Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 46 / Tuesday, March 10, 2015 / Notices 12697 

3. Specified Data Elements 

We will conduct the match using the 

Social Security number, name, date of 

birth, and VA claim number on both the 

VA file and the Supplemental Security 

Record. 

4. Frequency of Matching 

VA will furnish us with an electronic 

file containing VA compensation and 

pension payment data monthly. The 

actual match will take place 

approximately during the first week of 

every month. 

E. Inclusive Dates of the Matching 

Program 

The effective date of this matching 

program is November 11, 2014 provided 

that the following notice periods have 

lapsed: 30 days after publication of this 

notice in the Federal Register and 40 

days after notice of the matching 

program is sent to Congress and the 

Office of Management and Budget. The 

matching program will continue for 18 

months from the effective date and, if 

both agencies meet certain conditions, it 

may extend for an additional 12 months 

thereafter. 

[FR Doc. 2015–05510 Filed 3–9–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice: 9058] 

Prepare for the One Hundred and 

Second Session of the International 

Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Legal 

Committee; Notice of Public Meeting 

The Department of State will conduct 

an open meeting at 10:00 a.m. on 

Friday, April 3rd, 2015, in Room 2E16– 

06, United States Coast Guard 

Headquarters, 2703 Martin Luther King 

Jr. Ave SE., Washington, DC 20593– 

7213. The primary purpose of the 

meeting is to prepare for the one 

hundred and second Session of the 

International Maritime Organization’s 

(IMO) Legal Committee to be held at the 

IMO Headquarters, United Kingdom, 

April 14–April 16, 2015. 

The agenda items to be considered 

include: 

• Adoption of the agenda and report 

on delegation credentials 

• HNS Protocol, 2010 

• Fair treatment of seafarers in the 

event of a maritime accident 

• Piracy 

• Technical cooperation activities 

related to maritime legislation 

• Review of the status of conventions 

and other treaty instruments emanating 

from the Legal Committee 

Members of the public may attend 

this meeting up to the seating capacity 

of the room. To facilitate the building 

security process, and to request 

reasonable accommodation, those who 

plan to attend should contact the 

meeting coordinator, Ms. Bronwyn 

Douglass, by email at 

bronwyn.douglass@uscg.mil, by phone 

at 202.372.3793, or in writing at 

Commandant (CG–094), ATTN: Office of 

Maritime & International Law, US Coast 

Guard STOP 7213, 2703 Martin Luther 

King Jr. Ave SE., Washington DC 20593– 

7213 not later than March 27, 2015, 7 

days prior to the meeting. Requests 

made after March 27, 2015 most likely 

will not be accommodated, and same 

day requests cannot be accommodated 

due to the building’s security process. 

Please note that due to security 

considerations, two valid, government 

issued photo identifications must be 

presented to gain entrance to the 

Headquarters building. The 

Headquarters building is accessible by 

taxi and privately owned conveyance 

(public transportation is not generally 

available). However, parking in the 

vicinity of the building is extremely 

limited. Additional information 

regarding security and parking may be 

found at: http://www.uscg.mil/

baseNCR/documents/visit_

instructions.pdf. Additional information 

regarding this and other IMO public 

meetings may be found at: 

www.uscg.mil/imo. 

Dated: February 26, 2015. 

Marc Zlomek, 

U.S. Coast Guard Detailee, Office of Ocean 

and Polar Affairs, Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2015–05241 Filed 3–9–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–09–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Emergency Locator Transmitters 

(ELTs) 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice recommending voluntary 

change to securing existing ELTs as 

specified in Technical Standard Order 

(TSO)-C126b, 406MHz Emergency 

Locator Transmitter. 

SUMMARY: FAA evaluated five separate 

courses of action with regard to the 

airworthiness approvals for securing 

ELTs with hook and loop fasteners. This 

notice summarizes the inadequacies of 

hook and loop fasteners as a means for 

securing ELTs, and avoids placing an 

undue burden on aircraft owners while 

acknowledging the voluntary efforts of 

ELT manufacturers to improve designs. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 9, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Charisse R. Green, AIR–131, Federal 

Aviation Administration, 470 L’Enfant 

Plaza, Suite 4102, Washington, DC 

20024. Telephone (202) 267–8551, fax 

(202) 267–8589, email to: 

Charisse.Green@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Investigations of some recent aircraft 

accidents disclosed that ELTs mounted 

with hook and loop fasteners became 

dislodged from their mounting trays on 

impact. The separation of those ELTs 

from their mounting trays caused their 

antenna connection to sever, thus 

rendering the ELTs to be ineffective and 

unable to perform their intended 

function. 

The FAA Modernization and Reform 

Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112–95), Section 

347(b)(1), required the FAA to 

determine if the ELT mounting 

requirements and retention tests 

specified by TSO–C91a and TSO–C126 

were adequate to assess retention 

capabilities in ELT designs. Based on 

the determination, the Act, in Section 

347(b)(2), required the Administrator to 

make any necessary revisions to the 

requirements and retention test to 

ensure ELTs remained properly retained 

in the event of an aircraft accident. 

The FAA evaluated the mounting 

requirements and retention tests 

specified in TSO–C91a, TSO–C126, and 

TSO–C126a. After this evaluation, the 

FAA determined these standards did 

not adequately address the use of hook 

and loop fasteners. Hook and loop 

fasteners were not an acceptable means 

of compliance to meet the mounting and 

retention requirements of the ELT TSOs. 

While the evaluation of installation 

approval using hook and loop fasteners 

may meet the TSO requirements for 

retention forces in laboratory 

conditions, accident investigations 

found these fasteners did not perform 

their intended function. 

FAA Concerns 

The agency identified the following 

concerns after completing its evaluation 

of the use of hook and loop fasteners: 

(1) Hook and loop fasteners fail to 

retain the ELT when insufficient tension 

is applied to close the fastener. There is 

no repeatable method for installation 

and no method to evaluate the tension 

of the hook and loop fastener. The 

allowance for pilots to secure ELTs to 

the aircraft when changing ELT batteries 

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12698 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 46 / Tuesday, March 10, 2015 / Notices 

further increases the potential for 

inconsistent and unsatisfactory 

installations; 

(2) Hook and loop fasteners closed 

with proper tension may stretch or 

loosen over time due to wear, fluids, 

vibration, and repeated use, leading to 

insufficient tension to retain the ELT; 

(3) Hook and loop fasteners closed 

with proper tension do not provide 

stated retention capability due to debris 

which can contaminate the hooks and 

loops of the fastener; and 

(4) Hook and loop fasteners closed 

with proper tension degrade due to 

environmental factors such as repeated 

heating and cooling cycles, temperature 

extremes, and contamination resulting 

from location in equipment areas. 

FAA Actions 

After publishing our initial intent to 

withdraw the TSO Authorizations 

(TSOA) for TSO–C91a, and TSO–C126/ 

126a (See 135 FR 41,473 (2012)), the 

FAA considered five courses of action to 

mitigate safety concerns with the use of 

hook and loop fasteners to retain ELTs. 

These actions addressed design, 

production, and airworthiness 

approvals for both the TSO and retrofit 

for existing installations. Below is a 

summary of the actions and their 

outcomes: 

(1) Recommendation to revise 

Installation and Maintenance manuals. 

The FAA published a Safety Awareness 

Information Bulletin (SAIB) HQ–12–32, 

Hook and Loop Style Fasteners as a 

Mounting Mechanism for Emergency 

Locator Transmitters, on May 23, 2012. 

The SAIB outlined actions ELT 

manufacturers could take to improve 

their installation and maintenance 

instructions to mitigate the concerns 

with hook and loop retention. 

(2) Revised TSO–C126a for 406 MHz 

ELTs. The FAA published TSO–C126b, 

406 MHz Emergency Locator 

Transmitters, on November 26, 2012. 

The TSO precluded the use of hook and 

loop fasteners as a primary means of 

securing an ELT in its mounting tray for 

future ELT designs. TSO–C91a was 

previously cancelled, and a revision was 

not needed. 

(3) Determined need for an 

Airworthiness Directive to correct ELTs 

with hook and loop fasteners. The FAA 

accomplished a Corrective Action 

Review Board (CARB) to determine if 

existing airworthiness approvals and 

existing Technical Standard Order 

authorizations required 14 CFR part 39 

Airworthiness Directive (AD) action. 

The CARB determined an AD was not 

warranted. 

(4) Cease airworthiness approval of 

ELTs with hook and loop fasteners. Not 

necessary. Manufacturers with ELT 

designs incorporating hook and loop 

fasteners which failed to perform their 

intended function in accidents either 

have revised or are in the process of 

revising their designs, minimizing the 

need for policy in this area. 

(5) Withdrawal of ELT TSO 

Authorizations. Not pursued. 

Manufacturers with ELT designs 

incorporating hook and loop fasteners 

that failed to perform their intended 

function have either revised or are 

revising their designs, minimizing the 

need for this action. 

Conclusion 

The FAA issued an SAIB providing 

ELT installation and maintenance 

guidance and revised TSO–C126a to 

eliminate hook and loop fasteners from 

future TSO designs. The FAA is not 

issuing an airworthiness directive or a 

policy disallowing installation approval 

of ELTs that use hook and loop 

fasteners. Lastly, the FAA decided not 

to take the action of withdrawing the 

TSO authorizations of ELTs utilizing 

hook and loop fasteners as a mounting 

mechanism, but ask those aircraft 

owners/operators with ELTs secured 

with hook and loop fasteners in their 

aircraft to voluntarily switch to a metal 

strap type restraint method. Therefore, 

the proposed June 30, 2014 date for 

TSOA withdrawals is no longer 

applicable. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 4, 

2015. 

Susan J.M. Cabler, 

Acting Manager, Design, Manufacturing, and 

Airworthiness Division, Aircraft Certification 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–05500 Filed 3–9–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Underwater Locating Devices 

(Acoustic) (Self-Powered) 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration, FAA, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice to extend the revocation 

date of Technical Standard Order (TSO) 

C–121 and C–121a, Underwater 

Locating Devices (ULD) (Acoustic) (SelfPowered). 

SUMMARY: This Notice extends the 

planned revocation date of Technical 

Standard Order (TSO) authorization for 

the production of Underwater Locating 

Devices (ULD) (Acoustic) (Self-Powered) 

manufactured to TSO–C121 and TSO C– 

121a specifications. This action is 

necessary to facilitate an efficient 

transition to UDLs with a 90-day 

minimum battery operating life 

manufactured to the TSO–C121b 

specifications. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

John Barry, AIR–130, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 470 L’Enfant Plaza, 

SW., Suite 4102, Washington, DC 20024. 

Telephone 202–267–1665, Fax 202– 

267–8589, email: john.barry@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The FAA published a Notice in the 

Federal Resister, 76 FR 52734, August 

23, 2011, announcing the planned 

revocation of TSO–C121 and TSO– 

C121a. Notice of that conformation was 

published in the Federal Register, 77 FR 

13174, March 5, 2012. Thus far, only 

two manufacturers currently hold TSO 

authorizations (TSOAs) under TSO– 

C121 or TSO–C121a; both are domestic. 

Both manufacturers are now authorized 

to produce longer duration TSO–C121b 

units as envisioned by the March 5, 

2012 Federal Register notice. One 

manufacturer received its TSO–C121b 

authorization in December 2014, the 

other in February 2015. Although both 

manufacturers received approval to 

manufacture devices meeting the 

current standard, the TSOA by itself 

does not authorize installation in an 

aircraft. Recent events have driven 

additional testing requirements for 

installation of lithium batteries, which 

these devices contain. Prior to the 

FAA’s issuing the TSOAs to the two 

applicants, testing of the lithium 

batteries produced satisfactory results, 

such that the newly approved TSO– 

C121b devices will contain the effects of 

catastrophic battery failures. The ULD 

manufacturer’s data may be used to 

support installations of the device on an 

aircraft, but each installer must analyze 

their design for safety impacts on their 

aircraft. A major aircraft manufacturer 

requested additional time to complete 

testing and analysis of the TSO–C121b 

device’s installation. They also 

requested additional time to update 

their part numbers and drawings in 

their various Type Certificated (TC) 

aircraft once the analysis is complete. 

Granting this additional time will 

prevent a disruption in aircraft 

production as the necessary 

documentation changes are updated to 

reflect the current production of TSO– 

C121b devices. 

Conclusion 

Based on the recent award of TSO– 

C121b authorizations, additional testing 

and analysis of lithium battery 

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