[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]
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