[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 67 (Thursday, April 7, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20264-20265]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07943]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 23

[Docket No. FAA-2015-1621]


Revision of Airworthiness Standards for Normal, Utility, 
Acrobatic, and Commuter Category Airplanes; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The FAA announces public meeting on its proposal to revise 
Part 23 Airworthiness Standards for Normal, Utility, Acrobatic, and 
Commuter Category Airplanes. The purpose of the public meeting is for 
the FAA to explain and answer questions concerning the language related 
to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) (81 FR 13452, March 14, 
2016).

DATES: The public meetings will be held on the following dates: (Note 
that the meetings may be adjourned early if the agenda is completed in 
less time than is scheduled for the meetings.)
     May 3, 2016 from 8:00 a.m. until no later than 5:00 p.m.
     May 4, 2016 from 8:00 a.m. until no later than 5:00 p.m.
    The NPRM written comment period will close on May 13, 2016.

ADDRESSES: The May 3 and 4, 2016, public meeting will be held at the 
Georgia International Convention Center, 2000 Convention Center 
Concourse, College Park, GA 30294.
    Written comments (identified by docket number FAA-2015-1621) may be 
submitted using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending comments 
electronically.
     Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
     Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
     Hand Delivery: 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.
    Written comments to the docket will receive the same consideration 
as statements made at the public meeting. For more information on the 
rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 
document.
    Privacy: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without 
change, to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided by the commenter. Using the search function of the 
FAA's docket Web site, anyone can find and read the comments received 
into any of the agency's dockets, 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 may 
be reviewed in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 
19476) or at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
    Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at 
http://www.regulations.gov at any time or in 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: Mr. Lowell Foster, Small Airplane 
Directorate, ACE-111, Federal Aviation Administration, 901 Locust 
Street,

[[Page 20265]]

Kansas City, MO 64106; telephone (816) 329-4125, facsimile (816) 329-
4090.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On March 14, 2016, the FAA published a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM) titled ``Revision of Airworthiness Standards for 
Normal, Utility, Acrobatic, and Commuter Category Airplanes''. The FAA 
proposes in this NPRM to amend its airworthiness standards for normal, 
utility, acrobatic, and commuter category airplanes by removing current 
prescriptive design requirements and replacing them with performance-
based airworthiness standards. The proposed standards would also 
replace the current weight and propulsion divisions in part 23 with 
performance- and risk-based divisions for airplanes with a maximum 
seating capacity of 19 passengers or less and a maximum takeoff weight 
of 19,000 pounds or less. The proposed airworthiness standards are 
based on, and would maintain, the level of safety of the current part 
23. Finally, the FAA proposes to adopt additional airworthiness 
standards to address certification for flight in icing conditions, 
enhanced stall characteristics, and minimum control speed to prevent 
departure from controlled flight for multiengine airplanes. The NPRM 
addresses the Congressional mandate set forth in the Small Airplane 
Revitalization Act of 2013 \1\ (Pub. L. 113-53, 49 U.S.C. 44704 note).
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    \1\ https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/1848/text.
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 Purpose of the Public Meetings

    The purpose of the public meetings is for the FAA to discuss the 
NPRM, hear the public's questions, address any confusion, and obtain 
information relevant to the final rule under consideration. The FAA 
will consider comments made at the public meetings before making a 
final decision on issuance of the final rule.

Public Meeting Procedures

    A panel of representatives from the FAA will be present. An FAA 
representative will facilitate the meetings in accordance with the 
following procedures:
    (1) There will be no admission fees or other charges to attend or 
to participate in the public meetings. The meetings will be open to all 
persons, subject to availability of space in the meeting room. The FAA 
will make every effort to accommodate all persons wishing to attend. 
The FAA asks that participants sign in between 7:00-8:00 a.m. on the 
day of the meeting being attended. The meetings may adjourn early if 
the agenda items are completed in less time than is scheduled for the 
meetings.
    (2) The meetings will be recorded by a court reporter. A transcript 
of the meetings and all material accepted by the panel during the 
meetings will be included in the public docket, unless protected from 
disclosure. Each person interested in purchasing a copy of a transcript 
should contact the court reporter directly. Information on how to 
purchase a transcript will be available at the meetings.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on April 1, 2016.
James M. Crotty,
Acting Director, Office of Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2016-07943 Filed 4-6-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P