[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 12 (Thursday, January 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2717-2718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00821]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee--New Task (Avionics 
Systems Harmonization Working Group)

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of a new task assignment for the Aviation Rulemaking 
Advisory Committee (ARAC) and solicitation of membership applicants.

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SUMMARY: The FAA assigned the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee 
(ARAC) a new task to identify and develop recommendations on low energy 
alerting requirements to supplement previous work accomplished on low 
speed alerting in new transport category airplanes. This notice informs 
the public of the new ARAC activity.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Jacobsen, Airplane & Flight Crew 
Interface Branch, Transport Airplane Directorate, Federal Aviation 
Administration, 1601 Lind Ave. SW, Renton, Washington 98057; telephone 
(425) 227-2011, facsimile (425) 227-1149; email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

ARAC Acceptance of Task

    At the September 14, 2017, ARAC meeting, the FAA assigned and ARAC 
accepted this task. ARAC designated the task to the Transport Airplane 
and Engine (TAE) Subcommittee, which will assign the task to the 
existing Avionics Systems Harmonization Working Group (ASHWG). The 
ASHWG will support the ARAC, through the TAE Subcommittee, and will 
provide advice and recommendations on the assigned task. The TAE 
Subcommittee will send the recommendation report to the ARAC for review 
and acceptance. After ARAC accepts the recommendation report, it will 
submit the recommendation report to the FAA.

Background

    The FAA established the ARAC to provide information, advice, and 
recommendations on aviation related issues that could result in 
rulemaking to the FAA Administrator, through the Associate 
Administrator of Aviation Safety.
    The FAA previously examined low speed alerting requirements and 
tasked the ARAC to provide information to develop standards and 
guidance material for low speed alerting systems. The information from 
that tasking may result in additional standards that complement 
existing low speed alerting requirements. However, as a result of the 
Asiana Flight 214 accident, the FAA needs additional recommendations 
related to context-dependent low energy safeguards with respect to low 
speed protection and alerting.
    Following the Asiana Flight 214 accident investigation, the 
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued the following 
recommendation to the FAA:

    Task a panel of human factors, aviation operations, and aircraft 
design specialists, such as the Avionics Systems Harmonization 
Working Group, to develop design requirements for context-dependent 
low energy alerting systems for airplanes engaged in commercial 
operations (NTSB Safety Recommendation A-14-043).

The Task

    The ASHWG will provide advice and recommendations to the ARAC 
through the TAE Subcommittee in a report that addresses the following 
questions relative to new airplane designs. The report should include 
rationale for the responses.
    1. Do you recommend any changes to the existing low speed alerting 
requirements to provide additional pilot reaction time in cases where 
the airplane is both slow and close to the ground?
    2. Do you recommend any new or revised guidance material to define 
an acceptable low energy alert?
    3. After reviewing airworthiness, safety, cost, and other relevant 
factors, including recent certification and fleet experience, are there 
any additional considerations that the FAA should take into account 
regarding avoidance of low energy conditions?
    4. Is coordination necessary with other harmonization working 
groups (e.g., Human Factors, Flight Test)? If yes, coordinate with that 
working group and report on that coordination.
    5. Develop a report containing recommendations on the findings and 
results of the tasks explained above.
    a. The recommendation report should document both majority and 
dissenting positions on the findings and the rationale for each 
position.
    b. Any disagreements should be documented, including the rationale 
for each position and the reasons for the disagreement.

Schedule

    ARAC should submit the recommendation report to the FAA for review 
and acceptance no later than thirty (30) months from the first ASHWG 
meeting.

Working Group Activity

    The ASHWG must comply with the procedures adopted by the ARAC. As 
part of the procedures, the working group must:
    1. Conduct a review and analysis of the assigned tasks and any 
other related materials or documents.
    2. Draft and submit a work plan for completion of the task, 
including the rationale supporting such a plan, for consideration by 
the TAE Subcommittee.
    3. Provide a status report at each TAE Subcommittee meeting.
    4. Draft and submit the recommendation report based on the review 
and analysis of the assigned tasks.
    5. Present the recommendation report at the TAE Subcommittee 
meeting.

Roles and Responsibilities

    The ASHWG comprises technical experts having an interest in the 
assigned task. A working group member need not be a member 
representative of the ARAC TAE Subcommittee.
    In accordance with the provisions of the August 13, 2014, Office of 
Management and Budget guidance, ``Revised Guidance on Appointment of 
Lobbyists to Federal Advisory Committees, Boards, and Commissions'' (79 
FR 47482), continues the ban on registered lobbyists participating on 
Agency Boards and Commissions if participating in their ``individual 
capacity.'' The revised guidance now allows registered lobbyists to 
participate

[[Page 2718]]

on Agency Boards and Commissions in a ``representative capacity'' for 
the ``express purpose of providing a committee with the views of a 
nongovernmental entity, a recognizable group of persons or 
nongovernmental entities (an industry, sector, labor unions, or 
environmental groups, etc.) or state or local government.'' (For 
further information see Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA) as 
amended, 2 U.S.C 1603, 1604, and 1605.)
    If you wish to become a member of the ASHWG, write the person 
listed under the caption FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT expressing 
that desire. Describe your interest in the task and state the expertise 
you would bring to the working group. The FAA must receive all requests 
by February 20, 2018. The ARAC, through the TAE Subcommittee, and the 
FAA will review the requests and advise you whether or not your request 
is approved.
    All members of the ASHWG who wish to participate in this task must 
actively participate in the working group, attend all meetings, and 
provide written comments when requested. Members must devote the 
resources necessary to support the working group in meeting any 
assigned deadlines. Each member must keep their management and those 
they may represent advised of working group activities and decisions to 
ensure the proposed technical solutions do not conflict with the 
position of those represented. Once the working group has begun 
deliberations, members will not be added or substituted without the 
approval of the TAE Subcommittee Chair, the FAA Subcommittee member, 
and the Working Group Chair.
    The Secretary of Transportation determined the formation and use of 
the ARAC is necessary and in the public interest in connection with the 
performance of duties imposed on the FAA by law.

Confidential Information

    All final work products submitted to ARAC are public documents. 
Therefore, it should not contain any non-public proprietary, 
privileged, business, commercial, and other sensitive information 
(collectively, Confidential Information) that the working group members 
would not want to be publicly available. With respect to working 
groups, there may be instances where members will share Commercial 
Information within the working group for purposes of completing an 
assigned tasked. Members must not disclose to any third party, or use 
for any purposes other than the assigned task, any and all Confidential 
Information disclosed to one party by the other party, without the 
prior written consent of the party whose Confidential Information is 
being disclosed. All parties must treat the Confidential Information of 
the disclosing party as it would treat its own Confidential 
Information, but in no event shall it use less than a reasonable degree 
of care. If any Confidential Information is shared with the FAA 
representative on a working group, it must be properly marked in 
accordance with the Office of Rulemaking Committee Manual, ARM-001-15.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 11, 2018.
Lirio Liu,
Designated Federal Officer, Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee.
[FR Doc. 2018-00821 Filed 1-17-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P