2017-05991. Proposed Amendment of Class C and Class E Airspace; Evansville, IN

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

SUMMARY:

This action proposes to modify Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Evansville Regional Airport, Evansville, Indiana. This action is necessary due to the decommissioning of the Evansville non-directional radio beacon (NDB) and cancellation of the NDB approach. This action would also update the geographic coordinates of the airport, as well as Skylane Airport, listed with Evansville Regional Airport in Class C airspace.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before May 12, 2017.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; telephone [phone], or 1-800-647-5527. You must identify FAA Docket No. FAA-2016-9540; Airspace Docket No. 16-AGL-27, at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments through the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. You may review the public docket containing the proposal, any comments received, and any final disposition in person in the Dockets Office between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FAA Order 7400.11A, 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: [phone]. The Order is also available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of FAA Order 7400.11A at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to http://www.archives.gov/​federal_​register/​code_​of_​federal-regulations/​ibr_​locations.html.

FAA Order 7400.11, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, is published yearly and effective on September 15.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ron Laster, Federal Aviation Administration, Contract Support, Operations Support Group, Central Service Center, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177; telephone [phone].

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 Class C airspace and Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface at Evansville Regional Airport, Evansville, IN.

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 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 Docket No. FAA-2016-9540/Airspace Docket No. 16-AGL-27.” The postcard will be date/time stamped and returned to the commenter.

All communications received 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 during normal business hours at the Federal Aviation Administration, Air Traffic Organization, Central Service Center, Operations Support Group, 10101 Hillwood Parkway, Fort Worth, TX 76177.

Availability and Summary of Documents Proposed for Incorporation by Reference

This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.11A, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2016, and effective September 15, 2016. FAA Order 7400.11A is publicly available as listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11A lists Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and reporting points.

The Proposal

The FAA is proposing an amendment to Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 by modifying Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface to within a 7.1-mile radius of the airport (from a 6.8-mile radius) at Evansville Regional Airport, Evansville, IN.

The 4.4-mile wide segment (2.2. miles from each side of the 001 degree bearing from the airport) extending from the 6.8-mile radius of the airport would be modified to a 4-mile wide segment extending from the proposed 7.1-mile radius of the airport to 11.6 miles north (from 11.2 miles).

The 4.4-mile wide segment (2.2 miles from each side of the 181 degree bearing from the airport) extending from the 6.8-mile radius of the airport to 11.3 miles south of the airport would be removed due to the decommissioning of the Evansville NDB.

The Pocket City VORTAC navigation aid segment would be amended to within a 7.1-mile radius (from a 6.8-mile radius) of the airport to the VORTAC.

This proposal also would update the geographic coordinates of the airport to coincide with the FAA's aeronautical database, as well as updating the coordinates of Skylane Airport listed under Evansville Regional Airport in Class C airspace.

Airspace reconfiguration is necessary due to the cancellation and decommissioning of the non-directional radio beacon (NDB) and NDB approaches which would enhance the safety and management of the standard instrument approach procedures for IFR operations at the airport.

Class C and E airspace designations are published in paragraph 4000 and 6005, respectively, of FAA Order 7400.11A, dated August 3, 2016, and effective September 15, 2016, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace designations listed in this document will be published subsequently in the Order.

Regulatory Notices and Analyses

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

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.

§ 71.1

[Amended]

2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order 7400.11A, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 3, 2016, and effective September 15, 2016, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 4000 Class C Airspace.

AGL IN C Evansville Regional Airport, IN

Evansville Regional Airport, IN

(Lat. 38°02′27″ N., long. 87°31′43″ W.)

Skylane Airport

(Lat. 38°00′42″ N., long. 87°35′41″ W.)

That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 4,500 feet MSL within a 5-mile radius of the Evansville Regional Airport excluding that airspace beginning where the Pocket City 057° radial crosses the 5-mile ring, thence northeast via the 057° radial to intercept a 11/4-mile radius of the Skylane Airport, thence counterclockwise via the 11/4-mile radius to the 360° bearing from the Skylane Airport, thence due west to the 5-mile ring extending upward from the surface to 1,600 feet MSL; and that airspace within a 10-mile radius of the airport extending upward from 1,600 feet MSL to and including 4,500 feet MSL. This Class C airspace area is effective during the specific days and hours of operation of the Evansville Tower and Approach Control Facility as established in advance by a Notice to Airmen. The effective dates and times will thereafter be continuously published in the Airport/Facility Directory.

* * * * *

Paragraph 6005 Class E Airspace Areas Extending Upward From 700 Feet or More Above the Surface of the Earth.

* * * * *

AGL IN E5 Evansville, IN

Evansville Regional Airport, IN

(Lat. 38°02′27″ N., long. 87°31′43″ W.)

Pocket City VORTAC

(Lat. 37°55′42″ N., long. 87°45′45″ W.)

That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 7.1-mile radius of Evansville Regional Airport, and within 2 miles each side of the 001° bearing from the airport extending from the 7.1-mile radius to 11.6 miles north of the airport, and within 4 miles each side of the Pocket City VOTYAC 060° radial extending from the 7.1-mile radius to the VORTAC.

Issued in Fort Worth, Texas on March 13, 2017.

Walter Tweedy

Acting Manager, Operations Support Group, ATO Central Service Center.