Document ID: FAA-2019-0535-0001
Agency: faa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Amendment of Class D Airspace: Los Angeles, CA
Posted Date: 2019-07-29T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 145 (Monday, July 29, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36502-36504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15936]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Docket No. FAA-2019-0535; Airspace Docket No. 19-AWP-20]
RIN 2120-AA66

Proposed Amendment of Class D Airspace; Los Angeles, CA

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

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SUMMARY: This action proposes to correct a clerical error in the Los 
Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA legal description to 
remove the language establishing the airspace as part time. This action 
is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules 
(IFR) operations at the airport.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 12, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Operations, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West 
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590; telephone: 
1-800-647-5527, or (202) 366-9826. You

[[Page 36503]]

must identify FAA Docket No. FAA-2019-0535; Airspace Docket No. 19-AWP-
20, at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments 
through the internet at http://www.regulations.gov.
    FAA Order 7400.11C, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, and 
subsequent amendments can be viewed online at http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/. For further information, you can contact the 
Airspace Policy Group, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 267-
8783. The Order is also available for inspection at the National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the 
availability of FAA Order 7400.11C at NARA, call (202) 741-6030, or go 
to https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html.
    FAA Order 7400.11, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, is 
published yearly and effective on September 15.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Roberts, Federal Aviation 
Administration, Western Service Center, Operations Support Group, 2200 
S 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198-6547; telephone (206) 231-2245.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority for This Rulemaking

    The FAA's authority to issue rules regarding aviation safety is 
found in Title 49 of the United States Code. Subtitle I, Section 106 
describes the authority of the FAA Administrator. Subtitle VII, 
Aviation Programs, describes in more detail the scope of the agency's 
authority. This rulemaking is promulgated under the authority described 
in Subtitle VII, Part A, Subpart I, Section 40103. Under that section, 
the FAA is charged with prescribing regulations to assign the use of 
airspace necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft and the efficient 
use of airspace. This regulation is within the scope of that authority 
as it would amend the Class D legal description for Los Angeles 
International Airport, Los Angeles, CA, in support of IFR operations at 
the airport.

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 both docket numbers (Docket No. FAA-
2019-0535; Airspace Docket No. 19-AWP-20) and be submitted in 
triplicate to DOT Docket Operations (see ADDRESSES section for address 
and phone number).
    Persons 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 Docket 
No. FAA-2019-0535; Airspace Docket No. 19-AWP-20.'' 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 
the comments received. A report summarizing each substantive public 
contact with FAA personnel concerned with this rulemaking will be filed 
in the docket.

Availability of NPRMs

    An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded through the 
internet at http://www.regulations.gov. Recently published rulemaking 
documents can also be accessed through the FAA's web page at http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/airspace_amendments/.
    You may review the public docket containing the proposal, any 
comments received, and any final disposition in person in the Dockets 
Office (see the ADDRESSES section for the address and phone number) 
between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal 
holidays. An informal docket may also be examined between 8:00 a.m. and 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays, at the 
Northwest Mountain Regional Office of the Federal Aviation 
Administration, Air Traffic Organization, Western Service Center, 
Operations Support Group, 2200 S 216th St, Des Moines, WA 98198-6547.

Availability and Summary of Documents for Incorporation by Reference

    This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.11C, Airspace 
Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 13, 2018, and effective 
September 15, 2018. FAA Order 7400.11C is publicly available as listed 
in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11C lists 
Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and 
reporting points.

The Proposal

    The FAA proposes to amend Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 
CFR) part 71 by removing language from the legal description in FAA 
Order 7400.11C, that establishes the Class D airspace for Los Angeles 
International Airport, Los Angeles, CA as part time. NBAA informed the 
FAA that the LAX Class D legal description, the related chart 
supplement entry, and notes included on the VFR Sectional contained 
information that did not clearly identify when the airspace was in 
effect. The FAA concurs. The legal description contains language that 
implied the Class D airspace was part-time, inconsistent with the 
original intent of the airspace. The Chart Supplement does not include 
information indicating when the airspace is effective and directs users 
to the VFR Terminal Area Chart. The VFR Terminal Area Chart directs 
users to the Chart Supplement or NOTAMS for information and NOTAMS are 
not appropriate for this use. The original intent was to establish the 
Class D airspace as full time. In 2009, as a result of a mid-air 
collision in New York and in response to NTSB Recommendation A-09-86, 
Congress requested the FAA evaluate low-level flight around heavy-use 
airspace. The FAA committed to evaluations of flight operations in and 
around Class Bravo Airspace in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and 
Houston. The LAX VFR Airspace Taskforce was convened and made 
recommendations to modify the airspace around LAX in a two-step 
process. Step one was to establish full-time Class D airspace at LAX. 
Step two was to incorporate the Class D airspace into the LAX Class B 
at a later date. This proposal recommends removal of the language 
indicating the airspace is part time and does not affect the lateral 
boundaries of the airspace.
    Class D airspace designations are published in paragraph 5000 of 
FAA Order 7400.11C, dated August 13, 2018 and effective September 15, 
2018, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class D 
airspace designation listed in this document will be published 
subsequently in the Order.

Regulatory Notices and Analyses

    The FAA has determined that this proposed regulation only involves 
an established body of technical regulations for which frequent and

[[Page 36504]]

routine amendments are necessary to keep them operationally current, is 
non-controversial and unlikely to result in adverse or negative 
comments. 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 proposed rule, when promulgated, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

Environmental Review

    This proposal will be subject to an environmental analysis in 
accordance with FAA Order 1050.1F, ``Environmental Impacts: Policies 
and Procedures'' prior to any FAA final regulatory action.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71

    Airspace, Incorporation by reference, Navigation (air).

The Proposed Amendment

    Accordingly, pursuant to the authority delegated to me, the Federal 
Aviation Administration proposes to amend 14 CFR part 71 as follows:

PART 71--DESIGNATION OF CLASS A, B, C, D, AND E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIR 
TRAFFIC SERVICE ROUTES; AND REPORTING POINTS

0
1. The authority citation for 14 CFR part 71 continues to read as 
follows:

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

Sec.  71.1   [Amended]

0
2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order 7400.11C, 
Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 13, 2018, and 
effective September 15, 2018, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 5000 Class D Airspace.

* * * * *

AWP CA D Los Angeles, CA [Amended]

Los Angeles International Airport, CA
    (Lat. 33[deg]56'33'' N, long. 118[deg]24'26'' W)
Santa Monica Municipal Airport, CA
    (Lat. 34[deg]00'57'' N, long. 118[deg]27'05'' W)

    That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 
2,700 feet MSL bounded by a line beginning at lat. 33[deg]57'42'' N, 
long. 118[deg]27'23'' W; to lat. 33[deg]58'18'' N, long. 
118[deg]26'24'' W; then via the 2.7-mile radius of the Santa Monica 
Municipal Airport counterclockwise to lat. 34[deg]00'00'' N, long. 
118[deg]24'02'' W; to lat. 34[deg]00'00'' N, long. 118[deg]22'58'' 
W; to lat. 33[deg]57'42'' N, long. 118[deg]22'10'' W, thence to the 
point of beginning. That airspace extending upward from the surface 
to and including 2,500 feet MSL bounded by a line beginning at lat. 
33[deg]55'50'' N, long. 118[deg]22'06'' W; to lat. 33[deg]54'16'' N, 
long. 118[deg]24'17'' W; to lat. 33[deg]52'47'' N, long. 
118[deg]26'22'' W; to lat. 33[deg]55'51'' N, long. 118[deg]26'05'' 
W, thence to the point of beginning.

    Issued in Seattle, Washington, on July 19, 2019.
Shawn M. Kozica,
Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center.
[FR Doc. 2019-15936 Filed 7-26-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P