MANUFACTURERS AND operators of 19-seat regional aircraft are hoping to persuade the US Federal Aviation Administration to minimise the impact of proposals to raise commuter-certification standards. The FAA estimates that the commuter rule will cost $275 million over the next ten years, with operators of ten- to 19-seat aircraft bearing the brunt of the increase.
Manufacturers are still working to determine the effects of the proposed changes on their aircraft. The notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) was published in March and the comment period closes in June. The FAA intends to issue the final rule in December and complete recertification of Part 135 commuter carriers to Part 121 standards a year later.
"Everything is negotiable," the FAA says of the NPRM, although manufacturers believe that the agency will not compromise on certain of the aircraft changes proposed. The FAA says that it decided against requiring Part 23 commuter-category aircraft to be upgraded to the latest Part 25 transport-category standards, but has proposed those changes needed to bring aircraft up to Part 121 operating standards.
The FAA has drawn up four categories of aircraft changes: those, which have to be incorporated in all existing and new aircraft within one or two years of the rule taking effect: those, which will have to be incorporated in new and future aircraft within four years: and those, which will have to be incorporated in aircraft certificated after March 1995.
The 38 proposed changes account for about $60 million of the estimated $207 million cost of the new rule to operators of ten- to 19-seat aircraft. The changes include weather radar, flight instruments, fire suppression, emergency-lighting and fire-blocking seats.
Source: Flight International
