[Federal Register: April 23, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 78)]
[Notices]
[Page 19793-19794]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23ap02-115]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
[Docket No. FAA-2001-8994]
Proposed Advisory Circular (AC) No. 21.101-1 Change 1, Advisory
Material for the Establishment of the Certification Basis of Changed
Aeronautical Products
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of and request for
comments on Draft Advisory Circular (AC) 21.101-1 Change 1,dated April
3, 2002, Advisory Material for the Establishment of the Certification
Basis of Changed Aeronautical Products. This AC provides guidance for
establishing the certification basis for changes made to aeronautical
products. The FAA has issued a final rule, Type Certification
Procedures for Changed Products, that amends the procedural regulations
for the certification of changes made to type certification of
aeronautical products. These amendments affect changes accomplished
through either an amended type certificate or a supplemental type
certificate. This proposal AC provides guidance for determining
compliance with those amended procedural regulations for the
certification of all aircraft, aircraft engines, and propellers.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 5, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Address your comments to the Docket Management System. U.S.
Department of Transportation, Room Plaza 401, 400 Seventh St., SW.,
Washington, DC 20590-0001. You must identify the docket number at the
beginning of your comments, and you should submit two copies of your
comments.
You may also submit comments through the Internet to http://dms/
dot.gov. You may review the public docket containing comments to these
proposed AC in person in the Dockets Office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Dockets Office is
on the plaza level at the Department of Transportation building at the
address above. Also, you may review public dockets on the Internet at
http://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Randall Petersen, Certification
Procedures Branch, AIR-110, Aircraft Engineering Division, Aircraft
Certification Service, Federal Aviation Administration, 800
Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone number: (202)
267-9583, fax (202) 278-5340.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
The FAA invites you to participate in this action by submitting
written data, views, or arguments. In your comments, identify AC 21-
101-1 Change 1, Advisory Material for the Establishment of the
Certification Basis of Changed Aeronautical Products, and the
regulatory docket number specified previously. Submit them in duplicate
to the DOT Rules Docket address specified above.
The FAA will consider all comments received on or before the
closing date for comments before issuing the final AC. The docket is
available for public inspection before and after the comments closing
date.
Availability of Rulemaking Documents
You can get an electronic copy of this document from the Internet
by taking the following steps:
(1) Go to the search function of the Department of Transportation's
electronic Docket Management System (DMS) web page (http://dms.dot.gov/
search).
(2) On the search page, type in the last four digits of the docket
number shown at the beginning of this document. Click on ``search.''
(3) On the next page, which contains the docket summary
information, click on the item you want to see.
You can also get an electronic copy using the Internet through the
FAA's web page at http://www.faa.gov/avr/arm/nprm/htm or the Federal
Register's web page at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces/
140.html.
Background
Final Rule
On June 7, 2000, the Type Certification Procedures for Changed
Products final rule (65 FR 36244, June 7, 2000) became effective. The
FAA established a mandatory compliance date of December 10, 2001, for
transport category airplanes and restricted category airplanes that
have been certificated using transport category standards; and a date
of December 9,
[[Page 19794]]
2002, for all other category aircraft, engines, and propellers. The
rule requires, among other things, that an applicant for a change to a
type certificate must show the changed product complies with the
certification requirements in effect on the date of application. (14
CFR 21.101(a)). The rule also states the applicant may show the changed
product complies with an earlier amendment of a regulation if the
Administrator determines the change is ``not-significant.'' (14 CFR
21.101(b)(1)). Specifically, determining the appropriate certification
basis for each design change requires an assessment against the
automatic criteria of ``significant'' as stated in the rule, coupled
with the Administrator's discretionary right to consider the extent of
the changes and related revisions to the regulations. (14 CFR
21.101(b)(1)(i) and (ii)).
On August 8, 2001, the FAA also published AC 21.101-1, providing
guidance for the applicant to comply with the amended regulations for
the certification of changes to transport category airplanes and
restricted category airplanes that have been certified using transport
category regulations.
During the fifteen months since publishing the rule, FAA, Transport
Canada Civil Aviation, European Joint Aviation Authorities, and
industry developed guidance material in the form of an advisory
circular, a draft FAA Notice, and related training materials. The
aviation industry has questioned the ability to standardize
administrative procedures, raising a concern that implementation of the
rule may not be uniform among the aviation manufacturing communities,
both domestic and international. Based on this concern, FAA wants to
ensure the implementation procedures for the rule provide for an equal
and balanced application for all manufacturers, both domestic and
international, and do not place an undue burden on FAA Aircraft
Certification Offices and other civil aviation authorities.
Accordingly, the FAA published a delay of all the compliance dates in
the rule (66 FR 56989, November 14, 2001) to June 10, 2003.
Advisory Circular (AC)
To ensure a uniform application of this rule as it pertains to
FAA's determination of ``significant'' and ``not-significant'' design
changes, FAA has worked closely with the Joint Aviation Authorities and
Transport Canada Civil Aviation to develop AC 21.101-1 Change 1. This
advisory circular addresses the standardization concerns that
precipitated the delay in implementing the rule until June 10, 2003,
for all categories of aircraft, engines, and propellers.
AC 21.101-1 Change 1, will provide guidance for the applicant to
comply with the amended regulations for the certification of changes to
all aeronautical products. This AC will supercede Advisory Circular
21.101-1, dated August 8, 2001.
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 12, 2002.
David W. Hempe,
Manager, Aircraft Engineering Division.
[FR Doc. 02-9935 Filed 4-18-02; 2:31 pm]
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