Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 23 / Friday, February 2, 2024 / Notices 7435 

• Obligation to Respond: Voluntary. 

We are soliciting public comments to 

permit the Department to: 

• Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper functions of the Department. 

• Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the time and cost burden for 

this proposed collection, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used. 

• Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected. 

• Minimize the reporting burden on 

those who are to respond, including the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology. 

Please note that comments submitted 

in response to this Notice are public 

record. Before including any detailed 

personal information, you should be 

aware that your comments as submitted, 

including your personal information, 

will be available for public review. 

Abstract of Proposed Collection 

The information collection activity 

will garner qualitative customer 

feedback in an efficient, timely manner, 

in accordance with the Administration’s 

commitment to improving service 

delivery. This qualitative feedback will 

provide insights into customer 

perceptions, experiences and 

expectations, provide an early warning 

of issues with service, or focus attention 

on areas where communication, training 

or changes in operations might improve 

delivery of products or services. These 

collections will allow for ongoing, 

collaborative and actionable 

communications between the Agency 

and its customers. It will also allow 

feedback to contribute directly to the 

improvement of program management. 

Feedback collected under this generic 

clearance will provide useful 

information, but it will not yield data 

that can be used for quantitative 

information collections that are 

designed to yield reliably actionable 

results, such as monitoring trends over 

time or documenting program 

performance. Such data uses require 

more rigorous designs that address: the 

target population to which 

generalizations will be made, the 

sampling frame, the sample design 

(including stratification and clustering), 

the precision requirements or power 

calculations that justify the proposed 

sample size, the expected response rate, 

methods for assessing potential nonresponse bias, the protocols for data 

collection, and any testing procedures 

that were or will be undertaken prior 

fielding the study. Depending on the 

degree of influence the results are likely 

to have, such collections may still be 

eligible for submission for other generic 

mechanisms that are designed to yield 

quantitative results. 

Methodology 

Respondents will fill out a brief 

customer survey after completing their 

interaction with a Department Program 

Office or Embassy. Surveys are designed 

to gather feedback on the customer’s 

experiences. 

Zachary A. Parker, 

Director, Office of Directives Management, 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2024–02132 Filed 2–1–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–24–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

[Docket No. FAA–2024–0189] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Requests for Comments; 

Clearance of a New Approval of 

Information Collection: Unmanned 

Aircraft System (UAS) Integration at 

Airports and Necessary Planning, 

Design, and Physical Infrastructure 

Needs 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA 

invites public comments about our 

intention to request the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

approval for a new information 

collection. The collection involves 

conducting research in the form of 

interviews with aviation stakeholders 

(e.g., airport/droneport operators, 

private entities, original equipment 

manufacturers, unmanned aircraft 

system (UAS) industry vendors, 

academia, representatives of the 

military, aviation stakeholders, etc.) to 

catalog current and planned droneport 

planning, design, and infrastructure 

needs, as well as find out which airports 

are integrating UAS into the airport 

environment. During each interview, the 

FAA will ask the stakeholders a specific 

set of questions, and if necessary, factspecific follow-up questions will be 

posed to clarify and enhance the 

respondent’s answers to the specified 

set of questions. The information to be 

collected is necessary because it will 

allow the FAA to understand how 

aviation stakeholders are integrating 

UAS into existing airport design 

standards/infrastructure and standalone 

facilities also referred to as droneports. 

Currently, no formal FAA definition of 

droneport currently exists. Based on the 

results of this research effort, the FAA 

may develop a formal definition for a 

droneport. For the purposes of this 

research effort, a modified version of the 

14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 1 

definition of ‘airport’ is used to define 

droneport: ‘an area of land or water that 

is used or intended to be used for the 

landing and takeoff of UAS aircraft, and 

includes its buildings and facilities, if 

any.’ The information collected will also 

be used to help the FAA to shape future 

droneport research efforts and possible 

standards and guidance material. 

DATES: Written comments should be 

submitted by April 2, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Please send written 

comments: 

By Electronic Docket: 

www.regulations.gov (Enter docket 

number into search field). 

By Mail: Michael DiPilato, Airport 

Research Specialist, FAA Airport 

Technology Research and Development 

Branch (ANG–E26), FAA William J. 

Hughes Technical Center, Bldg. 301 

(FAA Hangar), Atlantic City, NJ 08405. 

By Fax: 609–485–4845. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael DiPilato by email at: 

michael.dipilato@faa.gov; phone: 609– 

485–7249. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Comments Invited: You are 

asked to comment on any aspect of this 

information collection, including (a) 

Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for FAA’s 

performance; (b) the accuracy of the 

estimated burden; (c) ways for FAA to 

enhance the quality, utility and clarity 

of the information collection; and (d) 

ways that the burden could be 

minimized without reducing the quality 

of the collected information. The agency 

will summarize and/or include your 

comments in the request for OMB’s 

clearance of this information collection. 

OMB Control Number: 2120–XXXX. 

Title: Unmanned Aircraft System 

(UAS) Integration at Airports and 

Necessary Planning, Design, and 

Physical Infrastructure Needs. 

Form Numbers: None. 

Type of Review: New information 

collection. 

Background: The aviation industry is 

experiencing expedited growth in new 

and innovative aircraft design and 

operation. One of these concepts has 

been unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), 

commonly referred to as ‘drones’. The 

proliferation of interest in and use of 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
7436 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 23 / Friday, February 2, 2024 / Notices 

UAS has led to significant policy and 

regulatory adaptations to safely integrate 

these platforms into the airport 

environment. The FAA defines a UAS 

as ‘an unmanned aircraft and the 

equipment necessary for the safe and 

efficient operation of that aircraft. An 

unmanned aircraft is a component of a 

UAS. It is defined by statute as an 

aircraft that is operated without the 

possibility of direct human intervention 

from within or on the aircraft (Pub. L. 

112–95, Section 331(8)).’ As the 

technology and its use continues to 

mature, the FAA is committed to 

conducting research and providing 

policy and guidance to ensure the safe 

operation of UAS, whether autonomous 

or remotely piloted, in and around the 

airport environment. As more UAS 

Concept of Operations (CONOPS) 

propose operations involving the airport 

environment and droneports, there is a 

need to consider if unique requirements 

or recommendations for the planning, 

design, and physical infrastructure 

needs are necessary. 

On May 9, 2023, the FAA’s Office of 

Airports—Airport Emerging Entrants 

Division (AAS–200) officially sent the 

FAA’s Airport Technology Research and 

Development Branch (ATR) a ‘Request 

for Research’ to conduct research on 

Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) 

Integration at Airports and Necessary 

Planning, Design, and Physical 

Infrastructure Needs. This ‘Request for 

Research’ was reviewed and approved 

by the Research, Engineering, and 

Development Advisory Committee 

(REDAC) Subcommittee on Airports. 

Established in 1989, the FAA’s REDAC 

provides advice and recommendations 

to the FAA Administrator on the needs, 

objectives, plans, approaches, content, 

and accomplishments of the aviation 

research portfolio. The REDAC also 

assists in ensuring FAA present and 

future aviation research activities are 

coordinated with similar research being 

conducted outside the FAA. The 

REDAC Subcommittee on Airports 

includes members from the following 

affiliations: academia, aircraft 

manufacturers, an airline pilot union, 

airport authorities, aviation industry 

organizations, and environmental 

advocates. 

As part of the Request for Research 

(i.e., research effort), discussed above, 

the FAA will conduct interviews with 

stakeholders, in the form of in-person 

and virtual meetings, with 

representatives from the following 

organizations: airports, droneports, 

private entities, original equipment 

manufacturers, UAS industry vendors, 

the military, international aviation 

community, and academia. During each 

interview, the FAA will ask the 

stakeholders a specific set of questions, 

and if necessary, fact-specific follow-up 

questions will be posed to clarify and 

enhance the respondent’s answers to the 

specified set of questions. 

The purpose of these interviews will 

be to catalog and inventory current and 

prospective droneports and gather key 

insights from these operators. In 

addition, the research team will 

document stakeholder’s experiences/ 

lessons learned with integrating or 

operating UAS at airports and 

independent droneport operations. 

The results from this research effort 

will be summarized in a final report and 

will be used to shape the FAA’s 

operational evaluations and possible 

development of standards and guidance 

documents pertaining to planning, 

design, and physical infrastructure 

needs, as well as safety standards, for 

fixed-wing and rotary operations. This 

effort will primarily focus on UAS 

aircraft weighing 55 pounds or more 

and include operational considerations 

for cargo transport. Vehicles with 

weights lower than 55 pounds will be 

considered where applicable. Both fixed 

wing and rotary operational will be 

considered to create a baseline 

understanding before establishing 

infrastructure design requirements and 

safety standards for existing and 

standalone facilities referred to as a 

droneport. 

Respondents: Approximately 100 

airport operators, droneport operators, 

original equipment manufacturers, 

private entities, UA industry vendors, 

representatives of the military, the 

international aviation community, and 

academia. 

Frequency: Information will be 

collected one to two times annually. 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Response: 2.5–4.5 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 250– 

400 hours. 

Issued in Atlantic City, NJ, on January 29, 

2024. 

Michael DiPilato, 

Airport Research Specialist, FAA Aviation 

Research Division, Airport Technology 

Research and Development Branch (ANG– 

E26). 

[FR Doc. 2024–02054 Filed 2–1–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Aviation Rulemaking Advisory 

Committee; Meeting 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Aviation Rulemaking 

Advisory Committee (ARAC) meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

meeting of the ARAC. 

DATES: The FAA will hold the meeting 

on Thursday, March 21, 2024, from 1 

p.m. to 4 p.m. eastern time. 

The FAA must receive requests to 

attend the meeting by Monday, March 

11, 2024. 

The FAA must receive requests for 

accommodations to a disability by 

Monday, March 11, 2024. 

The FAA must receive any written 

materials to during the meeting by 

Monday, March 11, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Federal Aviation Administration, 

800 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20591, and virtually on 

Zoom. However, if the FAA is unable to 

hold the meeting in person due to 

circumstances outside of its control, the 

FAA will hold a virtual meeting and 

notify registrants with the meeting 

details and post any updates on the 

FAA Committee website. Members of 

the public who wish to observe the 

meeting must RSVP by emailing 9-awaarac@faa.gov. General committee 

information, including copies of the 

meeting minutes, will be available on 

the FAA Committee website at https:// 

www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/ 

rulemaking/committees/documents/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Aliah Duckett, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591, 

telephone (202) 267–7489; email 9-awaarac@faa.gov. Any committee-related 

request should be sent to the person 

listed in this section. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The ARAC was created under the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA), in accordance with title 5 of the 

United States Code (5 U.S.C. 1001) to 

provide advice and recommendations to 

the FAA concerning rulemaking 

activities, such as aircraft operations, 

airman and air agency certification, 

airworthiness standards and 

certification, airports, maintenance, 

noise, and training. 

II. Agenda 

At the meeting, the agenda will cover 

the following topics: 

• Status Updates 

Æ Active Working Groups 

Æ Transport Airplane and Engine 

(TAE) Subcommittee 

• Recommendation Reports 

• Any Other Business 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES