[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 122 (Monday, June 24, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32371-32372]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-15986]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
14 CFR Part 71

[Airspace Docket No. 96-AAL-4]


Proposed Revision of Class D and E Airspace; Bethel, AK

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This revision modifies the Class D and Class E airspace at 
Bethel, AK, to accommodate Visual Flight Rules (VFR) traffic in the 
Bethel area, landing and departing from Hanger Lake located about 2.5 
miles northeast of the Bethel VORTAC. Several Bethel Airport user 
groups, during public discussion on the decommission of the Bethel 
Approach Control, requested an exclusion area for Hanger Lake to 
accommodate VFR landings and takeoffs during Instrument Flight Rules 
(IFR) weather conditions at Bethel. The area would be depicted on 
aeronautical charts for pilot reference. The intended effect of this 
proposal is to provide adequate exclusion from Bethel, AK, Class D and 
Class E airspace to accommodate Bethel user group requirements at 
Hanger Lake.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 12, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposal in triplicate to: Manager, 
System Management Branch, AAL-530, Docket No. 96-AAL-4, Federal 
Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, Anchorage, AK 
99513-7587.
    The official docket may be examined in the Office of the Assistant 
Chief Counsel for the Alaskan Region at the same address.
    An informal docket may also be examined during normal business 
hours in the Office of the Manager, System Management Branch, Air 
Traffic Division, at the address shown above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert van Haastert, System Management Branch, AAL-538, Federal 
Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, Anchorage, AK 
99513-7587; telephone number (907) 271-5902.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    Interested parties are invited to participate in this proposed 
rulemaking by submitting such written data, views, or arguments as they 
may desire. Comments that provide the factual basis supporting the 
views and suggestions presented are particularly helpful in developing 
reasoned regulatory decisions on the proposal. Comments are 
specifically invited on the overall regulatory, aeronautical, economic, 
environmental, and energy-related aspects of the proposal. 
Communications should identify the airspace docket number and be 
submitted in triplicate to the address listed above. Commenters wishing 
the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their comments on this notice must 
submit with those comments a self-addressed, stamped postcard on which 
the following statement is made: ``Comments to Airspace Docket No. 96-
AAL-4.'' The postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the 
commenter. All communications received on or before the specified 
closing date for comments will be considered before taking action on 
the proposed rule. The proposal contained in this notice may be changed 
in light of comments received. All comments submitted will be available 
for examination in the System Management Branch, Air Traffic Division, 
Federal Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, 
Anchorage, AK, both before and after the closing date for comments. A 
report summarizing each

[[Page 32372]]

substantive public contact with FAA personnel concerned with this 
rulemaking will be filed in the docket.

Availability of NPRM's

    Any person may obtain a copy of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(NPRM) by submitting a request to the System Management Branch, AAL-
530, Federal Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, 
Anchorage, AK 99513-7587. Communications must identify the notice 
number of this NPRM. Persons interested in being placed on a mailing 
list for future NPRM's should also request a copy of Advisory Circular 
No. 11-2A which describes the application procedure.

The Proposal

    The FAA is considering an amendment to part 71 of the Federal 
Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 71) to modify Class D and Class E 
airspace at Bethel, AK. Changes to the Bethel airspace will incorporate 
an exclusion below 1,100 feet MSL between the 061 deg. radial and the 
081 deg. radial from 2.9 nautical miles northeast to the Bethel VORTAC. 
The changes are required to create a Hanger Lake exclusion area as 
requested by Bethel Airport user groups for VFR operations when Bethel 
has IFR weather conditions. The area would be depicted on aeronautical 
charts for pilot reference. The coordinates for this airspace docket 
are based on North American Datum 83. Class D airspace area 
designations are published in paragraph 5000 of FAA Order 7400.9C, 
dated August 17, 1995, and effective September 16, 1995, which is 
incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 (58 FR 36298; July 6, 1993). 
The Class E airspace areas designated as 700/1200 foot transition areas 
are published in paragraph 6005 of FAA Order 7400.9C, dated August 17, 
1995, and effective September 16, 1995, which is incorporated by 
reference in 14 CFR 71.1 (58 FR 36298; July 6, 1993). The Class D and 
Class E airspace designations listed in this document would be 
published subsequently in the Order. The FAA has determined that these 
proposed regulations only involve an established body of technical 
regulations for which frequent and routing amendments are necessary to 
keep them operationally current. It, therefore--(1) is not a 
``significant regulatory action'' under Executive Order 12866; (2) is 
not a ``significant rule'' under DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures 
(44 FR 11034); February 26, 1979); and (3) does not warrant preparation 
of a regulatory evaluation as the anticipated impact is so minimal. 
Since this is a routine matter that will only affect air traffic 
procedures and air navigation, it is certified that this rule, when 
promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71

    Airspace, Incorporation by reference, Navigation (air).

The Proposed Amendment

    In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation 
Administration proposes to amend 14 CFR part 71 as follows:

PART 71--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for 14 CFR Part 71 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 40103, 40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24 FR 
9565, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 389; 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 14 CFR 
11.69.


Sec. 71.1  [Amended]

    2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of Federal 
Aviation Administration Order 7400.9C, Airspace Designation and 
Reporting Points, dated August 17, 1995, and effective September 16, 
1995, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 5000  Class D Airspace

* * * * *

AAL AK D Bethel, AK

Bethel Airport, AK
    (Lat 60 deg.46'47'' N, long. 161 deg.50'17'' W)
Bethel VORTAC
    (Lat. 60 deg.47'05'' N, long. 161 deg.49'27'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from the surface to and 
including, 2,600 feet MSL within a 4.1-mile radius of the Bethel 
Airport, excluding that portion below 1,100 feet MSL between the 
061 deg. radial and the 081 deg. radial from 2.9 miles northeast of 
the Bethel VORTAC. This Class D airspace area is effective during 
the specific dates and times established in advance by a Notice to 
Airmen. The effective date and time will thereafter be continuously 
published in the Airport/Facility Directory.
* * * * *

Paragraph 6005  Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet or 
more above the surface of the earth.

* * * * *

AAL AK E4 Bethel, AK

Bethel Airport, AK
    (Lat. 60 deg.46'47'' N, long. 161 deg.50'17'' W)
Bethel VORTAC
    (Lat. 60 deg.47'05'' N, long. 161 deg.49'27' W)

    That airspace extending upward from the surface within 3 miles 
each side of the 022 deg. radial from the Bethel VORTAC, extending 
from the 4.1-mile radius of the Bethel Airport to 8.2 miles 
northeast of the airport, excluding that portion below 1,100 feet 
MSL between the 061 deg. radial and the 081 deg. radial from 2.9 
miles northeast of the Bethel VORTAC, within 3.4 miles each side of 
the Bethel VORTAC 006 deg. radial, extending from the 4.1-mile 
radius of the Bethel Airport to 11 miles north of the Bethel VORTAC 
and within 3.5 miles each side of the Bethel VORTAC 213 deg. radial 
extending from the 4.1-mile radius of the Bethel Airport to 10 miles 
southwest of the airport.
* * * * *
    Issued in Anchorage, AK, on June 12, 1996.
Willis C. Nelson,
Manager, Air Traffic Division, Alaskan Region.
[FR Doc. 96-15986 Filed 6-21-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M