[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 122 (Monday, June 24, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32371-32372]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-15986]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
14 CFR Part 71
[Airspace Docket No. 96-AAL-4]
Proposed Revision of Class D and E Airspace; Bethel, AK
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: This revision modifies the Class D and Class E airspace at
Bethel, AK, to accommodate Visual Flight Rules (VFR) traffic in the
Bethel area, landing and departing from Hanger Lake located about 2.5
miles northeast of the Bethel VORTAC. Several Bethel Airport user
groups, during public discussion on the decommission of the Bethel
Approach Control, requested an exclusion area for Hanger Lake to
accommodate VFR landings and takeoffs during Instrument Flight Rules
(IFR) weather conditions at Bethel. The area would be depicted on
aeronautical charts for pilot reference. The intended effect of this
proposal is to provide adequate exclusion from Bethel, AK, Class D and
Class E airspace to accommodate Bethel user group requirements at
Hanger Lake.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 12, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposal in triplicate to: Manager,
System Management Branch, AAL-530, Docket No. 96-AAL-4, Federal
Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, Anchorage, AK
99513-7587.
The official docket may be examined in the Office of the Assistant
Chief Counsel for the Alaskan Region at the same address.
An informal docket may also be examined during normal business
hours in the Office of the Manager, System Management Branch, Air
Traffic Division, at the address shown above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert van Haastert, System Management Branch, AAL-538, Federal
Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14, Anchorage, AK
99513-7587; telephone number (907) 271-5902.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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 the airspace docket number 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 Airspace Docket No. 96-
AAL-4.'' 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 comments received. All comments submitted will be available
for examination in the System Management Branch, Air Traffic Division,
Federal Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14,
Anchorage, AK, both before and after the closing date for comments. A
report summarizing each
[[Page 32372]]
substantive public contact with FAA personnel concerned with this
rulemaking will be filed in the docket.
Availability of NPRM's
Any person may obtain a copy of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(NPRM) by submitting a request to the System Management Branch, AAL-
530, Federal Aviation Administration, 222 West 7th Avenue, Box 14,
Anchorage, AK 99513-7587. Communications must identify the notice
number of this NPRM. Persons interested in being placed on a mailing
list for future NPRM's should also request a copy of Advisory Circular
No. 11-2A which describes the application procedure.
The Proposal
The FAA is considering an amendment to part 71 of the Federal
Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 71) to modify Class D and Class E
airspace at Bethel, AK. Changes to the Bethel airspace will incorporate
an exclusion below 1,100 feet MSL between the 061 deg. radial and the
081 deg. radial from 2.9 nautical miles northeast to the Bethel VORTAC.
The changes are required to create a Hanger Lake exclusion area as
requested by Bethel Airport user groups for VFR operations when Bethel
has IFR weather conditions. The area would be depicted on aeronautical
charts for pilot reference. The coordinates for this airspace docket
are based on North American Datum 83. Class D airspace area
designations are published in paragraph 5000 of FAA Order 7400.9C,
dated August 17, 1995, and effective September 16, 1995, which is
incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 (58 FR 36298; July 6, 1993).
The Class E airspace areas designated as 700/1200 foot transition areas
are published in paragraph 6005 of FAA Order 7400.9C, dated August 17,
1995, and effective September 16, 1995, which is incorporated by
reference in 14 CFR 71.1 (58 FR 36298; July 6, 1993). The Class D and
Class E airspace designations listed in this document would be
published subsequently in the Order. The FAA has determined that these
proposed regulations only involve an established body of technical
regulations for which frequent and routing amendments are necessary to
keep them operationally current. 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, will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71
Airspace, Incorporation by reference, Navigation (air).
The Proposed Amendment
In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation
Administration proposes to amend 14 CFR part 71 as follows:
PART 71--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for 14 CFR Part 71 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 40103, 40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24 FR
9565, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 389; 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 14 CFR
11.69.
Sec. 71.1 [Amended]
2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of Federal
Aviation Administration Order 7400.9C, Airspace Designation and
Reporting Points, dated August 17, 1995, and effective September 16,
1995, is amended as follows:
Paragraph 5000 Class D Airspace
* * * * *
AAL AK D Bethel, AK
Bethel Airport, AK
(Lat 60 deg.46'47'' N, long. 161 deg.50'17'' W)
Bethel VORTAC
(Lat. 60 deg.47'05'' N, long. 161 deg.49'27'' W)
That airspace extending upward from the surface to and
including, 2,600 feet MSL within a 4.1-mile radius of the Bethel
Airport, excluding that portion below 1,100 feet MSL between the
061 deg. radial and the 081 deg. radial from 2.9 miles northeast of
the Bethel VORTAC. This Class D airspace area is effective during
the specific dates and times established in advance by a Notice to
Airmen. The effective date and time will thereafter be continuously
published in the Airport/Facility Directory.
* * * * *
Paragraph 6005 Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet or
more above the surface of the earth.
* * * * *
AAL AK E4 Bethel, AK
Bethel Airport, AK
(Lat. 60 deg.46'47'' N, long. 161 deg.50'17'' W)
Bethel VORTAC
(Lat. 60 deg.47'05'' N, long. 161 deg.49'27' W)
That airspace extending upward from the surface within 3 miles
each side of the 022 deg. radial from the Bethel VORTAC, extending
from the 4.1-mile radius of the Bethel Airport to 8.2 miles
northeast of the airport, excluding that portion below 1,100 feet
MSL between the 061 deg. radial and the 081 deg. radial from 2.9
miles northeast of the Bethel VORTAC, within 3.4 miles each side of
the Bethel VORTAC 006 deg. radial, extending from the 4.1-mile
radius of the Bethel Airport to 11 miles north of the Bethel VORTAC
and within 3.5 miles each side of the Bethel VORTAC 213 deg. radial
extending from the 4.1-mile radius of the Bethel Airport to 10 miles
southwest of the airport.
* * * * *
Issued in Anchorage, AK, on June 12, 1996.
Willis C. Nelson,
Manager, Air Traffic Division, Alaskan Region.
[FR Doc. 96-15986 Filed 6-21-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M
