[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 201 (Friday, October 17, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53989-53990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-27388]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Airspace Docket No. 97-AEA-36]


Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Towanda, PA

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would establish Class E Airspace at 
Towanda, PA. The development of a new Standard Instrument Approach 
Procedure (SIAP) at Bradford County Airport based on the Global 
Positioning System (GPS) has made this proposal necessary. Additional 
controlled airspace extending upward from 700 feet Above Ground Level 
(AGL) is needed to accommodate the SIAP and for Instrument Flight Rules 
(IFR) operations to the airport. The area would be depicted on 
aeronautical charts for pilot reference.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposed rule in triplicate to: 
Manager, Airspace Branch, AEA-520, Docket No. 97-AEA-36, F.A.A. Eastern 
Region, Federal Building #111, John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport, Jamaica, 
NY 11430. The official docket may be examined in the Office of the 
Assistant Chief Counsel, AEA-7, F.A.A. Eastern Region, Federal Building 
#111, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York 11430.

    An informal docket may also be examined during normal business 
hours in the Airspace Branch, AEA-520, F.A.A. Eastern Region, Federal 
Building #111, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, NY 
11430.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Francis T. Jordan, Jr., Airspace Specialist, Airspace Branch, AEA-
520, F.A.A. Eastern Region, Federal Building #111, John F. Kennedy 
International Airport, Jamaica, NY 11430; telephone: (718) 553-4521.

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. 97-
AEA-36''. 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 proposals contained in this notice may be changed in the 
light of comments received. All comments submitted will be available 
for examination in the Rules Docket both before and after the closing 
date for comments. A report summarizing each substantive public contact 
with FAA personnel concerned with this rulemaking will be filed in the 
docket.

Availability of NPRMs

    Any person may obtain a copy of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(NPRM) by submitting a request to the Office of the Assistant Chief 
Counsel, AEA-7, F.A.A. Eastern Region, Federal Building #111, John F. 
Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, NY 11430. Communications must 
identify the notice number of this NPRM. Persons interested in being 
placed on a mailing list for future NPRMs 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 establish Class E airspace 
extending upward from 700 feet AGL at Towanda, PA. A GPS RWY 23 SIAP 
has been developed for Bradford County Airport. Additional controlled 
airspace extending upward from 700 feet AGL is needed to accommodate 
this SIAP and for IFR operations at the airport. The area would be 
depicted on appropriate aeronautical charts. Class E airspace 
designations for airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the 
surface are published in Paragraph 6005 of FAA Order 7400.9 E, dated 
September 10, 1997 and effective September 16, 1997, which is 
incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1. The Class E airspace

[[Page 53990]]

designation listed in this document would be published subsequently in 
the Order.
    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. 
Therefore, this proposed regulation--(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 would only affect air traffic procedures 
and air navigation, it is certified that this proposed rule would 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 Part 71 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40103, 40113, 40120; E.O. 10854; 24 
FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 389.


Sec. 71.1  [Amended]

    2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of the Federal 
Aviation Administration Order 7400.9E, Airspace Designations and 
Reporting Points, dated September 10, 1997, and effective September 16, 
1997 is amended as follows:

Paragraph 6005  Class E airspace areas extending upward from 700 
feet or more above the surface of the earth.

* * * * *

AEA PA E5  Towanda, PA [New]

Bradford County Airport, PA
    (Lat. 41 deg. 44'36''N., long. 76 deg. 26'40''W.)

    That airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface 
within a 6-mile radius of Bradford County Airport and within 4 miles 
each side of the 035 deg. bearing from the Bradford County Airport 
extending from the 6-mile radius to 11 miles northeast of the 
airport.
* * * * *
    Issued in Jamaica, New York, on September 16, 1997.
Franklin D. Hatfield,
Manager, Air Traffic Division, Eastern Region.
[FR Doc. 97-27388 Filed 10-16-97; 8:45 am]
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