[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 47 (Monday, March 11, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8778-8779]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04368]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

[Docket No. FAA-2019-0154]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking approval from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of a new 
information collection related to airspace authorization requests. As 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the purpose of 
this notice is to allow 60 days for public comment.
    The FAA proposes collecting information pursuant to new 
requirements that limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft 
must now apply for airspace authorizations in controlled airspace. The 
FAA will use the collected information to make determinations whether 
to authorize or deny the requested operation of UAS in controlled 
airspace. The proposed information collection is necessary to issue 
such authorizations or denials consistent with the FAA's mandate to 
ensure safe and efficient use of national airspace.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by May 10, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments [identified by Docket No. FAA-2019-
0154] through one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management Facility, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 
Room W12-140, Washington DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except on Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Casey Nair, FAA's UAS Low Altitude 
Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) Program Manager, tel 
(202) 267-0369 or via email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Comments Invited. You are asked to 
comment on any aspect of this information collection, including (a) 
whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
FAA's performance; (b) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways 
for the FAA to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information collection; and (d) ways that the burden could be minimized 
without reducing the quality of the collected information.
    Title: Airspace Authorizations in Controlled Airspace under 49 
U.S.C. 44809(a)(5).
    OMB Control Number: This is a new collection.
    Form Number(s): There are no FAA forms associated with this 
collection.
    Type of Review: Approval of a new information collection.
    Background: Congress recently enacted the FAA Reauthorization Act 
of 2018 (the Act), which was signed into law by the President on 
October 5, 2018. Included within the Act is 49 U.S.C. 44809(a), which 
established limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft. 
Limited recreational operations are those operations otherwise excepted 
from FAA certification and operating authority by adhering to all of 
the limitations listed in 49 U.S.C. 44809(a)(1) thru (8). Among the 
listed limitations that must be met, 49 U.S.C. 44809(a)(5) requires 
that these operations receive an authorization from the FAA prior to 
conducting any small UAS flight in Class B, Class C, Class D, or within 
the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E airspace 
designated for an airport. This is a new requirement. Previously, only 
persons operating under part 107 have been required to request these 
authorizations pursuant to OMB Control Number 2120-0768.
    In order to process airspace authorization requests, the FAA 
requires the operator's name, the operator's contact information, and 
information related to the date, place, and time of the requested small 
UAS operation. This information is necessary for the FAA to meet its 
statutory mandate of maintaining a safe and efficient national 
airspace. See 49 U.S.C. 40103, 44701, and 44807. Similar to the 
existing

[[Page 8779]]

process for part 107 operations, the FAA proposes to use LAANC and a 
web portal to process airspace authorization requests for limited 
recreational operations.
    Affected Public: Limited recreational operators of small unmanned 
aircraft seeking to conduct flights within Class B, Class C, Class D, 
or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E 
airspace designated for an airport.
    Frequency of Submission: The requested information will need to be 
provided each time a limited recreational operator respondent requests 
an airspace authorization to conduct a limited recreational operation 
of a small UAS in controlled airspace.
    Number of Respondents: Between 2019-2021, the FAA estimates it will 
receive a total of 1,165,387 requests for airspace authorizations or 
388,462 annually.
    Total Annual Burden: Because the FAA has not previously collected 
airspace authorization requests from users under 49 U.S.C 44809(a)(5), 
the FAA used historical data related to airspace authorization requests 
submitted by part 107 operators. Under part 107, the FAA has received 
.318 requests per UAS registered and 85.2% of those requests were made 
through LAANC and 14.8% of the requests were made through the web 
portal. Applying these ratios to 49 U.S.C. 44809 respondents, the FAA 
estimates that the annual burden hours on respondents will be 55,224 
hours (26,478 hours for 330, 970 LAANC respondents and 28,746 hours for 
57,492 web portal respondents) for airspace authorizations. To 
determine this calculation, the FAA estimates that a respondent will 
require 5 minutes (or .08 hours) to complete the authorization request 
form using LAANC and 30 minutes (or .5 hours) using the web portal.
    Under 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR 1320.5(b), 1320.8(b)(3)(vi), FAA 
informs all interested parties that it may not conduct or sponsor, and 
a respondent is not required to respond to, a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

    Authority:  44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on March 5, 2019.
Casey Nair,
UAS LAANC Program Manager.
[FR Doc. 2019-04368 Filed 3-8-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-13-P