2019-15936. Proposed Amendment of Class D Airspace; Los Angeles, CA

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

SUMMARY:

This action proposes to correct a clerical error in the Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA legal description to remove the language establishing the airspace as part time. This action is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the airport.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before September 12, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments on this proposal to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590; telephone: [phone], or [phone]. You must identify FAA Docket No. FAA-2019-0535; Airspace Docket No. 19-AWP-20, at the beginning of your comments. You may also submit comments through the internet at http://www.regulations.gov.

FAA Order 7400.11C, 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 7400.11C at NARA, call [phone], or go to https://www.archives.gov/​federal-register/​cfr/​ibr-locations.html.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard Roberts, Federal Aviation Administration, Western Service Center, Operations Support Group, 2200 S 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198-6547; 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 the Class D legal description for Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA, in support of IFR operations at the airport.

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 (Docket No. FAA-2019-0535; Airspace Docket No. 19-AWP-20) and be submitted in triplicate to DOT Docket Operations (see ADDRESSES section for address and phone number).

Persons 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-2019-0535; Airspace Docket No. 19-AWP-20.” 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 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 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays, at the Northwest Mountain Regional Office of the Federal Aviation Administration, Air Traffic Organization, Western Service Center, Operations Support Group, 2200 S 216th St, Des Moines, WA 98198-6547.

Availability and Summary of Documents for Incorporation by Reference

This document proposes to amend FAA Order 7400.11C, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 13, 2018, and effective September 15, 2018. FAA Order 7400.11C is publicly available as listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document. FAA Order 7400.11C lists Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and reporting points.

The Proposal

The FAA proposes to amend Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 71 by removing language from the legal description in FAA Order 7400.11C, that establishes the Class D airspace for Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, CA as part time. NBAA informed the FAA that the LAX Class D legal description, the related chart supplement entry, and notes included on the VFR Sectional contained information that did not clearly identify when the airspace was in effect. The FAA concurs. The legal description contains language that implied the Class D airspace was part-time, inconsistent with the original intent of the airspace. The Chart Supplement does not include information indicating when the airspace is effective and directs users to the VFR Terminal Area Chart. The VFR Terminal Area Chart directs users to the Chart Supplement or NOTAMS for information and NOTAMS are not appropriate for this use. The original intent was to establish the Class D airspace as full time. In 2009, as a result of a mid-air collision in New York and in response to NTSB Recommendation A-09-86, Congress requested the FAA evaluate low-level flight around heavy-use airspace. The FAA committed to evaluations of flight operations in and around Class Bravo Airspace in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston. The LAX VFR Airspace Taskforce was convened and made recommendations to modify the airspace around LAX in a two-step process. Step one was to establish full-time Class D airspace at LAX. Step two was to incorporate the Class D airspace into the LAX Class B at a later date. This proposal recommends removal of the language indicating the airspace is part time and does not affect the lateral boundaries of the airspace.

Class D airspace designations are published in paragraph 5000 of FAA Order 7400.11C, dated August 13, 2018 and effective September 15, 2018, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class D airspace designation listed in this document will be published subsequently in the Order.

Regulatory Notices and Analyses

The FAA has determined that this proposed 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 proposed 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 7400.11C, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated August 13, 2018, and effective September 15, 2018, is amended as follows:

Paragraph 5000 Class D Airspace.

* * * * *

AWP CA D Los Angeles, CA [Amended]

Los Angeles International Airport, CA

(Lat. 33°56′33″ N, long. 118°24′26″ W)

Santa Monica Municipal Airport, CA

(Lat. 34°00′57″ N, long. 118°27′05″ W)

That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 2,700 feet MSL bounded by a line beginning at lat. 33°57′42″ N, long. 118°27′23″ W; to lat. 33°58′18″ N, long. 118°26′24″ W; then via the 2.7-mile radius of the Santa Monica Municipal Airport counterclockwise to lat. 34°00′00″ N, long. 118°24′02″ W; to lat. 34°00′00″ N, long. 118°22′58″ W; to lat. 33°57′42″ N, long. 118°22′10″ W, thence to the point of beginning. That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 2,500 feet MSL bounded by a line beginning at lat. 33°55′50″ N, long. 118°22′06″ W; to lat. 33°54′16″ N, long. 118°24′17″ W; to lat. 33°52′47″ N, long. 118°26′22″ W; to lat. 33°55′51″ N, long. 118°26′05″ W, thence to the point of beginning.

Issued in Seattle, Washington, on July 19, 2019.

Shawn M. Kozica,

Manager, Operations Support Group, Western Service Center.