[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 93 (Monday, May 14, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28247-28250]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-11593]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 91
[Docket No. FAA-2011-1396]
RIN 2120-AK10
Operations in Class D Airspace
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The FAA is removing the provision describing an abbreviated
taxi clearance. Previously, air traffic controllers issued abbreviated
taxi instructions to aircraft en route to their assigned departure
runway, which
[[Page 28248]]
allowed pilots to cross all runways that intersected the taxi route to
their departure runway. The FAA no longer uses these abbreviated taxi
clearances and is removing the provision of the regulation that
describes this clearance. This action aligns the regulation with
current air traffic control practice and responds to the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Safety Recommendation Numbers A-00-
67 and -68.
DATES: Effective May 14, 2012.
Submit comments on or before June 13, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by docket number FAA-2011-1396
using any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for sending your
comments electronically.
Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30; U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room
W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket
Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
Privacy: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without
change, to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information the commenter provides. Using the search function of the
docket Web site, anyone can find and read the electronic form of all
comments received into any FAA docket, including the name of the
individual sending the comment (or signing the comment for an
association, business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete Privacy Act
Statement can be found in the Federal Register published on April 11,
2000 (65 FR 19477-19478), as well as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at
http://www.regulations.gov at any time. Follow the online instructions
for accessing the docket or go to Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of
the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions concerning this rule,
contact Ellen Crum, Airspace, Regulations and ATC Procedures Group, Air
Traffic Organization, Mission Support Services, Federal Aviation
Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591;
telephone (202) 267-8783; facsimile (202) 267-9328, email;
[email protected].
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 Acting Administrator, including the
authority to issue, rescind, and revise regulations. 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, Chapter 401, Section 40103 (b),
which allows the Acting Administrator to regulate the use of the
navigable airspace as necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft and
the efficient use of airspace. Additionally, Subtitle VII, Part A,
Subpart III, Chapter 447, Section 44701 (c) authorizes the Acting
Administrator to carry out functions in this chapter in a way that
helps to reduce or eliminate the possibility or recurrence of accidents
in air transportation.
I. Background
In January 1990, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
recommended that the FAA take action to address safety issues involving
runway incursions and near-collision ground incidents.\1\ That
recommendation followed several high-profile incidents, including a
1990 ground collision at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport between an Eastern
B727 and a King Air (resulting in one fatality and one injury).
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\1\ NTSB Safety Recommendations A-00-67 and A-00-68 on July 6,
2000. These actions recommended that the FAA require that all runway
crossing be authorized only by specific air traffic control
clearance and ensure that all U.S. pilots and personnel assigned to
move aircraft and pilots operating under 14 CFR part 129 receive
adequate notification of the change. The NTSB further recommended
that when an aircraft needs to cross multiple runways, air traffic
controllers must issue an explicit crossing instruction for each
runway after the previous runway has been crossed.
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On August 15, 2007, an FAA ``Call to Action'' committee issued
several recommendations to address improving runway safety across the
National Airspace System (NAS). The committee identified taxi
clearances as a key area of concern. Following the committee's
recommendations, the FAA convened a Safety Risk Management (SRM) panel
of subject matter experts to review the committee's recommendations,
including the NTSB recommendation to eliminate the issuance of a ``taxi
to'' clearance found in 14 CFR 91.129(i).
NTSB Safety Recommendations A-00-67 and A-00-68 were reiterated in
an NTSB Safety Recommendation, dated August 28, 2007, following the
2006 crash of Comair flight 5191, CL-600, which crashed during takeoff
from Blue Grass Airport (LEX), Lexington, KY. The NTSB determined that
a contributor to the probable cause of that accident, in which the
flight crew was instructed to take off from runway 22 but began its
takeoff roll on runway 26, was the FAA's failure to require that all
runway crossings be authorized only by ATC clearances specific to the
runway.
On September 11, 2008, the SRM panel issued its ``Explicit Runway
Crossing Clearances Safety Risk Management Document (SRMD),'' which
contained a proposal ``to implement explicit runway crossing clearances
per NTSB recommendation A-00-67.''
In response to the NTSB's recommendation and effective June 30,
2010, the FAA implemented changes to the procedures for issuing taxi
and ground movement instructions. The changes subsequently were
incorporated into FAA Orders, JO 7110.65 Air Traffic Control and JO
7210.3 Facility Operation and Administration.
II. Immediately Adopted Final Rule
This action revises paragraph (i) of Sec. 91.129 by removing the
sentences that describe a ``clearance to `taxi to' the takeoff runway
assigned to the aircraft.'' This language is contradictory to current
air traffic control procedures and could lead to confusion and
incorrect pilot expectations. Removing this provision does not alter
the requirement to have an appropriate ATC clearance. The FAA will
continue to require all aircraft to receive an ATC clearance prior to
entering any taxiway or runway.
The FAA finds, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b), that notice and public
comment are impracticable and contrary to the public interest.
Furthermore, the FAA finds that good cause exists under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)
to make this rule effective upon publication. The changes to this
section align the rule with current air traffic procedures and will not
adversely affect the flow of taxiing aircraft. As this rule does not
change the requirement to have an ATC clearance prior to taxiing, this
amendment will not adversely impact safety and will avoid confusion
that can be caused between contradictory regulations and ATC
procedures. Nonetheless, the FAA invites parties to comment on this
proceeding. A separate
[[Page 28249]]
notice will be issued by the FAA addressing any comments received.
III. Regulatory Notices and Analyses
A. Regulatory Evaluation
Changes to Federal regulations must undergo several economic
analyses. First, Executive Order 12866 and Executive Order 13563
directs that each Federal agency shall propose or adopt a regulation
only upon a reasoned determination that the benefits of the intended
regulation justify 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, the 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.
Department of Transportation Order DOT 2100.5 prescribes policies
and procedures for simplification, analysis, and review of regulations.
If the expected cost impact is so minimal that a rule does not warrant
a full evaluation, this order permits that a statement to that effect
and the basis for it to be included in the preamble if a full
regulatory evaluation of the cost and benefits is not prepared. Such a
determination has been made for this rule. The reasoning for this
determination follows:
The changes to this section align the rule with current air traffic
procedures and will not adversely affect the flow of taxiing aircraft.
As this rule does not change the requirement to have an ATC clearance
prior to taxiing, this amendment will not adversely impact safety and
will avoid confusion that can be caused between contradicting
regulations and ATC procedures. Further this rule responds to NTSB
recommendations and to the August 15, 2007 FAA ``Call to Action''
Committee recommendations to address improving runway safety across the
National Airspace System. That committee identified taxi clearances as
a key area of concern. This action improves safety at no additional
cost.
The FAA has, therefore, determined that this rule is not a
``significant regulatory action'' as defined in section 3(f) of
Executive Order 12866, and is not ``significant'' as defined in DOT's
Regulatory Policies and Procedures.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Determination
The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-354) (RFA)
establishes ``as a principle of regulatory issuance that agencies shall
endeavor, consistent with the objectives of the rule and of applicable
statutes, to fit regulatory and informational requirements to the scale
of the businesses, organizations, and governmental jurisdictions
subject to regulation. To achieve this principle, agencies are required
to solicit and consider flexible regulatory proposals and to explain
the rationale for their actions to assure that such proposals are given
serious consideration.'' The RFA covers a wide-range of small entities,
including small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and small
governmental jurisdictions.
Agencies must perform a review to determine whether a rule will
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. If the agency determines that it will, the agency must
prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis as described in the RFA.
However, if an agency determines that a rule is not expected to
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities, section 605(b) of the RFA provides that the head of the
agency may so certify and a regulatory flexibility analysis is not
required. The certification must include a statement providing the
factual basis for this determination, and the reasoning should be
clear. This rule aligns the agency's regulations with current practice,
responds to NTSB Safety Recommendation Numbers A-00-67 and A-00-68, and
with no change in existing procedures there are no additional costs.
Therefore as the FAA Acting Administrator, I certify that this rule
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities.
C. International Trade Impact Assessment
The Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (Pub. L. 96-39), as amended by the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (Pub. L. 103-465), prohibits Federal
agencies from establishing standards or engaging in related activities
that create unnecessary obstacles to the foreign commerce of the United
States. Pursuant to these Acts, the establishment of standards is not
considered an unnecessary obstacle to the foreign commerce of the
United States, so long as the standard has a legitimate domestic
objective, such as the protection of safety, and does not operate in a
manner that excludes imports that meet this objective. The statute also
requires consideration of international standards and, where
appropriate, that they be the basis for U.S. standards. The FAA has
assessed the potential effect of this rule and determined that it will
have only a domestic impact and therefore has no effect on
international trade.
D. Unfunded Mandates Assessment
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-
4) requires each Federal agency to prepare a written statement
assessing the effects of any Federal mandate in a proposed or final
agency rule that may result in an expenditure of $100 million or more
(in 1995 dollars) in any one year by State, local, and tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector; such a mandate
is deemed to be a ``significant regulatory action.'' The FAA currently
uses an inflation-adjusted value of $143.1 million in lieu of $100
million. This rule does not contain such a mandate; therefore, the
requirements of Title II of the Act do not apply.
E. Paperwork Reduction Act
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(d)) requires
that the FAA consider the impact of paperwork and other information
collection burdens imposed on the public. The FAA has determined that
there is no new requirement for information collection associated with
this immediately adopted final rule.
F. International Compatibility
In keeping with U.S. obligations under the Convention on
International Civil Aviation, it is FAA policy to conform to
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and
Recommended Practices to the maximum extent practicable. The FAA has
determined that there are no ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices
that correspond to these regulations.
IV. Executive Order Determinations
A. Executive Order 13132, Federalism
The FAA analyzed this immediately adopted final rule under the
principles and criteria of Executive Order 13132,
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Federalism. The agency determined that this action will not have a
substantial direct effect on the States, or the relationship between
the Federal Government and the States, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various levels of government, and,
therefore, does not have Federalism implications.
B. Executive Order 13211, Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy
Supply, Distribution, or Use
The FAA analyzed this immediately adopted final rule under
Executive Order 13211, Actions Concerning Regulations that
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use (May 18,
2001). The agency has determined that it is not a ``significant energy
action'' under the executive order and it is not likely to have a
significant adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use of
energy.
V. How To Obtain Additional Information
A. Rulemaking Documents
An electronic copy of a rulemaking document may be obtained by
using the Internet--
1. Search the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov);
2. Visit the FAA's Regulations and Policies Web page at http://
www.faa.gov/regulations--policies/or
3. Access the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/.
Copies may also be obtained by sending a request (identified by
amendment or docket number of this rulemaking) to the Federal Aviation
Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-9680.
B. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of
1996 requires FAA to comply with small entity requests for information
or advice about compliance with statutes and regulations within its
jurisdiction. A small entity with questions regarding this document may
contact its local FAA official, or the person listed under the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT heading at the beginning of the preamble.
To find out more about SBREFA on the Internet, visit http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/sbre_act/.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 91
Afghanistan, Agriculture, Air traffic control, Aircraft, Airmen,
Airports, Aviation safety, Canada, Cuba, Ethiopia, Freight, Mexico,
Noise control, Political candidates, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements and Yugoslavia.
The Amendment
In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation
Administration amends chapter I of title 14, Code of Federal
Regulations as follows:
PART 91--GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES
0
1. The authority citation for part 91 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 1155, 40103, 40113, 40120, 44101,
44111, 44701, 44704, 44709, 44711, 44712, 44715, 44716, 44717,
44722, 46306, 46315, 46316, 46504, 46506-46507, 47122, 47508, 47528-
47531, articles 12 and 29 of the Convention on International Civil
Aviation (61 Stat. 1180).
0
2. Amend Sec. 91.129 by revising paragraph (i) to read as follows:
Sec. 91.129 Operations in Class D airspace.
* * * * *
(i) Takeoff, landing, taxi clearance. No person may, at any airport
with an operating control tower, operate an aircraft on a runway or
taxiway, or take off or land an aircraft, unless an appropriate
clearance is received from ATC.
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 19, 2012.
Michael P. Huerta,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2012-11593 Filed 5-11-12; 8:45 am]
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