Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 238 / Thursday, December 11, 1997 / Notices 65305

of the functions of the Department,

including whether the information will

have practical utility; the accuracy of

the Department’s estimate of the burden

of the proposed information collection;

ways to enhance the quality, utility and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 5,

1997.

Vanester M. Williams,

Clearance Officer, United States Department

of Transportation.

[FR Doc. 97–32457 Filed 12–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Docket 37554]

Notice of Order Adjusting the Standard

Foreign Fare Level Index

Section 41509(e) of Title 49 of the

United States Code requires that the

Department, as successor to the Civil

Aeronautics Board, establish a Standard

Foreign Fare Level (SFFL) by adjusting

the SFFL base periodically by

percentage changes in actual operating

costs per available seat-mile (ASM).

Order 80–2–69 established the first

interim SFFL, and Order 97–9–32

established the currently effective twomonth SFFL applicable through

November 30, 1997.

In establishing the SFFL for the twomonth period beginning December 1,

1997, we have projected non-fuel costs

based on the year ended September 30,

1997 data, and have determined fuel

prices on the basis of the latest available

experienced monthly fuel cost levels as

reported to the Department.

By Order 97–12–12 fares may be

increased by the following adjustment

factors over the October 1979 level:

Atlantic...................................................1.3697

Latin America ........................................1.4426

Pacific.....................................................1.5339

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Keith A. Shangraw (202) 366–2439.

By the Department of Transportation:

Dated: December 8, 1997.

Patrick V. Murphy,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and

International Affairs.

[FR Doc. 97–32454 Filed 12–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

Air Traffic Procedures Advisory

Committee

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice

to advise the public that a meeting of

the Federal Aviation Administration Air

Traffic Procedures Advisory Committee

(ATPAC) will be held to review present

air traffic control procedures and

practices for standardization,

clarification, and upgrading of

terminology and procedures.

DATES: The meeting will be held from

January 12–15, 1998, from 9 a.m. to 5

p.m. each day.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Island Club Catering and Conference

Center, Naval Air Station North Island,

San Diego, California.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Benny Lee McGlamery, Executive

Director, ATPAC, Strategic Operations/

Procedures Division, 800 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591,

telephone (202) 267–3725.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant

to Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–

463; 5 U.S.C. App.2), notice is hereby

given of a meeting of the ATPAC to be

held January 12 through January 15,

1998, at the Island Club catering and

Conference Center, Naval Air Station

North Island, San Diego, California.

The agenda for this meeting will

cover: a continuation of the Committee’s

review of present air traffic control

procedures and practices for

standardization, clarification, and

upgrading of terminology and

procedures. It will also include:

1, Approval of Minutes.

2. Submission and Discussion of

Areas of Concern.

3. Discussion of Potential Safety

Items.

4. Report from Executive Director.

5. Items of Interest.

6. Discussion and agreement of

location and dates for subsequent

meetings.

Attendance is open to the interested

public but limited to the space

available. With the approval of the

Chairperson, members of the public may

present oral statements at the meeting.

Persons desiring to attend and persons

desiring to present oral statements

should notify the person listed above

not later than January 9, 1998. The next

quarterly meeting of the FAA ATPAC is

planned to be held from April 27–30,

1998, in Washington, DC.

Any member of the public may

present a written statement to the

Committee at any time at the address

given above.

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 5,

1997.

Benny Lee McGlamery,

Executive Director, Air Traffic Procedures

Advisory Committee.

[FR Doc. 97–32452 Filed 12–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

Traffic Advisory System (TAS)

Airborne Equipment

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration.

ACTION: Notice of availability for public

comment.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the

availability of and requests comments

on a proposed Technical Standard

Order (TSO) pertaining to traffic

advisory system (TAS) airborne

equipment. The proposed TSO

prescribes the minimum operational

performance standards that traffic

advisory system (TAS) airborne

equipment must meet to be identified

with the marking ‘‘TSO–C147.’’

DATES: Comment must identify the TSO

file number and be received on or before

February 20, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send all comments on the

proposed technical standard order to:

Technical Programs and Continued

Airworthiness Branch, AIR–120,

Aircraft Engineering Division, Aircraft

Certification Service, Federal Aviation

Administration, 800 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591.

Or deliver comments to: Federal

Aviation Administration, Room 815,

800 Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20591. Comment must

identify the TSO file number.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Bobbie J. Smith, Technical Programs

and Continued Airworthiness Branch,

AIR–120, Aircraft Engineering Division,

Aircraft Certification Service, Federal

Aviation Administration, 800

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20591, FAX No. (202)

267–5340.

Comments Invited

Interested persons are invited to

comment on the proposed TSO listed in

this notice by submitting such written

data, views, or arguments as they desire
65306 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 238 / Thursday, December 11, 1997 / Notices

1 SORTA simultaneously filed a motion to

dismiss the notice of exemption. The entire Board

to the above specified address.

Comments received on the proposed

technical standard order may be

examined, before and after the comment

closing date, in Room 815, FAA

Headquarters Building (FOB–10A), 800

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20591, weekdays

except Federal holidays, between 8:30

a.m. and 4:30 p.m. All communications

received on or before the closing date

for comments specified above will be

considered by the Director of the

Aircraft Certification Service before

issuing the final TSO.

Background

This TSO is proposed for a new

system of airborne equipment

designated TAS. TAS is an airborne

traffic advisory system that interrogates

ATC transponders in nearby aircraft and

uses computer processing to identify

and advise the crew of potential and

predicted collision threats. The system

is designed to protect a volume of

airspace around the TAS equipped

aircraft by assisting pilots in the visual

acquisition of intruder traffic. TAS is

similar to TCAS I with changes in the

power output and display requirements

that make it more encomical, and

therefore more appealing, to the General

Aviation community. There are two

classes of TAS equipment:

Class A. Traffic Display and Aural

Alerting

Class A systems provide a flight deck

traffic display that indicates the relative

position and altitude of ATC

transponder-equipped aircraft. Class A

systems will provide appropriate aural

and visual advisories to assist the

flightcrew in visually acquiring the

threat aircraft when TAS predicts a

penetration of the protected airspace.

TAS assist the flightcrew in visually

acquiring the intruding aircraft. Traffic

advisories indicate the relative positions

of intruding aircraft that meet certain

range and altitude criteria and are

approximately 30 seconds from the

closest point of approach. Traffic

advisories can be generated for aircraft

with operative Mode S, Mode C or Mode

A (non-altitude reporting) transponders.

The aural alert message ‘‘TrafficTraffic,’’ spoken once, shall be used to

inform the crew of a Traffic Advisory

(TA). The TAS equipment is viewed as

a supplement to the pilot who, with the

aid of the ATC system, has the primary

responsibility for avoiding mid-air

collisions. The TAS system provides no

indication of aircraft without operative

transponders.

Class B. Aural Alerting and

Annunciation Only

Class B systems do not include a

cockpit traffic display. Class B systems

will provide appropriate aural

advisories and visual annunciations to

assist the flightcrew in visually

acquiring the threat aircraft when TAS

predicts a penetration of the protected

airspace. Traffic advisories indicate the

relative positions of intruding aircraft

that meet certain range and altitude

criteria and are approximately 30

seconds from the closest point of

approach. They assist the flightcrew in

visually acquiring the intruding aircraft.

The aural alert message ‘‘TrafficTraffic,’’ spoken once, shall be used to

inform the crew of a Traffic Advisory

(TA). This aural alert message will be

accompanied by a discrete visual

annunciation indicating that a TA is

currently active. This annunciation will

remain as long as the TA is active and

will extinguish when no TAs are active.

TAs will, upon crew command, generate

an aural message defining the relative

position of ATC transponder-equipped

aircraft. Traffic advisories can be

generated for aircraft with operative

Mode S, Mode C, or Mode A (nonaltitude reporting) transponders. The

TAS equipment is viewed as a

supplement to the pilot who, with the

aid of the ATC system, has the primary

responsibility for avoiding mid-air

collisions. The TAS system provides no

indication of aircraft without operative

transponders. RTCA Document No. DO–

160C sets forth the environmental

standards for the Traffic Advisory

System. RTCA Document DO–178B sets

forth the minimum performance

requirements for software for the Traffic

Advisory System and requires that each

article be marked with the appropriate

software level. Because the proposed

TSO calls for 2 classes of equipment, the

TSO also requires that each article be

marked as equipment Class A or Class

B, as applicable.

The minimum performance standards

for this Traffic Advisory System TSO

differ slightly from those standards in

RTCA DO–197 (TCAS 1). This TSO was

developed specifically, but not

exclusively for the general aviation

market. The Traffic Advisory System

has a lower radiated power output than

TCAS 1 and gives an alert as to the

presence of intruder aircraft. However,

TCAS 1 has resolution alert that gives

the pilot directional commands when

intruder aircraft are present. These

differences make the Traffic Advisory

System more economical for the general

aviation community. The exceptions to

RTCA DO–197A are detailed in the

Appendix 1 of this TSO. In order to

comply with TSA–C147, the applicant

must also meet the performance

standards set forth in RTCA Document

No. DO–197A, with the stated

exceptions in Appendix 1.

How To Obtain Copies

A copy of the proposed TSO–C147

may be obtained via Internet (http://

www.faa.gov/avr/air/100home.htm) or

on request from the office listed under

‘‘For Further Information Contact.’’

Copies of RTCA, Inc. Document No.

DO–197A, ‘‘Minimum Operational

Performance Standards for An Active

Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance

System I (ACTIVE TCAS 1),’’ dated

September 12, 1994. RTCA Document

No. 160D, ‘‘Environmental Conditions

and Test Procedures for Airborne

Equipment,’’ dated July 29, 1997; and

RTCA Document No. DO–178B,

‘‘Software Considerations in Airborne

Systems and Equipment Certification,’’

dated 1, 1992, may be purchased from

the RTCA Inc., 1140 Connecticut

Avenue, NW., Suite 1020, Washington,

DC 20036.

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 5,

1997.

Henri P. Branting,

Acting Manager, Aircraft Engineering

Division, Aircraft Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 97–32451 Filed 12–10–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 33524]

Southwest Ohio Regional Transit

Authority—Acquisition Exemption—

Certain Assets of the Indiana & Ohio

Railway Company

Southwest Ohio Regional Transit

Authority (SORTA), a noncarrier, has

filed a verified notice of exemption

under 49 CFR part 1150, subpart D—

Exempt Transactions to acquire an

approximately 9.84-mile line of railroad

known as the Blue Ash Line from the

Indiana & Ohio Railway Company (I&O).

The Blue Ash Line is located northeast

of Cincinnati, between milepost 49.6,

north of McCullough Yard, and milepost

39.76, near Fields-Ertel Road, in

Hamilton County, OH. SORTA will not

acquire the right to operate any rail

freight service on the Blue Ash Line;

I&O will retain the exclusive right and

obligation to provide rail freight service

on the Blue Ash Line. 1 SORTA will