Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2002/11/22/02-29668/public-address-system
Timestamp: 2017-09-25 03:27:31
Document Index: 310775442

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', '§\u200925', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', '§\u200925', '§\u200925', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 25', '§\u200925']

Federal Register :: Public Address System
A Proposed Rule by the Federal Aviation Administration on 11/22/2002
Send your comments on or before January 21, 2003.
67 FR 70509
Docket No. FAA-2002-13859
Notice No. 02-18
2120-AH30
02-29668
What Regulatory Analyses and Assessments Has the FAA Conducted? What Other Assessments Has the FAA Conducted?
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/02-29668 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/02-29668
Start Preamble Start Printed Page 70510
The Federal Aviation Administration proposes to amend an airworthiness standard for the public address system on transport category airplanes. The proposal would shorten from 10 seconds to 3 seconds, the time allowed for the system to become active after a flight crewmember removes the microphone from its stowage. A time requirement is imposed to assure the system is rapidly usable for emergency announcements. Adopting this proposal would eliminate regulatory differences between the airworthiness standards of the U.S. and the Joint Aviation Requirements of Europe, without affecting current industry design practices.
Address your comments to Dockets Management System, U.S. Department of Transportation Dockets, Room Plaza 401, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. You must identify the docket number FAA-2002-13859 at the beginning of your comments, and you should submit two copies of your comments. If you wish to receive confirmation that the FAA has received your comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped postcard on which the following statement is made: “Comments to Docket No. FAA-2002-13859.” We will date-stamp the postcard and mail it back to you.
Kirk Baker, FAA, Systems and Equipment Branch, ANM-130L, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service, 3960 Paramount Boulevard, Lakewood, CA 90712; telephone 562-627-5345; facsimile 562-627-5210, e-mail kirk.baker@faa.gov.
Although part 25 and JAR-25 are very similar, they are not identical in every respect. When airplanes are type certificated to both sets of standards, the differences between part 25 and JAR-25 can result in substantial additional costs to manufacturers and operators. These additional costs, however, frequently do not bring about an increase in safety. In many cases, part 25 and JAR-25 may contain different requirements to accomplish the same safety intent. Consequently, manufacturers are usually burdened with meeting the requirements of both sets of standards, although the level of safety is not increased correspondingly. Start Printed Page 70511
Recognizing that a common set of standards would not only benefit the aviation industry economically, but also maintain the necessary high level of safety, the FAA and 2 the JAA began an effort in 1988 to “harmonize” their respective aviation standards. The goal of the harmonization effort is to ensure that:
Under this program, the FAA provides ARAC with an opportunity to review, discuss, and comment on the FAA's draft NPRM. In the case of this rulemaking, ARAC made no changes to this NPRM.
The public address system assures the operational availability within a specified time for passenger announcements in the event of an emergency situation. The system must be powerable in flight or on the ground to allow communication with all passengers at all times.
The current text of 14 CFR 25.1423 is:
§ 25.1423 Public address system
(b) Be capable of operation within 10-seconds by a flight attendant at those stations in the passenger compartment from which the system is accessible.
The current text of JAR-25.1423 (Change 15, amendment 25/96/1) is:
JAR-25.1423 Public address system
(b) The system must be capable of operation within 3-seconds from the time a microphone is removed from its stowage by a flight attendant at those stations in the passenger compartment from which its use is accessible.
The JAR requirement is very specific in that the system must be operational within 3 seconds from the time the flight attendant removes the microphone from its stowage position. Part 25 specifies that the system must be operational within 10 seconds, but does not specify the start of the 10-second time period.
Under the JAR requirements, a system must operate within three seconds from the time the microphone is removed from its stowed position. Under the part 25 requirements, the system can be approved if it is operational within 10 seconds by a flight attendant at those stations in the passenger compartment from which its use is accessible. Currently, the technology that is used in the amplifiers for the public address system is in compliance with the 3-seconds delay requirement. The old vacuum tube technology required 10 seconds for heating to be operational, whereas the technology used today does not require heating. The proposed 3-seconds delay is in line with current technology.
The proposed action is to revise part 25 by adopting the text of JAR 25.1423(b) in its entirety. The proposed revision would specify the 3-seconds operational compliance time and is in line with current technology.
The proposed standard would harmonize part 25 and the JAR by removing the 10 second requirement from § 25.1423, and inserting the JAR text. The new § 25.1423 will impose a 3-second operational requirement from the time the microphone is removed from its stowage position.
The proposed standard would maintain the same level of safety since current technology meets the 3-seconds requirement. The proposed standard would also clarify the requirement by specifying the start and end of the 3-seconds timeframe.
Current industry practice is for systems to be designed to meet both part 25 and the JAR requirements. For these systems, the proposed standard would maintain the same level of safety.
The FAA has not considered another option. The FAA considers the adoption of JAR 25.1423(b) in its entirety the most appropriate way to fulfill Start Printed Page 70512harmonization goals while maintaining safety.
The proposed standard is in line with current design practices and the effect of the change is considered to be minimal for equipment manufacturers. For new equipment, it is not a problem since technology meets the 3-seconds standard.
The FAA considers developing new advisory material to be unnecessary.
Proposed changes to Federal regulations must undergo several economic analyses. First, Executive Order 12866 directs that each Federal agency shall propose or adopt a regulation only upon a reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended regulation justify its costs. Second, the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 as amended requires agencies to analyze the economic effect of regulatory changes on small entities. Third, the Trade Agreements Act prohibits agencies from setting standards that create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign commerce of the United States. In developing U.S. standards, this Trade Agreements Act requires agencies to consider international standards and, where appropriate, that they be the basis of U.S. standards. And fourth, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 requires agencies to prepare a written assessment of the costs, benefits, and other effects of proposed or final rules that include a Federal mandate likely to result in the expenditure by State, local, or tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100 million or more annually (adjusted for inflation).
In conducting these analyses, the FAA has determined that this proposal has benefits, but no costs, and that it is not “a significant regulatory action” under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866. This proposal would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, reduces barriers to international trade, and imposes no unfunded mandates on State, local, or tribal governments, or the private sector.
Because there are no apparent costs associated with this proposal, it does not warrant the preparation of a full economic evaluation for placement in the docket. The FAA estimates that there are no costs associated this proposal. A review of current manufacturers of transport category aircraft has revealed that all such future aircraft are expected to be certificated under part 25 of both 14 CFR and JAR. Since future certificated transport-category aircraft are expected to meet the existing section 25.1423(b) of the JAR requirement and this rule simply adopts the same JAR requirement, manufacturers would incur no additional cost resulting from this proposal. Current technology enables compliance with the requirement that the public address system be operational within 3 seconds. In fact, manufacturers are expected to receive cost-savings by a reduction in the FAA/JAA certification requirements for new aircraft. The cost-savings of this proposed rule is a potential reduction in paperwork required for certification. The FAA, however, has not attempted to quantify the cost savings that may accrue due to this specific proposal, beyond noting that while they may be minimal, they contribute to a large potential harmonization savings. The agency concludes that because there is consensus among potentially impacted airplane manufacturers that savings will result, further analysis is not required.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), 5 U.S.C., 601-612, as amended, establishes as a principle of regulatory issuance that agencies shall endeavor, consistent with the objective of the rule and of applicable statutes, to fit regulatory and informational requirements to the scale of the business, organizations, and governmental jurisdictions subject to regulation. To achieve that principle, the RFA requires agencies to solicit and consider flexible regulatory proposals and to explain the rationale for their actions.
The FAA considers that this proposed rule would not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities for two reasons. First, the net effect of the proposed rule is minimum regulatory cost relief. The proposed rule requires that new transport category aircraft manufacturers meet just the “more stringent” European certification requirement, rather than both the United States and European standards. Airplane manufacturers already meet or expect to meet this standard as well as the existing 14 CFR requirement. Secondly, all United States transport-aircraft category manufacturers exceed the Small Business Administration small-entity criteria of 1,500 employees for aircraft manufacturers. United States part 25 airplane manufacturers include: Boeing, Cessna Aircraft, Gulfstream Aerospace, Learjet (owned by Bombardier), Lockheed Martin, McDonnell Douglas (a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company), Raytheon Aircraft, and Sabreliner Corporation. Given that this proposed rule is minimally cost-relieving and that there are no small entity manufacturers of part 25 airplanes, the FAA certifies that this proposed rule will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The Trade Agreement Act of 1979, 19 U.S.C. et seq., prohibits Federal agencies from engaging in any standards or related activities that create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign commerce of the United States. Legitimate domestic objectives, such as safety, are not considered unnecessary obstacles. The statute also requires consideration of international standards and, where appropriate, that they be the basis for U.S. standards
In accordance with the above statute, the FAA has assessed the potential effect of the proposed rule and has determined that it is consistent with the statutes requirements by using European international standards as the basis for U.S. standards.
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (the Act), 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538, 1571, requires each Federal agency, to the extent permitted by law, to prepare a written assessment of the effects of any Federal mandate in a Start Printed Page 70513proposed or final agency rule that may result in the expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million or more (adjusted annually for inflation) in any one year. This proposed rule does not contain a Federal intergovernmental or private sector mandate that exceeds $100 million in any year; therefore, the requirements of the Act do not apply.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(d)), the FAA had determined there are no requirements for information collection associated with this proposed rule.
2. Amend § 25.1423 by republishing the introductory text and revising the text of paragraph (b) to read as follows:
(b) Be capable of operation within 3-seconds from the time a microphone is removed from its stowage by a flight attendant at those stations in the passenger compartment from which its use is accessible.
[FR Doc. 02-29668 Filed 11-21-02; 8:45 am]