into the crash pinpointed pilot fatigue as cause of the accident in which 50 people were killed.

The incident forced the FAA to finally propose legislation regarding pilot rest times and fatigue – regulation that hadn’t been revised in decades despite the growth of the commercial and cargo airline industry. Fatigue experts, pilot unions, airlines and sleep researchers were consulted in creating the proposed rule. The rules would have given pilots longer rest periods between shifts and reduce the maximum hours they can fly under conditions deemed fatiguing.

The proposed rule was based on the latest scientific understanding of how fatigue slows human reflexes and erodes judgment.

14 CFR Part 29 contains airworthiness standards for rotorcraft in the transport category. Rotorcraft with more than 20,000 lb Maximum Takeoff Weight and 10 or more passengers must be certified to Category A standards.

Part 27 contains airworthiness standards for rotorcraft in the normal category. Rotorcraft up to 7,000 lb Maximum Takeoff Weight and 9 or fewer passengers are type certified in this Part.

This Airworthiness Standard covers transport category planes such as:

-    Jets with 10 or more seats or a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) greater than 12,500 pounds (5,670 kg); or
-    Propeller-driven airplanes with greater than 19 seats or a MTOW greater than 19,000 pounds (8,618 kg).

This Airworthiness Standard describes the standards required for the issuance and change of type certificate for airplanes in the normal, utility, aerobatic, and commuter categories.

This would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure authority of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, to amend title 49, United States Code, to extend airport improvement program project grant authority and to improve airline safety.

H.R. 6190, the “Airport and Airways Extension Act of 2010, Part III”, extends aviation programs, taxes, and expenditure authority for three additional months, through the end of the calendar year (December 31, 2010), pending completion of a multi-year Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill. Without this short-term extension, the FAA’s capital, research, and airport grant programs would shut down after September 30, 2010, and several thousand FAA employees would be furloughed.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 is signed by President Obama on October 11, 2010. The Act authorizes appropriations for FY2011-FY2013 for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and also authorizes programs, activities, and reports respecting NASA, including those with regard to the International Space Station (ISS), the Space Shuttle, commercial crew and cargo transportation, earth and space science, aeronautics and space technology, space traffic management, near-Earth object threats, space weather and national and international orbital debris mitigation. The Act will introduce an additional shuttle flight before the fleet retires, and would extend the life of the International Space Station through at least 2020. Also, the Act establishes a NASA launch support and infrastructure modernization program, a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) commercial orbital platform program, and an information security awareness and education program at NASA.

FAA and DOT propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above that would supersede an existing AD. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

The heating capability of several [angle of attack] AOA transducer heating elements removed from in-service aircraft has been found to be below the minimum requirement. Also, it was discovered that a large number of AOA transducers repaired in an approved maintenance facility FAA and DOT are not calibrated accurately.

Inaccurate calibration of the AOA transducer and/or degraded AOA transducer heating elements can result in early or late activation of the stall warning, stick shaker and stick pusher by the Stall Protection Computer (SPC).

Inaccurate calibration of the AOA transducers and/or degraded AOA transducer heating elements could result in an ineffective response to an aerodynamic stall and reduced controllability of the airplane. The proposed AD would require actions that are intended to address the unsafe condition described in the MCAI.

DATES: FAA and DOT must receive comments on this proposed AD by June 24, 2010.
 

FAA and DOT propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Model 737–200, –300, –400, and –500 series airplanes. This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections for cracking of certain fuselage frames and stub beams, and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD also provides for an optional repair, which would terminate the repetitive inspections. For airplanes on which a certain repair is done, this proposed AD would also require repetitive inspections for cracking of certain fuselage frames and stub beams, and corrective actions if necessary. This proposed AD results from reports of the detection of fatigue cracks at certain frame sections, in addition to stub beam cracking, caused by high flight cycle stresses from both pressurization and maneuver loads. FAA and DOT are proposing this AD to detect and correct fatigue cracking of certain fuselage frames and stub beams and possible severed frames, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the frames. This reduced structural integrity can increase loading in the fuselage skin, which will accelerate skin crack growth and could result in rapid decompression of the fuselage.

DATES: FAA and DOT must receive comments on this proposed AD by June 21, 2010.

 

This final rule amends FAA regulations by adding equipage requirements and performance standards for Automatic Dependent Surveillance—Broadcast (ADS–B) Out avionics on aircraft operating in Classes A, B, and C airspace, as well as certain other specified classes of airspace within the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS). ADS–B Out broadcasts information about an aircraft through an onboard transmitter to a ground receiver. Use of ADS–B Out will move air traffic control from a radar-based system to a satellite-derived aircraft location system. This action facilitates the use of ADS–B for aircraft surveillance by FAA and Department of Defense (DOD) air traffic controllers to safely and efficiently accommodate aircraft operations and the expected increase in demand for air transportation. This rule also provides aircraft operators with a platform for additional flight applications and services.

DATES: This final rule is effective on August 11, 2010.

 

This action will establish Class E airspace at Hailey, ID, to accommodate aircraft using the Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedure (SIAP) at Friedman Memorial Airport. This will improve the safety of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

Effective Date: 0901 UTC, June 3, 2010.

 

This action amends Class E airspace for Mapleton, IA, adding additional controlled airspace to accommodate Area Navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) at James G. Whiting Memorial Field Airport, Mapleton, IA. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) operations at the airport.

DATES: Effective date 0901 UTC, July 29, 2010.

 

We are superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. We are issuing this AD to require actions to correct the unsafe condition on these products.

DATES: This AD becomes effective June 8, 2010.

 

The FAA is superseding an existing airworthiness directive (AD) for CFM International, S.A. CFM56–5B series turbofan engines. That AD requires reviewing exhaust gas temperature (EGT) monitoring records to determine EGT margin deterioration, and for airplanes where both engines have greater than 80 °centigrade (C) of EGT margin deterioration, borescopeinspecting the high-pressure compressor (HPC) of both engines. That AD also requires removing from service any engine that does not pass the borescope inspection and, if both engines pass, replacing one of the engines with an engine that has 80 °C or less of EGT margin deterioration. That AD also requires continuous monitoring of EGT margin deterioration on engines in service to prevent two engines on an airplane from having greater than 80 °C of EGT margin deterioration. This AD:

• Reduces the number of engine models affected;
• Continues to monitor EGT margin deterioration;
• Lowers the EGT margin threshold from 80 °C to 75 °C;
• Removes FADEC software version 5.B.Q and earlier versions from the engine as mandatory terminating action to the continuous EGT margin deterioration monitoring, for certain engine models;
• Removes the requirement to borescope inspect; and
• Removes the requirement to replace one of the engines with an engine that has 80 °C or less deterioration of EGT margin as a corrective action.

This AD results from a reduction of the affected engine models listed in AD 2009–01–01 from 25 to 19, a reduction in the engine EGT margin deterioration threshold from 80 °C to 75 °C, the introduction of terminating action to the continuous EGT monitoring for certain engines, and a change to the removal plan for the remaining engines if the EGT margin deterioration is greater than 75 °C. We are issuing this AD to prevent HPC stalls, which could prevent continued safe flight or landing.

DATES: This AD becomes effective June 8, 2010. The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the regulations as of June 8, 2010.

 

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Perryville, MO. Additional controlled airspace is necessary to accommodate new Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) at Perryville Municipal Airport, Perryville, MO. The FAA is taking this action to enhance the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

DATES: 0901 UTC. Comments must be received on or before June 18, 2010.

 

This document corrects a typographical error that appeared in airworthiness directive (AD) 2002–23– 20 that was published in the Federal Register on November 29, 2002 (67 FR 71098). The typographical error resulted in an incorrect part number. This AD is applicable to Model FALCON 900EX and MYSTERE–FALCON 900 airplanes. This AD requires repetitive operational tests of the flap asymmetry detection system to verify proper functioning, and repair if necessary; repetitive replacement of the inboard flap jackscrews with new or reconditioned jackscrews; and repetitive measurement of the screw/nut play of the jackscrews on the inboard and outboard flaps to detect discrepancies, and corrective action if necessary. This AD also requires revision of the Airplane Flight Manual.

DATES: This correction is effective May 4, 2010.

 

This action proposes to amend Class E airspace at Southwest Washington Regional Airport, Kelso, WA, to accommodate aircraft using the new Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAP’s) at Southwest Washington Regional Airport. The FAA is proposing this action to enhance the safety and management of aircraft operations at the airport. This action will also change the airport name from Kelso-Longview Airport.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 3, 2010.