Document ID: FAA-2014-0391-0020
Agency: faa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Flight Simulation Training Device Qualification Standards: Extended Envelope and Adverse Weather Event Training Tasks
Posted Date: 2014-09-16T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 179 (Tuesday, September 16, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55407-55408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21938]

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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 179 / Tuesday, September 16, 2014 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 55407]]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 60

[Docket No. FAA-2014-0391; Notice No. 2014-04]
RIN 2120-AK08

Flight Simulation Training Device Qualification Standards for 
Extended Envelope and Adverse Weather Event Training Tasks; Extension 
of Comment Period

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); extension of comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: This action extends the comment period for an NPRM that was 
published on July 10, 2014. In that document, the FAA proposed new and 
updated flight simulation training device (FSTD) technical evaluation 
requirements that are necessary to fully implement the training 
requirements recently adopted in the Qualification, Service, and Use of 
Crewmembers and Aircraft Dispatchers final rule (Crewmember and 
Aircraft Dispatcher Training Final Rule) published on November 12, 
2013. Additionally, the FAA proposed further changes to address several 
NTSB safety recommendations, aviation rulemaking committee 
recommendations, and to conduct a limited alignment of the part 60 FSTD 
technical evaluation requirements with that of the latest international 
FSTD evaluation guidance document. One airline, an association that 
represents several airlines, and an FSTD sponsor have requested that 
the FAA extend the comment period to allow time to adequately analyze 
the NPRM and prepare comments.

DATES: The comment period for the NPRM published on July 10, 2014 (79 
FR 39461), which was scheduled to close on October 8, 2014, is hereby 
extended until January 6, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments identified by docket number FAA-2014-
0391 using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for sending your 
comments electronically.
     Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30; U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room 
W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket 
Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
    Privacy: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments 
from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts 
these comments, without edit, including any personal information the 
commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system 
of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.dot.gov/privacy.
    Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at 
http://www.regulations.gov at any time. Follow the online instructions 
for accessing the docket or Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of the 
West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 
DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical questions concerning 
this action, contact Larry McDonald, Air Transportation Division/
National Simulator Program Branch, AFS-205, Federal Aviation 
Administration, P.O. Box 20636, Atlanta, GA 30320; telephone (404) 474-
5620; email larry.e.mcdonald@faa.gov.
    For legal questions concerning this action, contact Robert H. 
Frenzel, Manager, Operations Law Branch, Office of the Chief Counsel, 
Regulations Division (AGC-200), Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 267-
3073; email Robert.Frenzel@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: See the ``Additional Information'' section 
for information on how to comment on this proposal and how the FAA will 
handle comments received. The ``Additional Information'' section also 
contains related information about the docket, privacy, and the 
handling of proprietary or confidential business information. In 
addition, there is information on obtaining copies of related 
rulemaking documents.

Background

    On July 10, 2014, the FAA published a notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NPRM), entitled ``Flight Simulation Training Device Qualification 
Standards for Extended Envelope and Adverse Weather Event Training 
Tasks'' (79 FR 39461). Comments to that document were to be received on 
or before October 8, 2014.
    By letter dated July 15, 2014, posted to the electronic docket for 
this NPRM, American Airlines requested that the FAA extend the comment 
period for the NPRM from 90 days to 180 days. The commenter stated that 
additional time is necessary to do a ``complete and proper analysis of 
this complex proposed rule.''
    By letter dated August 13, 2014, posted to the electronic docket 
for this NPRM Airlines for America (A4A), an industry group which 
represents multiple airlines that are directly affected by this 
proposal, requested that the FAA extend the comment period an 
additional 90 days. The commenter stated that additional time is 
necessary to provide meaningful comments on this proposed rule.
    By letter dated August 21, 2014 posted to the electronic docket for 
this NPRM FlightSafety International, an FSTD sponsor and flight 
training provider also requested that the FAA extend the comment period 
by 90 days in order to thoroughly review the proposal, prepare its 
response and submit comments.
    The FAA has reviewed the requests for extension and has 
additionally spoken to members of the Simulator Technical Issues 
Group\1\ (STIG) about

[[Page 55408]]

the reasons why an extension is needed. Several members of the STIG 
advised that the proposal is very lengthy and difficult to directly 
compare with the existing part 60 rule. The FAA emphasizes that the 
primary reason for its length is due to the proposal to align a portion 
of the part 60 standards with current international FSTD evaluation 
guidelines published in the International Civil Aviation Organization 
(ICAO) document 9625 Edition 3, Manual of Criteria for the 
Qualification of Flight Simulation Training Devices (ICAO 9625, Edition 
3).
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    \1\ The Simulator Technical Issues Group (STIG) is an industry 
working group organized by Airlines for America (A4A) and is 
attended by multiple airlines, simulator manufacturers, simulator 
data providers, airframe manufacturers, and simulator training 
providers. The FAA met with the STIG on August 20, 2014 to address 
questions on the NPRM. A summary of FAA's participation in that 
meeting has been posted to the electronic docket for this NPRM.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The FAA is proposing to align a portion of the part 60 standards 
with the ICAO 9625 FSTD evaluation guidance document to be responsive 
to industry's historical requests for the FAA to align with the most 
current international standards. Part of the benefits of international 
alignment is to reduce the number of differences in regulatory 
requirements between various National Aviation Authorities by using a 
common source document. In addition to simply aligning with the basic 
requirements of the ICAO 9625 document, the FAA found that by aligning 
with the document's format, numbering system, and language used in many 
of the tables, differences between the part 60 standards and ICAO 9625 
could potentially be minimized even further going forward. To 
accomplish this, many of the tables in the Qualification Performance 
Standards (QPS) appendices of the proposal were completely rewritten as 
compared to the current part 60 QPS appendices.
    The FAA concurs with the commenters desire to provide the FAA with 
meaningful comments and hereby grants the additional 90 days to the 
comment period as requested. To further assist the commenters in 
reviewing this proposal, the FAA has prepared and submitted to the 
docket a summary matrix that better explains where the changes to the 
tables in the QPS appendices were made relative to the current part 60 
rule (Document  FAA-2014-0391-0008 in the electronic docket 
for this NPRM). The FAA also arranged to place in the docket a read-
only non-printable PDF of a portion of ICAO 9625 to be used for 
reference only. The FAA notes that this document will be removed from 
the docket at the end of the comment period. With this additional 
information, the FAA finds that providing an additional 90 days is 
sufficient for these commenters to analyze the NPRM and provide 
meaningful comment.
    Absent unusual circumstances, the FAA does not anticipate any 
further extension of the comment period for this rulemaking.

Extension of Comment Period

    In accordance with Sec.  11.47(c) of title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations, the FAA has reviewed the comments requesting an extension 
of the comment period for Notice No. 2014-04 and has determined that 
extension of the comment period is consistent with the public interest, 
and that good cause exists for taking this action.
    Accordingly, the comment period for Notice No. 2014-04 is extended 
until January 6, 2015.

Additional Information

A. Comments Invited

    The FAA invites interested persons to participate in this 
rulemaking by submitting written comments, data, or views. The agency 
also invites comments relating to the economic, environmental, energy, 
or federalism impacts that might result from adopting the proposals in 
this document. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion 
of the proposal, explain the reason for any recommended change, and 
include supporting data. To ensure the docket does not contain 
duplicate comments, commenters should send only one copy of written 
comments, or if comments are filed electronically, commenters should 
submit only one time.
    The FAA will file in the docket all comments it receives, as well 
as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA 
personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this 
proposal, the FAA will consider all comments it receives on or before 
the closing date for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed 
after the comment period has closed if it is possible to do so without 
incurring expense or delay. The agency may change this proposal in 
light of the comments it receives.
    Proprietary or Confidential Business Information: Do not file 
proprietary or confidential business information in the docket. Such 
information must be sent or delivered directly to the person identified 
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document, and 
marked as proprietary or confidential. If submitting information on a 
disk or CD ROM, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM, and identify 
electronically within the disk or CD ROM the specific information that 
is proprietary or confidential.
    Under 14 CFR 11.35(b), if the FAA is aware of proprietary 
information filed with a comment, the agency does not place it in the 
docket. It is held in a separate file to which the public does not have 
access, and the FAA places a note in the docket that it has received 
it. If the FAA receives a request to examine or copy this information, 
it treats it as any other request under the Freedom of Information Act 
(5 U.S.C. 552). The FAA processes such a request under Department of 
Transportation procedures found in 49 CFR part 7.

B. Availability of Rulemaking Documents

    An electronic copy of rulemaking documents may be obtained from the 
Internet by--
    1. Searching the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov);
    2. Visiting the FAA's Regulations and Policies Web page at http://
www.faa.gov/regulationspolicies or
    3. Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/.
    Copies may also be obtained by sending a request to the Federal 
Aviation Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence 
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-9680. 
Commenters must identify the docket or notice number of this 
rulemaking.
    All documents the FAA considered in developing this proposed rule, 
including economic analyses and technical reports, may be accessed from 
the Internet through the Federal eRulemaking Portal referenced in item 
(1) above.

    Issued under authority provided by 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 44701(a), 
44703, and Public Law 111-216, 124 Stat. 2348 (49 U.S.C. 44701 note) 
in Washington, DC, on September 10, 2014.
Brenda D. Courtney,
Acting Director, Office of Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2014-21938 Filed 9-15-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P