[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 204 (Monday, October 22, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53195-53196]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23013]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 61

[Docket No.: FAA-2018-0811]


Airline Transport Pilot and Type Rating for Airplane Airman 
Certification Standards

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of document availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This document announces the availability of the Airline 
Transport Pilot (ATP) and Type Rating for Airplane Airman Certification 
Standards (FAA-S-ACS-11) for public comment.

DATES: Send comments on or before December 21, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by docket number FAA-2018-0811 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for sending your 
comments electronically.
     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.
     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.
     Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
    Privacy: We will post all comments without edit including any 
personal information the commenter provides to www.regulations.gov, as 
described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL--14 FDMS) which can 
be viewed at www.dot.gov/privacy.
    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: Larry West, Regulatory Support 
Division, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA Mike Monroney 
Aeronautical Center, P.O. Box 25082, Oklahoma City, OK 73125; telephone 
405-954-4431; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority for This Action

    Under 49 U.S.C. 44703(a), the Administrator is required to issue an 
airman certificate when the Administrator finds, after investigation, 
that an individual is qualified for, and physically able to perform the 
duties related to the position authorized by the certificate. 
Consistent with this authority, the Administrator establishes testing 
standards to ensure that inspectors and designated examiners conducting 
practical tests under the Administrator's authority determine that an 
applicant is qualified for and physically able to perform the duties 
related to the position authorized by the certificate or rating sought.

Background

    The FAA established the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee 
(ARAC) to provide information, advice, and recommendations on aviation 
related issues that could result in rulemaking to the Administrator, 
through the Associate Administrator of Aviation Safety. On December 19, 
2013, ARAC accepted the FAA's assignment of a new task to establish an 
Airman Certification Standards Working Group (ACS WG) to assist in the 
development of standards, training guidance, test management, and 
reference materials for airman certification testing. The FAA announced 
the ARAC's acceptance of this task through a Federal Register Notice 
published on January 29, 2014 (79 FR 4800). The original task focused 
on the Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, ATP, and Authorized Instructor 
certificates and the Instrument Rating in the airplane category. The 
task was expanded in February 2016 (81 FR 6099) to include the Aircraft 
Mechanic certificate with Airframe and/or Powerplant ratings. The task 
was further expanded in September 2017 to add the Sport Pilot and 
Recreational Pilot certificates in all airplane categories, and the 
Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, ATP, and Instructor certificates and 
the Instrument rating in the remaining aircraft categories to include 
rotorcraft, powered-lift, and glider.\1\
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    \1\ The ARAC Task Notice is available at: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/committees/documents/index.cfm/document/information/documentID/3282.
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    On June 21, 2018, the ARAC met and approved the Interim Final 
Report of the ACS WG. The Interim Final Report contained a 
recommendation for the Airline Transport Pilot and Type Rating for 
Airplane (ATP/Type Rating) ACS. The FAA received that recommendation 
from ARAC on June 22, 2018. The FAA has reviewed the draft ATP/Type 
Rating ACS, made some changes based on internal feedback, and is now 
seeking comment from the public. A copy of the document has been placed 
in the docket for this action. The FAA will review and consider all 
comments received and make any necessary changes prior to issuing the 
final version of the ATP/Type Rating ACS. The final version of the ATP/
Type Rating ACS will be

[[Page 53196]]

published at https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/acs/.

Comments Invited

    The FAA invites interested persons to join in this notice and 
comment process by filing written comments, data, or views. 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. More 
information on submitting comments can be found in the ADDRESSES 
section of this document.
    The FAA will review all comments it receives on or before the 
closing date for the comment period. The FAA will consider comments 
submitted after the comment period has closed if it is possible to do 
so without incurring expense or delay. The FAA may make changes based 
on the comments it receives.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on October 16, 2018.
Lirio Liu,
Executive Director, Office of Rulemaking, Federal Aviation 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2018-23013 Filed 10-19-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P