3614 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 15 / Friday, January 23, 1998 / Notices

meeting, providing name, affiliation,

date of birth and social security number,

to arrange for pre-clearance. One of the

following valid photo ID’s is required

for admittance: U.S. driver’s license

with picture, passport, government ID

(company ID’s are not accepted). Enter

from the ‘‘C’’ Street Main Lobby.

Dated: January 12, 1998.

William J. Kirsch,

Chairman, ITAC–T Sector.

[FR Doc. 98–1573 Filed 1–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–45–M

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice No. 2669]

Proposed Unidroit Convention and Its

Aircraft Protocol Meeting Notice

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Notice is hereby given of an

Advisory Committee meeting to be held

on Thursday, February 26 starting at

9:00 a.m. in the Civil Aeromedical

Institute auditorium, Room 254, located

at 6500 S. MacArthur Blvd, Oklahoma

City, Oklahoma. The meeting will end at

or before 1:00 p.m. on February 26.

There may be an afternoon session from

2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for further

discussion.

Attendance: The meeting is open to

the public, free of charge, and is limited

to available seating. It may be of interest

to persons associated with the selling,

leasing, and financing of aircraft and

aircraft engines, including persons who

search title, give title opinions, submit

conveyances for recordation to the FAA

Aircraft Registry, or otherwise

participate in aircraft financing.

Nature: The meeting is intended only

to provide information. No formal

record will be made. No written

comments will be accepted from the

audience.

Agenda:

(1) Introductory remarks

(2) Purpose of UNIDROIT Convention

(3) Status of actions taken (UNIDROIT

Convention and Aircraft Protocol)

(4) Summary of UNIDROIT Convention

with emphasis on registration of

international interests

(5) Summary of Aircraft Protocol

(6) Relationship of UNIDROIT

Convention to existing laws and

treaties

(7) Question and Answer Period

Background: The United States

Government, through the United States

Department of State, has been

participating with other nations in

studying a proposed multilateral

convention (UNIDROIT Convention) to

protect international secured interests in

mobile equipment, including aircraft.

A preliminary draft of the UNIDROIT

Convention will be submitted to the

UNIDROIT Governing Council in early

1998. Thereafter, it is expected that the

draft will be circulated to States to

determine whether to proceed to

intergovernmental negotiations to

conclude the Convention.

As proposed, the UNIDROIT

Convention would not take effect unless

a protocol has been adopted for a

specific category of mobile objects. In

that regard, UNIDROIT’s Aircraft

Equipment Protocol Group has

completed a preliminary draft protocol

which would pertain to certain large

airframes and large helicopters, and jet

and turbine engines.

The UNIDROIT Convention and

Aircraft Equipment Protocol together,

when and if adopted and enacted into

law by contracting states would provide

a comprehensive international system to

protect leasing and financing interests.

Significant features might include

default remedies, priorities, and

establishment of an international

registration system to register (record)

international consensual interests, nonconsensual interests, assignments,

prospective assignments, and

subordinations.

It is anticipated that the international

registration system would be primarily

an electronic notice system. As

proposed, the international registration

system is not intended to interfere with

countries’ existing national registration

and recordation systems (e.g., Parts 47

and 49 of the Federal Aviation

Regulations).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph R. Standell, Aeronautical Center

Counsel, Federal Aviation

Administration, P.O. Box 25082,

Oklahoma City, OK 73125, telephone

number (405) 954–3296; fax number

(405) 954–4676.

Dated: December 17, 1997.

Harold S. Burman,

Executive Director, Secretary of State’s

Advisory Committee on Private International

Law, United States Department of State.

[FR Doc. 98–1631 Filed 1–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4701–08–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

Aviation Rulemaking Advisory

Committee—New Task

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of a new task assignment

for the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory

Committee (ARAC).

SUMMARY: Notice is given of a new task

assigned to and accepted by the

Aviation Rulemaking Advisory

Committee (ARAC). This notice informs

the public of the activities of ARC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph A. Hawkins, Director, Office of

Rulemaking, ARM–1, Federal Aviation

Administration, 800 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591;

telephone (202) 267–9677 or fax (202)

267–5075.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The FAA has established an Aviation

Rulemaking Advisory Committee to

provide advice and recommendations to

the FAA Administrator, through the

Associate Administrator for Regulation

and Certification, on the full range of

the FAA’s rulemaking activities with

respect to aviation-related issues. This

includes obtaining advice and

recommendations on the FAA’s

commitment to harmonize its Federal

Aviation Regulation (FAR) and practices

with its trading partners in Europe and

Canada.

The Task

This notice is to inform the public

that the FAA has asked ARAC to

provide advice and recommendation on

the following harmonization task:

Prevention of Fuel Tank Explosions

Prepare a report to the FAA/JAA that

provides specific recommendations and

proposed regulatory text that will

eliminate or significantly reduce the

hazards associated with explosive

vapors in transport category airplane

fuel tanks. Proposed regulatory text

should ensure that new type designs, inproduction airplanes and the existing

fleet of transport airplanes are designed

and operated so that during normal

operation (up to maximum certified

operating temperatures) the presence of

explosive fuel air vapors in all fuel

tanks is eliminated, significantly

reduced or controlled to the extent that

there could not be a catastrophic event.

(This task addresses means of reducing

explosion hazards by eliminating or

controlling explosive fuel vapors. The

FAA is also engaged in a separate

activity to evaluate whether additional

actions should be taken to ensure that

ignition sources are not present within

fuel tanks. Therefore, control of ignition

sources is not within the scope of this

task.) In developing recommendations