[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



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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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             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