\\DC - 026524/000001 - 6361643 v3

BEFORE THE

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

_______________________________________

In the Matter of

Airworthiness Directive:

The Boeing Company Airplanes

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

)

)

)

)

)

)

Docket No. FAA-2014-0780

Directorate ID 2014-NM-168-AD

_______________________________________)

MOTION OF ATLAS AIR, INC.

FOR EXTENSION OF COMMENT PERIOD

Communications with respect to this document should be sent to:

Russell E. Pommer

Associate General Counsel

ATLAS AIR WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS, INC.

1747 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Suite 875

Washington, DC 20006

(202) 822-9121 - Telephone

(202) 822-9152 - Fax

rpommer@atlasair.com

January 7, 2015

Robert E. Cohn

Patrick R. Rizzi

HOGAN LOVELLS US LLP

Columbia Square 555

Thirteenth Street, NW

Washington, DC 20004

(202) 637-4999/5659

robert.cohn@hoganlovells.com

patrick.rizzi@hoganlovells.com

Counsel to Atlas Air, Inc.
\\DC - 026524/000001 - 6361643 v3 1

BEFORE THE

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

_______________________________________

In the Matter of

Airworthiness Directive:

The Boeing Company Airplanes

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

)

)

)

)

)

)

Docket No. FAA-2014-0780

Directorate ID 2014-NM-168-AD

_______________________________________)

MOTION OF ATLAS AIR, INC.

FOR EXTENSION OF COMMENT PERIOD

Atlas Air, Inc. (“Atlas”) hereby requests, pursuant to 14 C.F.R. § 11.47, that the

FAA extend the comment period for the above-referenced Airworthiness Directive (“AD”) by

thirty (30) days, to February 16, 2015.1

In further support of this Motion, Atlas states:

1. The FAA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) in the

Federal Register on December 1, 2014, proposing to adopt a new AD for B-747 aircraft

with a main deck side cargo door. See 79 Fed. Reg. 71037-040. According to the

FAA’s summary of the NPRM, the proposed AD would require operators of these

aircraft to revise their airplane flight manuals to incorporate limitations for carrying

certain payloads.

2. Atlas Air is the world’s largest operator of Boeing 747 freighter aircraft. Its

customers are major commercial businesses (including other airlines), various U.S.

Government agencies (including the Department of Defense), and non-governmental

1

The current due date for comments is January 15, 2015. Thirty days later would be February 14, 2015,

which is a Saturday, and therefore the following Monday, February 16, 2015, is the requested date.
\\DC - 026524/000001 - 6361643 v3 2

agencies. Most of its flights are critically important for the shippers and/or recipients of

the cargo. For more than a year, Atlas has been working closely with other all-cargo

carriers operating B-747 freighter aircraft (e.g., Kalitta Air, Southern Air) to address the

FAA’s issues with loading certain tall rigid cargo on these B-747 aircraft. Accordingly,

Atlas has a vested interest in this proposed AD and its ramifications for ongoing air

cargo operations.

3. The proposed AD would expressly prohibit the carriage of certain

payloads, including industry-standard, intermodal containers with dimensions of 20 feet

x 8 feet x 8.5 feet and ISO 668-1CC containers, that are not concentrically loaded on a

pallet and restrained to the aircraft in accordance with the FAA-approved Weight and

Balance Manual or Supplement. See Proposed AD, Figure 1. The proposed AD also

makes broad claims about purported safety deficiencies with the “offset load method”

and the results of certain tests conducted to evaluate the safety and viability of the

“offset load method”, as well as a brief economic impact analysis concluding the AD’s

cost of implementation to be a mere $85 per aircraft.

4. The rule raises complex issues requiring very significant changes in how

U.S. B-747 freighter carriers operate. These issues require further analysis. In

addition, the cost-benefit analysis appears incomplete, by not accurately accounting for

all of the costs to be imposed on B-747 freighter operators. The current comment

period of just 45 days is insufficient for interested parties to research and prepare

comprehensive written comments on the proposed AD, particularly given that the

comment period encompassed the holiday and New Year’s season.
\\DC - 026524/000001 - 6361643 v3 3

5. The FAA will be able to reach a better, more-informed position about

safely transporting and loading these payloads if it receives the comprehensive, detailed

comments of interested parties like Atlas and Kalitta Air. Such a better result – informed

by the experience, evidence, and comments of real-world operators and customers –

would be in the public interest to help ensure that any payload/loading prohibitions

resulting from the AD are fully justified (in terms of safety and cost-benefit analysis) and

not overly broad.

6. In light of the array of issues raised by the proposed AD and the broad,

costly ramifications if it is finalized in its current form, good cause clearly exists for

granting the requested extension.

7. Accordingly, Atlas requests that the due date for comments on the NPRM

and proposed AD be extended to February 16, 2015.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert E. Cohn

Patrick R. Rizzi

HOGAN LOVELLS US LLP

555 Thirteenth Street, NW

Washington, DC 20004

Counsel to Atlas Air, Inc.