2120-0737 Updated Sept13-2017-Sliu no terms

Supporting Statement

2120-0737

Aircraft Noise Certification Documents for International Operations

A. Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating and authorizing the collection of information.

In keeping with U.S. obligations under the Convention on International Civil Aviation, it is FAA policy to comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices to the maximum extent practicable. Thus the FAA has adopted ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices as US regulations as a means of compliance with Annex 16 and now requires noise documentation be carried on board aircraft that leave the United States.

ICAO adopted Amendment 8 of Annex 16, Volume 1 on February 23, 2005, and it became effective on November 24, 2005. Section 1.4 of Annex 16 now requires that “documents attesting noise certification shall be approved by the State of Registry and required by that State to be carried on the aircraft.”

This supports the Department of Transportation Strategic Goal on Safety.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

With this rule completed, it requires operators of U.S. registered civil aircraft flying outside the United States to carry aircraft noise certification information on board. This rule is needed to ensure consistent compliance with the ICAO, Annex 16, Volume 1, Amendment 8 that requires certain noise information be carried on board the aircraft.

The rule requires that this information be easily accessible to the flight crew and presentable upon request to the appropriate foreign officials.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic submission of responses and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection.

The minimal information requirement does not warrant improved information technology.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available can be used for the purpose described in Item 2 above.

Current U.S. regulations require that all U.S. aircraft comply with the noise certification requirements of 14 CFR Part 36. Part of that certification includes the noise levels that were obtained during certification testing. Section 36.1501 requires that these certification noise levels be included in the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) or Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM). These manuals must be approved by the FAA. Part 36 also contains two sections (36.1581 and 36.1583) that describe the specific noise certification data to be included in an FAA-approved AFM/RFM. However, there is no specific requirement for the entire FAA-approved AFM to be carried on board an aircraft.

Operators must comply with the rule by transferring the data from the Airplane Flight Manual to documentation in a format that can be easily accessible to the flight crew and presentable upon request to the appropriate official.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

The information identified to be transferred is not new, and is in each operator’s FAA-approved flight manual for each aircraft. Each operator carries the burden of a one-time correct transfer of the information for each of its aircraft. Alternatively, an operator may choose to use the appropriate flight manual pages that contain the required noise data as its means of compliance with the documentation requirements of Annex 16.

6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

Before Amendment 8 was adopted in 2005, the noise documentation section of Annex 16 was contained in a note and considered advisory material.

Several years ago, the FAA became aware of instances in which U.S. aircraft were detained at foreign airports when the noise status of the airplane was questioned. In many cases, the flight crew had not been able to provide relevant information either because the AOM/FCOM did not contain such information, or because the information was not aggregated in one location in the on-board manual. Some foreign authorities have asked U.S. flight crews to either produce a noise certificate or show the noise status of the airplane from on-board documents.

To address the difficulties that U.S. carriers had experienced, the FAA published a draft Advisory Circular in October 2005 (70 FR 60127, October 14, 2005). That AC included an optional template on which operators leaving the United States could compile the noise certification data envisioned by the working group.

With the adoption of Amendment 8 and the new paragraph 1.4, noise documentation must now be carried on board all aircraft operating outside the United States in order to comply with ICAO, Annex 16, Volume I. We have determined that a regulatory change to require the carriage of noise certification documents is necessary.

Now as an operating requirement rather than a certification requirement, the information exists in operators’ manuals and does not affect the certification basis of an airplane. As an operating rule, it will not affect operators who do not leave the United States.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with 1320.5(d)(2)(i)-(viii).

There are no special circumstances.

8. Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any) and on data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

On March 2, 2010, the FAA published the final rule Notice No. 91-312, Aircraft Noise Certification Documents for International Operations (75 FR 9327). Notice No. 91-312 contains a new paragraph in Section 91.703 that requires operators that fly outside the United States, using aircraft subject to ICAO, Annex 16, Volume 1, to carry aircraft noise certification information on board the aircraft. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(d)), the FAA submitted a copy of the proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review.

A 60-day notice for public comments was published in the Federal Register on June 19, 2017,with the citation: 82 FR27947. No comments were received.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

There are no circumstances which involve payments or gifts to respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

There will be no proprietary information submitted, and therefore, no reason to provide confidentiality.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature.

There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Provide estimates of hour burden of the collection information. This information should: Provide number of respondents, frequency of response, annual burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated.

Now that the rule has been enacted and the entire preexisting operational airplane fleet has been required to comply, the new estimates of hour burden of the collection of information will be much lower than the original implementation as only the new aircraft coming into operational fleet and/or subsequently modified will be collecting information.

Recall the first year of the enacted rule, the FAA used (an overestimate number) the total number of passenger jet and cargo jet aircraft registered to U.S. mainline carriers in its cost computations. Based on the FAA Aerospace Forecast, there are a total of 5,066 aircraft currently registered to U.S. mainline air carriers (1,034 cargo aircraft¹ and 4,032 passenger jet aircraft²). With the total fleet brought to compliance upon enactment, the only aircraft required to report at present are new airplane brought into operations and those subsequently modified.

This action would be completed one time for each aircraft. We estimate that completion of the action would require 15 minutes of a technical writer’s time and 10 minutes of a chief pilot’s or chief engineer’s time.

Total number of respondents annually³: 54

Frequency of response: once per new aircraft acquired or modified by an operator

Total hour burden: 54 x 0.42 hours = 23 hours annually; 0.42 hours for each additional airplane acquired or modified that is affected by this collection

We estimate that only 54 airplanes would be affected annually. A technical writer would be required to transfer the data from the Airplane Flight Manual one time for each airplane. The average wage rate for a technical writer is $32.65 per hour⁴ after accounting for fringe benefits. The average wage rate for a chief pilot or chief engineer is estimated at $91.03 per hour⁵ after accounting for fringe benefits. The cost of the rule per affected airplane was derived by multiplying the technical writer’s wage rate of $32.65 per hour by 0.25 hours required to complete the action, and adding to that the chief pilot’s wage rate of $91.03 per hour multiplied by 0.17 hours required to review the data. Thus, compliance with this regulation would result in a per-airplane cost of $24.

Cost per plane: $24 per plane

Total Annual Cost burden: $24 x 54 planes affected = $1,296

13. Provide estimates of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.

The Federal government would incur minimal, if any, costs as a result of this rule.

15. Explain reasons for program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or 14 of OMB Form 83-I.

Since the inception of the rule, the baseline operating fleet has now been brought into compliance and cost accounted. The only annual program cost will only involve new aircraft annually brought into operations and subsequently modified.

This is an adjustment, with an estimated reduction from 73(in 2008) to 54(in 2017) in the level of collection from the original to account for annual reporting of the incoming new airplanes and subsequently modified airplanes.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation, and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used.

The results will not be published and there is no statistical analysis. The collection of information does not employ statistical methods.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

No approval is sought.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.

There are no exceptions identified.

1 Table 21, U.S. Mainline Air Carriers, Cargo Jet Aircraft, FAA Aerospace Forecast, FY 2008 - 2025

2 Table 20, U.S. Mainline Air Carriers, Cargo Jet Aircraft, FAA Aerospace Forecast, FY 2008 - 2025

3 Projected aircraft replacement count, pg 28, U.S. Commercial Aircraft Fleet, FAA Aerospace Forecast, FY 2017 - 2037

4 Bureau of Labor Statistics

5 Hourly wage derived by taking median salary of $153,384 for a chief pilot, dividing by 2080 hours per year, and multiplying by the fringe benefit factor of 1.2345. Salary source: http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layouthtmls/swzl_compresult_national_TR20000019.html, last accessed May 1, 2013

6