64504 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 214 / Friday, November 5, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

307.104, entitled ‘‘Treatment of 

Individuals Serving Under VRAs.’’ This 

new section explains the relationship 

between those serving under VRAs and 

the competitive service, as well as the 

conditions under which these 

individuals may be promoted or moved 

to other positions. This section also 

provides that an individual who 

receives a VRA and has less than 15 

years of education must receive training 

or education prescribed by the agency. 

Appeal Rights 

OPM has not made any substantive 

revisions to this part. To enhance the 

readability of the regulations, however, 

OPM has amended this section to refer 

readers to the appropriate sections of 

this chapter pertaining to appeal rights. 

OPM believes that this revised 

organization of the regulations makes 

the information clearer and more 

understandable. OPM will consider 

comments on these aspects of this 

proposal, as indicated above. 

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Review 

This rule has been reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget in 

accordance with Executive Order 12866. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

I certify that this regulation will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

because it would apply only to Federal 

agencies and employees.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 307

Government employees, Veterans.

Kay Coles James, 

Director, Office of Personnel Management.

Accordingly, OPM proposes to revise 

5 CFR part 307 as follows:

PART 307—VETERANS RECRUITMENT 

APPOINTMENTS

Sec. 

307.101 Purpose. 

307.102 Definitions. 

307.103 Nature of VRAs. 

307.104 Treatment of individuals serving 

under VRAs. 

307.105 Appeal rights.

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 3301, 3302; E.O. 11521, 

3 CFR, 1970 Comp., p. 912; 38 U.S.C. 4214.

§ 307.101 Purpose. 

This part implements 38 U.S.C. 4214 

and Executive Order 11521, which 

authorize agencies to appoint qualified 

covered veterans to positions in the 

competitive service under Veterans 

Recruitment Appointments (VRAs) 

without regard to the competitive 

examining system.

§ 307.102 Definitions. 

For purposes of this part—

Agency, as defined in 38 U.S.C. 

4211(5), means any agency of the 

Federal Government or the District of 

Columbia, including any Executive 

agency as defined in section 105 of title 

5, and the United States Postal Service 

and Postal Rate Commission. 

Covered veteran, as defined in 38 

U.S.C. 4212(a)(3), means any of the 

following: 

(1) Disabled veterans; 

(2) Veterans who served on active 

duty in the Armed Forces during a war 

or in a campaign or expedition for 

which a campaign badge has been 

authorized; 

(3) Veterans who, while serving on 

active duty with the Armed Forces, 

participated in a United States military 

operation for which an Armed Forces 

Service Medal was awarded pursuant to 

Executive Order 12985 (61 FR 1209); 

and 

(4) Recently separated veterans. 

Disabled veteran, as defined in 38 

U.S.C. 4211, means: 

(1) A veteran who is entitled to 

compensation (or who, but for the 

receipt of military retired pay, would be 

entitled to compensation) under laws 

administered by the Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs; or 

(2) A person who was discharged or 

released from active duty because of a 

service-connected disability. 

Qualified, as defined in 38 U.S.C. 

4212(a)(3), with respect to employment 

in a position, means having the ability 

to perform the essential functions of the 

position with or without reasonable 

accommodation for an individual with a 

disability. 

Recently separated veteran, as defined 

in 38 U.S.C. 4211(6), means any veteran 

during the three-year period beginning 

on the date of such veteran’s discharge 

or release from active duty. 

Substantially continuous service is 

defined in 5 CFR 315.201(b)(3).

§ 307.103 Nature of VRAs. 

VRAs are excepted appointments, 

made without competition, to positions 

otherwise in the competitive service. 

The veterans’ preference procedures of 

part 302 of this chapter apply when 

there are preference eligible candidates 

being considered for a VRA. Qualified 

covered veterans who were separated 

under honorable conditions may be 

appointed to any position in the 

competitive service for which the 

individual is qualified, at grade levels 

up to and including GS–11 or 

equivalent. For purposes of a VRA, any 

military service is qualifying at the GS–

3 level or equivalent. Upon satisfactory 

completion of 2 years of substantially 

continuous service, the incumbent’s 

VRA must be converted to a career or 

career conditional appointment.

§ 307.104 Treatment of individuals serving 

under VRAs. 

(a) Because VRAs are made to 

positions otherwise in the competitive 

service, the incumbents, like 

competitive service employees, may be 

reassigned, promoted, demoted, or 

transferred in accordance with the 

provisions of part 335 of this chapter. 

(b) A veteran with less than 15 years 

of education must receive training or 

education prescribed by the agency. 

(c) Appointments are subject to 

investigation by OPM. A law, Executive 

order, or regulation that disqualifies a 

person for appointment in the 

competitive service also disqualifies a 

person for a VRA.

§ 307.105 Appeal rights. 

Individuals serving under VRAs have 

the same appeal rights as excepted 

service employees under parts 432 and 

752 of this chapter. In addition, as 

established in section 315.806, any 

individual serving under a VRA, whose 

employment under the appointment is 

terminated within 1 year after the date 

of such appointment, has the same right 

to appeal that termination as a career or 

career-conditional employee has during 

the first year of employment.

[FR Doc. 04–24779 Filed 11–3–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–38–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA–2004–19542; Directorate 

Identifier 2003–NM–282–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Model 

A300 B4–622R and A300 F4–622R 

Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a 

new airworthiness directive (AD) for 

certain Airbus Model A300 B4–622R 

and A300 F4–622R airplanes. This 

proposed AD would require doing a 

one-time inspection to determine if 

lower guide fittings for the forward 

doors are installed in the correct 

positions, and corrective action if 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 214 / Friday, November 5, 2004 / Proposed Rules 64505

necessary. This proposed AD is 

prompted by reports that lower guide 

fittings for the forward doors were 

found installed in the wrong positions 

at frames 14 and 16A. We are proposing 

this AD to prevent difficulty opening 

the forward doors, which could impede 

an emergency evacuation and result in 

injury to passengers or crewmembers.

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by December 6, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Use one of the following 

addresses to submit comments on this 

proposed AD. 

• DOT Docket Web Site: Go to

http://dms.dot.gov and follow the 

instructions for sending your comments 

electronically. 

• Government-wide Rulemaking Web 

Site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov

and follow the instructions for sending 

your comments electronically. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 

room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590. 

• By Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• Hand Delivery: Room PL–401 on 

the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 

400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

For service information identified in 

this proposed AD, contact Airbus, 1 

Rond Point Maurice Bellonte, 31707 

Blagnac Cedex, France. 

You can examine the contents of this 

AD docket on the Internet at http://

dms.dot.gov, or in person at the Docket 

Management Facility, U.S. Department 

of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, 

SW., room PL–401, on the plaza level of 

the Nassif Building, Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Technical Information: Dan Rodina, 

Aerospace Engineer, International 

Branch, ANM–116, FAA, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind 

Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 

98055–4056; telephone (425) 227–2125; 

fax (425) 227–1149. 

Plain Language Information: Marcia 

Walters, marcia.walters@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Docket Management System (DMS) 

The FAA has implemented new 

procedures for maintaining AD dockets 

electronically. As of May 17, 2004, new 

AD actions are posted on DMS and 

assigned a docket number. We track 

each action and assign a corresponding 

directorate identifier. The DMS AD 

docket number is in the form ‘‘Docket 

No. FAA–2004–99999.’’ The Transport 

Airplane Directorate identifier is in the 

form ‘‘Directorate Identifier 2004–NM–

999–AD.’’ Each DMS AD docket also 

lists the directorate identifier (‘‘Old 

Docket Number’’) as a cross-reference 

for searching purposes. 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to submit any relevant 

written data, views, or arguments 

regarding this proposed AD. Send your 

comments to an address listed under 

ADDRESSES. Include ‘‘Docket No. FAA–

2004–19542; Directorate Identifier 

2003–NM–282–AD’’ at the beginning of 

your comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of the proposed AD. We will 

consider all comments submitted by the 

closing date and may amend the 

proposed AD in light of those 

comments. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http://

dms.dot.gov, including any personal 

information you provide. We will also 

post a report summarizing each 

substantive verbal contact with FAA 

personnel concerning this proposed AD. 

Using the search function of our docket 

Web site, anyone can find and read the 

comments in any of our dockets, 

including the name of the individual 

who sent the comment (or signed the 

comment on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You can 

review the DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register

published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 

19477–78), or you can visit http://

dms.dot.gov.

We are reviewing the writing style we 

currently use in regulatory documents. 

We are interested in your comments on 

whether the style of this document is 

clear, and your suggestions to improve 

the clarity of our communications that 

affect you. You can get more 

information about plain language at 

http://www.faa.gov/language and http://

www.plainlanguage.gov.

Examining the Docket 

You can examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov, or in 

person at the Docket Management 

Facility office between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. The Docket 

Management Facility office (telephone 

(800) 647–5227) is located on the plaza 

level of the Nassif Building at the DOT 

street address stated in the ADDRESSES

section. Comments will be available in 

the AD docket shortly after the DMS 

receives them. 

Discussion 

The Direction Ge ́ne ́rale de l’Aviation 

Civile (DGAC), which is the 

airworthiness authority for France, 

notified us that an unsafe condition may 

exist on certain Airbus Model A300 B4–

622R and A300 F4–622R airplanes. The 

DGAC advises that, during the delivery 

process of an airplane, lower guide 

fittings for the forward doors were 

found installed in the wrong positions 

at frames 14 and 16A. Inspections on 

the production line revealed that other 

airplanes may also have lower guide 

fittings for the forward doors installed 

in the wrong positions. This condition, 

if not corrected, could cause difficulty 

opening the forward doors, which could 

impede an emergency evacuation and 

result in injury to passengers or 

crewmembers. 

Relevant Service Information 

Airbus has issued Service Bulletin 

A300–53–6140, Revision 01, dated 

November 24, 2003. The service bulletin 

describes procedures for a detailed 

visual inspection to determine if lower 

guide fittings for the forward doors are 

installed in the correct positions, based 

on which part number is installed in 

which location. Corrective action, if any 

lower guide fitting is installed in the 

wrong position, includes re-installing 

the lower guide fitting in the correct 

position, or replacing the lower guide 

fitting with a new, improved guide 

fitting, as applicable. Accomplishing the 

actions specified in the service 

information is intended to adequately 

address the unsafe condition. The 

DGAC mandated the service information 

and issued French airworthiness 

directive 2003–292(B), dated August 6, 

2003, to ensure the continued 

airworthiness of these airplanes in 

France. 

FAA’s Determination and Requirements 

of the Proposed AD 

These airplane models are 

manufactured in France and are type 

certificated for operation in the United 

States under the provisions of section 

21.29 of the Federal Aviation 

Regulations (14 CFR 21.29) and the 

applicable bilateral airworthiness 

agreement. According to this bilateral 

airworthiness agreement, the DGAC has 

kept us informed of the situation 

described above. We have examined the 

DGAC’s findings, evaluated all pertinent 

information, and determined that we 

need to issue an AD for products of this 

type design that are certificated for 

operation in the United States. 

Therefore, we are proposing this AD, 

which would require accomplishing the 

actions specified in the service 

information described previously, 

except as discussed under ‘‘Difference 

Between the Proposed AD and Service 

Information.’’

64506 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 214 / Friday, November 5, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

Difference Between the Proposed AD 

and Service Information 

The Accomplishment Instructions of 

the referenced service bulletin describe 

procedures for reporting inspection 

findings to the manufacturer. This 

proposed AD would not require this. 

Clarification of Inspection Terminology 

In this proposed AD, the ‘‘detailed 

visual inspection’’ specified in the 

Airbus service bulletin is referred to as 

a ‘‘detailed inspection.’’ We have 

included the definition for a detailed 

inspection in a note in this proposed 

AD. 

Costs of Compliance 

This proposed AD would affect about 

25 airplanes of U.S. registry. The 

proposed actions would take about 2 

work hours per airplane, at an average 

labor rate of $65 per work hour. Based 

on these figures, the estimated cost of 

the proposed AD for U.S. operators is 

$3,250, or $130 per airplane. 

Regulatory Findings 

We have determined that this 

proposed AD would not have federalism 

implications under Executive Order 

13132. This proposed AD would not 

have a substantial direct effect on the 

States, on the relationship between the 

national Government and the States, or 

on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. 

For the reasons discussed above, I 

certify that the proposed regulation: 

1. Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ under Executive Order 12866; 

2. Is not a ‘‘significant rule’’ under the 

DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures 

(44 FR 11034, February 26, 1979); and 

3. Will not have a significant 

economic impact, positive or negative, 

on a substantial number of small entities 

under the criteria of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. 

We prepared a regulatory evaluation 

of the estimated costs to comply with 

this proposed AD. See the ADDRESSES

section for a location to examine the 

regulatory evaluation.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 39

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation 

safety, Safety.

The Proposed Amendment 

Accordingly, under the authority 

delegated to me by the Administrator, 

the FAA proposes to amend 14 CFR part 

39 as follows:

PART 39—AIRWORTHINESS 

DIRECTIVES 

1. The authority citation for part 39 

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701.

§ 39.13 [Amended] 

2. The FAA amends § 39.13 by adding 

the following new airworthiness 

directive (AD):

Airbus: Docket No. FAA–2004–19542; 

Directorate Identifier 2003–NM–282–AD. 

Comments Due Date 

(a) The Federal Aviation Administration 

must receive comments on this AD action by 

December 6, 2004. 

Affected ADs 

(b) None. 

Applicability: (c) This AD applies to Airbus 

Model A300 B4–622R airplanes, serial 

numbers 0797 and 0836; and Model A300 

F4–622R airplanes, serial numbers 0805 

through 0828 inclusive; certificated in any 

category. 

Unsafe Condition 

(d) This AD was prompted by reports that 

lower guide fittings for the forward doors 

were found installed in the wrong positions 

at frames 14 and 16A. We are issuing this AD 

to prevent difficulty opening the forward 

doors, which could impede an emergency 

evacuation and result in injury to passengers 

or crewmembers. 

Compliance: (e) You are responsible for 

having the actions required by this AD 

performed within the compliance times 

specified, unless the actions have already 

been done. 

Inspection and Corrective Action 

(f) Within 600 flight hours after the 

effective date of this AD, do a one-time 

detailed inspection to determine if lower 

guide fittings for the forward doors are 

installed in the correct positions, in 

accordance with the Accomplishment 

Instructions of Airbus Service Bulletin A300–

53–6140, Revision 01, dated November 24, 

2003. 

(1) If the lower guide fittings are installed 

in the correct positions: No further action is 

required by this AD. 

(2) If any lower guide fitting is not installed 

in the correct position: Before further flight, 

re-install the lower guide fitting in the correct 

position, or replace the lower guide fitting 

with a new, improved guide fitting, as 

applicable, in accordance with the service 

bulletin. 

Note 1: For the purposes of this AD, a 

detailed inspection is: ‘‘An intensive 

examination of a specific item, installation, 

or assembly to detect damage, failure, or 

irregularity. Available lighting is normally 

supplemented with a direct source of good 

lighting at an intensity deemed appropriate. 

Inspection aids such as mirror, magnifying 

lenses, etc., may be necessary. Surface 

cleaning and elaborate procedures may be 

required.’’

Actions Accomplished in Accordance With 

Previous Issue of Service Bulletin 

(g) Inspections and corrective actions 

accomplished before the effective date of this 

AD in accordance with Airbus Service 

Bulletin A300–53–6140, dated June 12, 2003, 

are considered acceptable for compliance 

with the corresponding action specified in 

this AD. 

No Reporting Requirement 

(h) The Accomplishment Instructions of 

Airbus Service Bulletin A300–53–6140, 

Revision 01, dated November 24, 2003, 

describe procedures for reporting inspection 

findings to the manufacturer. This AD does 

not require this. 

Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(i) The Manager, International Branch, 

ANM–116, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

FAA, has the authority to approve AMOCs 

for this AD, if requested in accordance with 

the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. 

Related Information 

(j) French airworthiness directive 2003–

292(B), dated August 6, 2003, also addresses 

the subject of this AD.

Issued in Renton, Washington, on October 

27, 2004. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 04–24731 Filed 11–4–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. FAA–2004–19530; Directorate 

Identifier 2002–NM–274–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Boeing 

Model 727 Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to 

supersede an existing airworthiness 

directive (AD) for certain Boeing Model 

727 series airplanes. That AD currently 

requires repetitive detailed inspections 

to detect cracking, corrosion, and 

existing stop-drilled repairs of cracking 

in the upper chord of the rear spar of the 

wing, and repair if necessary. This 

proposed AD would require new 

repetitive inspections to detect cracks, 

corrosion, minor surface defects, and 

existing stop-drilled repairs of cracks in 

the upper and lower chords of the front 

and rear spars of the wing; and repair if