Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 216 / Tuesday, November 8, 2011 / Proposed Rules 69171 

Credit for Actions Accomplished in 

Accordance With Previous Service 

Information 

(j) Installations accomplished before the 

effective date of this AD, according to the 

applicable service bulletins specified 

paragraphs (j)(1), (j)(2), and (j)(3) of this AD, 

are considered acceptable for compliance 

with the corresponding installations 

specified in this AD. 

(1) Airbus Service Bulletin A300–57–0249, 

dated May 22, 2007; or Airbus Service 

Bulletin A300–57–0249, Revision 01, dated 

December 19, 2007 (for Model A300 B4–2C, 

B4–103, and B4 203 airplanes); 

(2) Airbus Service Bulletin A300–57–6106, 

May 22, 2007; or Airbus Service Bulletin 

A300–57–6106, Revision 01, January 28, 

2008 (for Model A300–600 series airplanes); 

and 

(3) Airbus Service Bulletin A310–57–2090, 

dated May 22, 2007; or Airbus Service 

Bulletin A310–57–2090, Revision 01, dated 

December 19, 2007 (for Model A310 series 

airplanes). 

FAA AD Differences 

Note 1: This AD differs from the MCAI 

and/or service information as follows: No 

differences. 

Other FAA AD Provisions 

(k) The following provisions also apply to 

this AD: 

(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, International 

Branch, ANM–116, FAA, has the authority to 

approve AMOCs for this AD, if requested 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. 

In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, send your 

request to your principal inspector or local 

Flight Standards District Office, as 

appropriate. If sending information directly 

to the International Branch, send it to Attn: 

Dan Rodina, Aerospace Engineer, 

International Branch, ANM–116, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, FAA, 1601 Lind 

Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 98057– 

3356; telephone (425) 227–2125; fax (425) 

227–1149. Information may be emailed to: 

9-ANM-116-AMOC-REQUESTS@faa.gov. 

Before using any approved AMOC, notify 

your appropriate principal inspector, or 

lacking a principal inspector, the manager of 

the local flight standards district office/ 

certificate holding district office. The AMOC 

approval letter must specifically reference 

this AD. 

(2) Airworthy Product: For any requirement 

in this AD to obtain corrective actions from 

a manufacturer or other source, use these 

actions if they are FAA-approved. Corrective 

actions are considered FAA-approved if they 

are approved by the State of Design Authority 

(or their delegated agent). You are required 

to assure the product is airworthy before it 

is returned to service. 

Related Information 

(l) Refer to MCAI European Aviation Safety 

Agency Airworthiness Directive 2010–0251, 

dated November 29, 2010; Airbus Mandatory 

Service Bulletin A300–57–0249, Revision 02, 

dated June 18, 2010; Airbus Service Bulletin 

A300–57–6106, Revision 02, dated June 18, 

2010; and Airbus Mandatory Service Bulletin 

A310–57–2090, Revision 02, dated June 18, 

2010; for related information. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on October 

28, 2011. 

Ali Bahrami, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–28833 Filed 11–7–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 183 

[Docket No. FAA–2011–1149] 

Clarification of Policy Regarding 

Designated Aircraft Dispatcher 

Examiners 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comment. 

SUMMARY: This document announces the 

availability of a revised section of FAA 

Order 8900.1, regarding the 

qualification, authority, and limitations 

of Designated Aircraft Dispatcher 

Examiners (DADEs). This section 

provides guidance to FAA employees on 

the responsibilities, qualifications, and 

oversight of DADEs under 14 CFR part 

183. Under this proposed revision, the 

FAA is clarifying its policy regarding 

the qualifications, privileges, and 

limitations of these designees, in 

addition to establishing guidelines for 

DADEs when testing applicants for an 

Aircraft Dispatcher Certificate. Upon 

review of the comments and any 

necessary revision, this Order would 

cancel and replace FAA Order 8900.1, 

Volume 5, Chapter 5, Section 10, and 

Volume 13, Chapter 3, Sections 1–4, 

issued September 13, 2007. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before December 8, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2011–1149 

using any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the online instructions for sending your 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Send comments to Docket 

Operations, M–30; U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room W12–140, West 

Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 

20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Take 

comments to Docket Operations in 

Room W12–140 of the West Building 

Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: Fax comments to Docket 

Operations at (202) 493–2251. 

Privacy: The FAA will post all 

comments it receives, without change, 

to http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information the 

commenter provides. Using the search 

function of the docket web site, anyone 

can find and read the electronic form of 

all comments received into any FAA 

dockets, including the name of the 

individual sending the comment (or 

signing the comment for an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). DOT’s 

complete Privacy Act Statement can be 

found in the Federal Register published 

on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477–19478), 

as well as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov. 

Docket: Background documents or 

comments received may be read at 

http://www.regulations.gov at any time. 

Follow the online instructions for 

accessing the docket or Docket 

Operations in Room W12–140 of the 

West Building Ground Floor at 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

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

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Theodora Kessaris, Technical Programs 

Branch, Air Transportation Division, 

Flight Standards Service, Federal 

Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 

267–8166; facsimile: (202) 267–5229; 

email: Theodora.kessaris@faa.gov. 

Background 

FAA Order 8900.1, Flight Standards 

Information Management System, was 

issued on September 13, 2007. This 

order consolidated and replaced FAA 

Orders 8300.1, 8400.1, and 8700.1, the 

FAA’s guidance to inspectors. Included 

in FAA Order 8900.1 is guidance 

regarding FAA oversight of various 

designees authorized under 14 CFR part 

183. Designees are private persons that 

the FAA Administrator has designated 

to act as his representative in 

examining, inspecting and testing 

persons and aircraft for the purpose of 

issuing airman, operating and aircraft 

certificates. Included in the list of 

persons the Administrator may 

designate to perform these functions on 

his behalf are Designated Aircraft 

Dispatch Examiners (DADEs). Pursuant 

to 14 CFR 183.25(f), these designees 

may accept applications for and conduct 

written and practical tests for issuing 

aircraft dispatcher certificates under 

part 65. In some instances, DADEs may 

be authorized to issue temporary aircraft 

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69172 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 216 / Tuesday, November 8, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

1The three definitions of the term ‘‘governmental 

plan’’ are essentially the same. The only difference 

is that, in defining the term ‘‘governmental plan,’’ 

section 3(32) of ERISA uses the phrase ‘‘established 

or maintained,’’ whereas section 414(d) of the Code 

and section 4021(b) of ERISA use the term 

‘‘established and maintained.’’ 

dispatcher certificates to qualified 

applicants. 

The provisions in 14 CFR part 183 do 

not establish qualification requirements 

for DADEs. In October 2008, the FAA 

published guidance for inspectors that 

addressed DADE qualifications and the 

FAA’s oversight of DADEs. This 

guidance was not published for public 

comment. This proposed revision of the 

Order would clarify the 2008 guidance 

and include the following significant 

information: 

• A DADE will not test outside of the 

geographic limits of the Certificate 

Holding District Office (CHDO) without 

prior permission from the CHDO. 

This limitation is necessary to ensure 

proper oversight and monitoring of the 

administration of these tests by the 

appropriate FAA district office. 

• A DADE will not be an employee of 

a 14 CFR part 65 course operator. 

This limitation is necessary due to the 

potential for a conflict-of-interest which 

could occur based on the requirement 

under § 65.63(c)(1) for a course operator 

to maintain an 80% pass rate of its 

graduates, on the first testing attempt, as 

a condition for renewal of a course. The 

FAA is concerned that a DADE 

employed by such a course operator 

might not be objective when 

administering a test to an applicant who 

has graduated from the DADE’s 

employer or affiliate. 

• Time spent testing an applicant 

should be no more than 6 hours. 

This time period is based on the 

national average which was verified by 

Aviation Safety Inspectors with 

oversight responsibility of DADEs. This 

time period takes into account the 

extensive requirements of the Aircraft 

Dispatcher Practical Test Standards 

(PTS), and the ability of a candidate for 

an aircraft dispatcher certificate to 

demonstrate his or her ability to manage 

a typical aircraft dispatcher’s workload 

by completing each task in a timely 

manner. 

• A DADE will not test more than one 

applicant for an aircraft dispatcher 

certificate at a time. 

This limitation is intended to 

establish consistency with the FAA’s 

already established policy for initial 

pilot certification. 

• A DADE will not administer more 

than two Aircraft Dispatcher Practical 

Tests in a single day. 

This limitation takes in to account the 

testing of a single applicant at a time, 

and an overall test time of 

approximately 6 hours per applicant, 

not including the time it takes to 

complete the application paper work. 

This policy is also consistent with that 

which is applicable to pilot testing. 

While the FAA generally does not 

request comment on internal orders, the 

agency has established a docket for 

public comments regarding this 

guidance for inspectors in recognition of 

the interest of current DADEs and 

applicants for an aircraft dispatcher 

certificate under part 65. The agency 

will consider all comments received by 

December 8, 2011. Comments received 

after that date may be considered if 

consideration will not delay agency 

action on the review. A copy of the 

proposed order is available for review in 

the assigned docket for the Order at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 26, 

2011. 

John M. Allen, 

Director, Flight Standards Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–28516 Filed 11–7–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Internal Revenue Service 

26 CFR Part 1 

[REG–157714–06] 

RIN 1545–BG43 

Determination of Governmental Plan 

Status 

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Department of the Treasury. 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Treasury Department and 

IRS anticipate issuing regulations under 

section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue 

Code (Code) to define the term 

‘‘governmental plan.’’ This document 

describes the rules that the Treasury 

Department and IRS are considering 

proposing relating to the determination 

of whether a plan is a governmental 

plan within the meaning of section 

414(d) and contains an appendix that 

includes a draft notice of proposed 

rulemaking on which the Treasury 

Department and IRS invite comments 

from the public. This document applies 

to sponsors of, and participants and 

beneficiaries in, employee benefit plans 

that are determined to be governmental 

plans. 

DATES: Written or electronic comments 

must be received by February 6, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Send submissions relating 

to the section 414(d) draft general 

regulations to: CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG– 

157714–06), room 5203, Internal 

Revenue Service, PO Box 7604, Ben 

Franklin Station, Washington DC, 

20044. Submissions may be hand 

delivered Monday through Friday, 

between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. 

to CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–157714–06), 

Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue 

Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC. 

Alternately, taxpayers may submit 

comments relating to the section 414(d) 

draft general regulations electronically 

via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

www.regulations.gov (IRS–REG– 

157714–06). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Concerning the ANPRM, Pamela R. 

Kinard, at (202) 622–6060; concerning 

submission of comments, Richard A. 

Hurst, at 

Richard.A.Hurst@irscounsel.treas.gov or 

at (202) 622–7180 (not toll-free 

numbers). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

This document describes rules that 

the Treasury Department and IRS are 

considering proposing and contains a 

draft notice of proposed rulemaking (in 

the Appendix to this ANPRM) under 

section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue 

Code (Code). Under the draft notice of 

proposed rulemaking (in the Appendix 

to this ANPRM), the rules would 

provide general guidance relating to the 

determination of whether a retirement 

plan is a governmental plan within the 

meaning of section 414(d) (section 

414(d) draft general regulations). The 

principles described in this ANPRM 

could also apply for purposes of certain 

parallel terms in sections 403(b) and 457 

of the Code. 

Section 414(d) of the Code provides 

that the term ‘‘governmental plan’’ 

generally means a plan established and 

maintained for its employees by the 

Government of the United States, by the 

government of any State or political 

subdivision thereof, or by any agency or 

instrumentality of any of the foregoing. 

See sections 3(32) and 4021(b)(2) of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974 (ERISA) for definitions of 

the term ‘‘governmental plan,’’ which 

govern respectively for purposes of title 

I and title IV of ERISA.1

The term ‘‘governmental plan’’ also 

includes any plan to which the Railroad 

Retirement Act of 1935 or 1937 (49 Stat. 

967, as amended by 50 Stat. 307) applies 

and which is financed by contributions 

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