[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 29 (Tuesday, February 12, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9865-9866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03178]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Parts 121 and 135

[Docket No. FAA-2011-1136; Notice No. 12-07]
RIN 2120-AJ33


Air Carrier Contract Maintenance Requirements; Extension of 
Comment Period

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); extension of comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: This action extends the comment period for an NPRM that was 
published November 13, 2012. In that rulemaking, the FAA proposed to 
amend the maintenance regulations for domestic, flag, and supplemental 
operations, and commuter and on-demand operations for aircraft type 
certificated with a passenger seating configuration of 10 seats or more 
(excluding any pilot seat). It would require these operators to develop 
policies, procedures, methods, and instructions for performing contract 
maintenance that are acceptable to the FAA and to include them in their 
maintenance manuals. It would also require the operators to provide a 
list to the FAA of all persons with whom they contract their 
maintenance. At the behest of several of their FAA-certificated air 
carrier members, Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association (RACCA) 
requested that the FAA extend the comment period closing date to allow 
time to adequately analyze the NPRM and prepare comments.

DATES: The comment period for the NPRM published on November 13, 2012 
(77 FR 67584), was scheduled to close on February 11, 2013, and is 
extended until March 13, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments identified by docket number FAA-2011-
1136 using any of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and 
follow the online instructions for sending your comments 
electronically.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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 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: Ralen Gao, Office of Rulemaking, 
Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267-3168; email 
[email protected].

[[Page 9866]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: See the ``Additional Information'' section 
for information on how to comment on this proposal and how the FAA will 
handle comments received. The ``Additional Information'' section also 
contains related information about the docket. In addition, there is 
information on obtaining copies of related rulemaking documents.

Background

    On November 13, 2012, the FAA issued Notice No. 12-07, entitled 
``Air Carrier Contract Maintenance Requirements'' (77 FR 67584). 
Comments to that document were to be received on or before February 11, 
2013.
    By letter dated January 13, 2013, the Regional Air Cargo Carriers 
Association (RACCA) requested a 48-day extension of the comment period, 
to March 31, 2013. The petitioner requested this extension to allow 
time to adequately assess the impact of the requirements proposed in 
the NPRM, prepare comments, and develop proposed alternatives. If 
enacted in its currently-proposed form, RACCA believes the proposed 
rulemaking would result in significant unintended consequences, 
including greater operator cost and manpower requirements than those 
estimated in the NPRM, loss of efficiency, unbudgeted loss of aircraft 
availability, and a substantial additional workload for the FAA that 
would result in a diversion of FAA resources from more safety-critical 
tasks. It further believes that the rulemaking would add complication 
to the contract maintenance process without a quantifiable improvement 
in safety, and therefore it would not serve the public's interest.
    While the FAA concurs with the petitioner's request for an 
extension of the comment period on Notice No. 12-07, it does not 
support a 48-day extension. The FAA finds that an additional 30 days is 
sufficient for the petitioner to analyze the NPRM and provide 
meaningful comment to Notice No. 12-07.
    Absent unusual circumstances, the FAA does not anticipate any 
further extension of the comment period for this rulemaking.

Extension of Comment Period

    In accordance with Sec.  11.47(c) of Title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations, the FAA has reviewed the petition made by RACCA for 
extension of the comment period to Notice No. 12-07. This petitioner 
has shown a substantive interest in the proposed rule and good cause 
for the extension. The FAA has determined that extension of the comment 
period is consistent with the public interest, and that good cause 
exists for taking this action.
    Accordingly, the comment period for Notice No. 12-07 is extended 
until March 13, 2013.

Additional Information

A. Comments Invited

    The FAA invites interested persons to participate in this 
rulemaking by submitting written comments, data, or views. The agency 
also invites comments relating to the economic, environmental, energy, 
or federalism impacts that might result from adopting the proposals in 
this document. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion 
of the proposal, explain the reason for any recommended change, and 
include supporting data. To ensure the docket does not contain 
duplicate comments, commenters should send only one copy of written 
comments, or if comments are filed electronically, commenters should 
submit only one time.
    The FAA will file in the docket all comments it receives, as well 
as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA 
personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this 
proposal, the FAA will consider all comments it receives on or before 
the closing date for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed 
after the comment period has closed if it is possible to do so without 
incurring expense or delay. The agency may change this proposal in 
light of the comments it receives.

B. Availability of Rulemaking Documents

    An electronic copy of rulemaking documents may be obtained from the 
Internet by--
    1. Searching the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov);
    2. Visiting the FAA's Regulations and Policies Web page at http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies; or
    3. Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/.
    Copies may also be obtained by sending a request to the Federal 
Aviation Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence 
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-9680. 
Commenters must identify the docket or notice number of this 
rulemaking.
    All documents the FAA considered in developing this proposed rule, 
including economic analyses and technical reports, may be accessed from 
the Internet through the Federal eRulemaking Portal referenced in item 
(1) above.

    Issued in Washington, DC, February 6, 2013.
Lirio Liu,
Director, Office of Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2013-03178 Filed 2-11-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P