Source: http://thefederalregister.com/2012/11/29/2012-28845.html
Timestamp: 2018-03-23 11:03:18
Document Index: 502340023

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 61', 'arts 121', 'art 43', 'ART 43', 'art 43', '§ 43', 'art 43']

[Docket No. FAA-2011-0763; Amendment No. 43-45]
SUMMARY: This action amends the maintenance regulations by removing from the preventive maintenance category the task of updating databases used in self-contained, front-panel or pedestal-mounted navigation equipment. Further, we are adding text to the maintenance regulations that describes which equipment and, under which conditions, may have aeronautical databases updated by pilots as a non-maintenance function. Equipment which does not meet the criteria outlined in the new regulation will continue to be updated as a maintenance function. This revision will ensure that pilots using specified avionics equipment have the most current and accurate data and thereby increase aviation safety.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical questions about this rulemaking action, contact Chris Parfitt, Flight Standards Service, Aircraft Maintenance Division--Avionics Maintenance Branch, AFS-360, Federal Aviation Administration, 950 L'Enfant Plaza SW., Washington, DC 20024; telephone (202) 385-6398; facsimile (202) 385-6474; emailchris.parfitt@faa.gov.
For legal questions about this action, contact Viola M. Pando, Office of the Chief Counsel, International Law, Legislation, and Regulations Division--Policy and Adjudication Branch, AGC-210, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Ave. SW., Washington DC 20591; telephone (202) 493-5293; emailviola.pando@faa.gov.
This rulemaking is promulgated under the authority described in Subtitle VII, PartA,Subpart III, section 44701(a)(1), section 44703(b)(1)(D), and section 44711(a)(2). In section 44701(a)(1), the FAA is charged with prescribing regulations and minimum standards in the interest of safety for the manner of servicing of aircraft appliances. In section 44703(b)(1)(D), the FAA is charged with specifying the capacity in which the holder of a certificate may serve as an airman with respect to an aircraft. Section 44711(a)(2) prohibits any person from serving in any capacity as an airman with respect to a civil aircraft or aircraft appliance used, or intended for use, in air commerce without an airman certificate authorizing the airman to serve in the capacity for which the certificate was issued. This regulation is within the scope of the cited authority.
This final rule allows all pilots operating aircraft equipped with certificated avionics equipment as described herein to perform updates of aeronautical databases. In 1996, the FAA updated the regulations defining preventive maintenance to include updating the navigation database of self-contained, front-panel or pedestal-mounted navigation equipment. This allowed the holder of a pilot certificate issued under part 61 to perform the database upload on any aircraft owned or operated by that pilot not used under parts 121, 129, or 135 (hereafter refered to as “restricted operations”). The safetyrecord established by pilots performing those database updates, the evolution of installed avionics equipment, and the expansion of database use in avionics equipment installed in all classes of certificated aircraft have prompted changes put into effect by this final rule.
If the aircraft is operated with an expired database, the pilot must adhere to operational restrictions, which automatically prohibits the use of certain routes within the National Airspace System, resulting in the use of a less direct route to the destination. If the aircraft is rerouted to a repair station, or authorized personnel are transported to the aircraft's location, the operator must absorb the costs of additional fuel consumption, and valuable time can be lost locating mechanics and transporting them to the aircraft. This is particularly true foroperations conducted in remote areas where traveling greater distances to repair stations would be required. Exercising any one of the above-noted options increases the pilot's workload by requiring the selection of alternate routes appropriate for an expired database. Air traffic controller workloads are also increased when the aircraft is re-routed because certain routes are only available to aircraft using the current database for any given period. At a minimum, the operator must facilitate the transport of authorized personnel to the location of the aircraft. Eliminating the requirement for approved personnel will increase operational efficiency for certificate holders and contribute to reduced air traffic control and pilot workloads.
• Relocation of the requirement from 14 CFR part 43 to other CFR parts (since performing the updates would no longer be preventive maintenance);
• Training for pilots;
• Technological advancements in data-transfer mechanisms and methods;
• Limitation on types of media that could be used for storing data;
• Inconsistent references to terrain databases; and
• Possible labor-management issues.
Commenters, including Garmin International (“Garmin”) and the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA), stated that the proposal to remove database updates from the preventive maintenance category, without placing them in another category, would haveresulted in database updates becoming maintenance tasks. The commenters asserted that doing so would place more burdens on operators.
Honeywell and NetJets suggested that the FAA focus on the device used to provide aeronautical information services instead of how the device is installed (i.e., “self-contained, front-instrument panel-mounted and pedestal-mounted”). The commenters were not as concerned with how the device was installed as with how the device received data uploads. This point was captured by one commenter who stated, “[A]lthough most of the systems have cards that are accessible from the `front' of the unit, they [can] also have [a] system that updates by accessing data stored on a `medium' read by a Data Transfer Unit (DTU), and DTUs can be installed almost anywhere in the aircraft [sic].”
Changes to Federal regulations must undergo several economic analyses. First, Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct that each Federal agency shall propose or adopt a regulation only upon a reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended regulationjustify its costs. Second, the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-354) requires agencies to analyze the economic impact of regulatory changes on small entities. Third, the Trade Agreements Act (Pub. L. 96-39) prohibits agencies from setting standards that create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign commerce of the United States. In developing U.S. standards, this Trade Act requires agencies to consider international standards and, where appropriate, that they be the basis of U.S. standards. Fourth, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4) 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 with base year of 1995). This portion of the preamble summarizes the FAA's analysis of the economic impacts of this rule.
The second benefit will be cost savings to the operators. Allowing their pilots to update aeronautical databases eliminates the costs associated with paying authorized personnel to perform the task and the costs of a positioning flight to a repair station, or transporting a certificated mechanic to the aircraft to install the update. In practice, the costs of having authorized personnel perform database updates are minimal because the task would be performed concurrent with a number or other tasks as part of a maintenance service. Even when done specifically to update the database, thecost is relatively small. This conclusion is supported by reports received from commenters stating that the rule would generate such cost savings. However, only one commenter provided an estimate of the cost of a positioning flight, which was an average of $7,700 from the components of crew costs, fuel costs, and lost revenue. In a clarifying comment to the FAA, that commenter reported that during 2011 its airplanes incurred $514,333 in direct crew costs and fuel costs for positioning flights solely to update aeronautical databases. This commenter also reported that its 600 aircraft made 218 of these positioning flights, which is an average of about 0.36 positioning flights per year per aircraft. Thus, its reported average cost per positioning flight was about $2,360.
In keeping with U.S. obligations under the Convention on International Civil Aviation, it is FAA policy tocomply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices to the maximum extent practicable. The FAA has reviewed the corresponding ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices and has identified no differences with these regulations.
VI. How To Obtain Additional Information A. Rulemaking Documents
PART 43—MAINTENANCE, PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE, REBUILDING, AND ALTERATION 1. The authority citation for part 43 continues to read as follows: Authority:
2. Amend § 43.3 by adding new paragraph (k) to read as follows:
3. Amend Appendix A to part 43 by removing paragraph (c)(32). Issued in Washington, DC, on October 12, 2012. Michael P. Huerta, Acting Administrator.