[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 242 (Friday, December 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 78328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-32237]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

[Docket No. FAA-2011-0183]


Access to Aircraft Situation Display to Industry (ASDI) and 
National Airspace System Status Information (NASSI) Data

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

ACTION: Notice of Interim Policy on Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed 
Via ASDI.

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SUMMARY: As a result of recent legislation, the FAA has begun the 
process of amending the circumstances in which aircraft owners or 
operators can limit the dissemination of their aircraft data via the 
FAA's ASDI program. This Notice describes the immediate changes that 
the FAA has implemented. In a future Notice, the FAA will propose 
specific procedures by which owners or operators who want the FAA to 
block their aircraft data can express their preference regarding the 
FAA's release of that information via ASDI. At that time, the FAA will 
invite comments on the FAA's proposed procedures. In the interim, any 
aircraft that the FAA previously blocked under the Certified Security 
Concerns program published on June 3, 2011, will remain blocked. The 
FAA will address the future procedures concerning the blocking of those 
aircraft in its upcoming proposed and final procedures. In addition, 
the FAA is now accepting and implementing all direct requests of 
aircraft owners or operators to block their aircraft data from public 
display of ASDI and NASSI information.

DATES: This interim policy is already in effect and will remain in 
effect until the FAA adopts final procedures.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You may direct any questions on adding 
aircraft to and removing aircraft from the ASDI block list to Mr. John 
McClure by telephone at (540) 422-4648 or by electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 18, 2011, the President signed 
into law H.R. 2112, the ``Consolidated and Further Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2012,'' which provides the U.S. Department of 
Transportation's appropriation for the balance of fiscal year 2012. 
Section 119A of that statute provides that:

    [n]otwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds 
made available under this Act or any prior Act may be used to 
implement or to continue to implement any limitation on the ability 
of any owner or operator of a private aircraft to obtain, upon a 
request to the Administrator of the [FAA], a blocking of that 
owner's or operator's aircraft registration number from any display 
of the [FAA's ASDI] data that is made available to the public, 
except data made available to a Government agency, for the 
noncommercial flights of that owner or operator.

Pub. L. 112-55, Sec.  119A, 125 Stat. 552, 649.

    In light of this appropriation language, the FAA is withdrawing the 
policy that it published on June 3, 2011, which required owners or 
operators to submit a Certified Security Concern in order to have their 
aircraft blocked from the public's view on public ASDI displays. The 
FAA will not reinstate those limitations on aircraft owners or 
operators at the conclusion of the current fiscal year. Instead, in 
early 2012, the FAA will propose and solicit comments on procedures for 
all aircraft owners and operators to request that the FAA block their 
aircraft data from the FAA's public ASDI data feed.
    In the interim until the FAA finalizes the blocking procedures, the 
FAA is currently accepting and implementing requests that aircraft 
owners or operators make directly to the FAA to have their aircraft 
blocked from public display of ASDI and NASSI information, including 
those not accompanied by a Certified Security Concern. Moreover, during 
this period, any aircraft that the FAA previously blocked under the 
Certified Security Concerns program that took effect in August 2011 
will remain blocked, and the FAA will specifically address the future 
treatment of those aircraft in its upcoming proposed and final 
procedures.
    In order to ensure that the FAA has sufficient information to act 
on a blocking request, an aircraft owner or operator should specify the 
registration number of the aircraft, whether the requestor is an owner 
or operator of the aircraft, and whether the requestor desires ASDI 
blocking at the FAA data source or at the ASDI Subscriber level. The 
FAA will construe any request that does not specify whether the request 
is for blocking at the FAA data source or at the ASDI Subscriber level 
as a request to block the information at the FAA data source.
    Aircraft owners and operators are advised that they may need to re-
submit their blocking request at a later date, depending on the 
specific procedures arrived at after the FAA considers the public views 
expressed on the upcoming FAA proposal. Aircraft owners and operators 
are further advised that all ASDI information will remain available 
without blocking to government users of ASDI and NASSI data.
    The FAA's updates to the ASDI aircraft block lists currently take 
effect on the first Thursday of each month. It is possible that the 
volume of requests and their timeliness will preclude the FAA from 
processing some requests in time for them to take effect during the 
month following their submission. Nevertheless, the FAA will process 
requests in the order in which the FAA receives them.
    Until the FAA adopts final procedures for submitting ASDI block 
requests, aircraft owners or operators can submit their ASDI block 
requests via the electronic mail address for the prior program: 
[email protected]. Alternatively, aircraft owners or 
operators can submit their request via regular mail at the mailing 
address specified in the June 3, 2011, final notice for the Certified 
Security Concerns program. For requests submitted by regular mail, the 
FAA prefers to receive those mail requests at: FAA ASDI Blocking 
Request; ATO System Operations Services, AJR-0; Wilbur Wright Building, 
Room 3E1500; 600 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20597.
    Given the possibility that additional aircraft owners or operators 
will elect to have their aircraft data blocked at the ASDI Subscriber 
level, the FAA expects to amend its current Memorandum of Agreement 
with the ASDI Subscribers to reflect more specifically the new 
procedures. Such an amendment will not take place until after the FAA 
finalizes the procedural changes, however. In the meantime, ASDI 
Subscribers are advised that the existing Memorandum of Agreement will 
remain in effect insofar as it requires ASDI Subscribers to block 
requests based upon Certified Security Concerns, and further, that the 
FAA construes the Memorandum of Agreement to obligate ASDI Subscribers 
to filter any other aircraft data at the direction of the FAA.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 12, 2011.
Michael P. Huerta,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2011-32237 Filed 12-15-11; 8:45 am]
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