Safety Management System for Part 121 Certificate Holders; Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); Extension of comment period.

SUMMARY:

This action extends the comment period for an NPRM that was published on November 5, 2010. In that document, the FAA proposed to require each certificate holder operating under 14 CFR part 121 to develop and implement a safety management system (SMS) to improve its aviation related activities. Several trade and membership organizations representing various aviation industry segments have requested that the FAA extend the comment period closing date to allow time to adequately analyze the NPRM and prepare comments.

DATES:

The comment period for the NPRM published on November 5, 2010, closing on February 3, 2011, is extended until March 7, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

You may send comments identified by docket number FAA-2010-0997 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: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov,, including any personal information the commenter provides. Using the search function of the docket web site, anyone can find and read the electronic form of all comments received into any FAA dockets, including the name of the individual sending the comment (or signing the comment for an association, business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement can be found in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-19478), as well as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.

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 go 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sean Denniston, ARM-200, Office of Rulemaking, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267-3380; facsimile (202) 267-5075, e-mail sean.denniston@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

See the “Additional Information” section for information on how to comment on this proposal and how the FAA will handle comments received. The “Additional Information” section also contains related information about the docket, privacy, and the handling of proprietary or confidential business information. In addition, there is information on obtaining copies of related rulemaking documents.

Background

On November 5, 2010, the FAA published Notice No. 10-15, entitled “Safety Management Systems for Part 121 Certificate Holders” (75 FR 68224). Comments to that document were to be received on or before February 3, 2011.

In a letter dated January 14, 2011 the Aeronautical Repair Station Association, Aircraft Electronics Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Aviation Suppliers Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, Modification and Replacement Parts Association, National Air Transportation Association, and the National Business Aircraft Association requested that the FAA extend the comment period for Notice No. 10-15 for 90 days. The petitioners requested the extension to allow time to adequately assess the impact of the NPRM and prepare comments.

While the FAA concurs with the petitioners' requests for an extension of the comment period on Notice No. 10-15, it does not support a 90-day extension. The FAA finds that providing an additional 30 days is sufficient for commenters to analyze the NPRM and provide meaningful comment to Notice No. 10-15. The Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Extension Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-216) directs the FAA to issue an SMS for part 121 final rule by July 30, 2012. In order to fulfill the final rule requirement of Public Law 111-216, the FAA is working on an accelerated schedule to complete the SMS for part 121 final rule.

Absent unusual circumstances, the FAA does not anticipate any further extension of the comment period for this rulemaking.

Extension of Comment Period

In accordance with § 11.47(c) of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, the FAA has reviewed the petitions made by the Aeronautical Repair Station Association, Aircraft Electronics Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Aviation Suppliers Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, Modification and Replacement Parts Association, National Air Transportation Association, and the National Business Aircraft Association for extension of the comment period to Notice No. 10-15. These petitioners have shown a substantive interest in the proposed rule and good cause for the extension. The FAA has determined that extension of the comment period is consistent with the public interest, and that good cause exists for taking this action.

Accordingly, the comment period for Notice No. 10-15 is extended until March 7, 2011.

Additional Information

A. Comments Invited

The FAA invites interested persons to participate in this rulemaking by submitting written comments, data, or views. The agency also invites comments relating to the economic, environmental, energy, or federalism impacts that might result from adopting the proposals in this document. 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.

The FAA will file in the docket all comments it receives, as well as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this proposal, the FAA will consider all comments it receives on or before the closing date for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed after the comment period has closed if it is possible to do so without incurring expense or delay. The agency may change this proposal in light of the comments it receives.

Proprietary or Confidential Business Information: Do not file proprietary or confidential business information in the docket. Such information must be sent or delivered directly to the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document, and marked as proprietary or confidential. If submitting information on a disk or CD-ROM, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM, and identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific information that is proprietary or confidential.

Under 14 CFR 11.35(b), when the FAA is aware of proprietary information filed with a comment, the agency does not place it in the docket. It is held in a separate file to which the public does not have access, and the FAA places a note in the docket that it has received it. If the FAA receives a request to examine or copy this information, it treats it as any other request under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). The FAA processes such a request under Department of Transportation procedures found in 49 CFR part 7.

B. Availability of Rulemaking Documents

An electronic copy of rulemaking documents may be obtained from the Internet by—

1. Searching the Federal eRulemaking Portal ( http://www.regulations.gov );

2. Visiting the FAA's Regulations and Policies Web page at http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies or

3. Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html.

Copies may also be obtained by sending a request to the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 267-9680. Commenters must identify the docket or notice number of this rulemaking.

All documents the FAA considered in developing this proposed rule, including economic analyses and technical reports, may be accessed from the Internet through the Federal eRulemaking Portal referenced in item (1) above.