[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 111 (Wednesday, June 10, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 31866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-15142]
[[Page 31865]]
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Part III
Department of Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
Federal Aviation Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
14 CFR Part 11, et al.
Revisions to Digital Flight Data Recorder Rules; Final Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 111 / Wednesday, June 10, 1998 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 31866]]
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Parts 11, 121, 125, 129, 135
[Docket No. 28109; Amendment No. 11-44]
RIN 2120-AF76
Revisions to Digital Flight Data Recorder Rules
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final rule; Disposition of comment.
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SUMMARY: This document informs the public of the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) approval and the assigned control number for the
Revisions to Digital Flight Data Recorder Rules final rule information
collection requirements, and responds to the one comment received. This
document also adds the OMB control number to the table in FAA's general
rulemaking procedure regulations.
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 10, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Gary E. Davis, Air Carrier Operations Branch (AFS-220), Flight
Standards Service, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267-3747.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following information summarizes the
information collection considerations for the Revisions to Digital
Flight Data Recorder Rules final rule (62 FR 38362, July 17, 1997).
1.The reasons the information is planned to be and/or has been
collected. This regulation revises and updates the Federal Aviation
Regulations to require that certain airplanes be equipped to
accommodate additional digital flight data recorder (DFDR) parameters.
These revisions follow a series of safety recommendations issued by the
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and the Federal Aviation
Administration's decision that DFDR rules should be revised to upgrade
recorder capabilities in most transport airplanes. These revisions will
require additional information to be collected to enable more thorough
accident or incident investigation and to enable industry to predict
certain trends and make necessary modifications before an accident or
incident occurs.
2. The way such information is planned to be and/or has been used
to further agency purposes and service agency needs. These revisions
will require additional information to be collected and retained by
aircraft operators to enable more thorough accident or incident
investigation and to enable industry to predict certain trends and make
necessary modifications before an accident or incident occurs.
3. An estimate, to the extent practicable, of the average burden of
the collection. Once the DFDR has been upgraded to record the required
parameters, no further expenditures are required; recordation and
storage of the data in the recorder is automatic. Costs of upgrade and
installation vary by type of aircraft and are detailed in the final
rule and regulatory evaluation (62 FR 28262).
4. Whether responses to the collection of information are
voluntary, required to obtain or retain a benefit, or mandatory.
Collection of data is required by regulation. In the case of an
accident, when the flight data recorder is retrieved from the scene,
the 25 hours of information recorded by the aircraft's recorder will be
downloaded and analyzed by accident investigators at the NTSB and the
FAA to determine probable cause.
5. The nature and extent of confidentiality to be provided, if any.
Flight data recordings are surrendered to the National Transportation
Safety Board only in the event of an accident or an incident. Only
after the data has been analyzed and interpreted is a compilation
released.
6. The fact that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person
is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
OBM has approved the Digital Flight Data Recorder rule and assigned
it the following control number: 2120-0616.
Comments Received: The FAA received one comment from Midwest
Airlines. The comment addresses concerns regarding ``language made in
the final rule as well as the compatibility of the LORAL F800 DFDR's
utilized'' by Midwest Express airlines. This comment goes beyond the
scope of the request. The FAA solicited comments on the information
requirements in order to: (1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection
of information necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (2) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information; including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) enhance the
quality utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(4) minimize the burden of data collection by regulated entities,
including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
Discussion of the compatibility of a particular flight data recorder
model with the requirements of the rules has already been addressed in
the preamble to the final rule.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 11
Administrative practice and procedure, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
The Amendment
In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation
Administration amends 14 CFR part 11 as set forth below:
PART 11--GENERAL RULEMAKING PROCEDURES
1. The authority citation for part 11 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40101, 40103, 40105, 40109, 40113,
44110, 44502, 44701-44702, 44711, 46102.
2. Section 11.101(b) is amended by revising the entry for part 125
and by adding the following entries in numerical order to read as
follows:
Sec. 11.101 OMB control numbers assigned pursuant to the Paperwork
Reduction Act.
* * * * *
(b) Display.
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Current OMB
14 CFR part or section identified and described control No.
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* * * * *
Part 121 (except as below) * * *
* * * * *
Sec. 121.344............................................ 2120-0616
Sec. 121.344a........................................... 2120-0616
* * * * *
Part 125 (except as below)................................. 2120-0085
Sec. 125.226............................................ 2120-0616
* * * * *
Sec. 129.20............................................... 2120-0616
* * * * *
Sec. 135.152.............................................. 2120-0616
* * * * *
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Issued in Washington, DC on June 1, 1998.
Mardi R. Thompson,
Acting Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulations.
[FR Doc. 98-15142 Filed 6-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M
