This subpart prescribes rulemaking procedures that apply to the issuance, amendment, and revocation of rules pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 1113(f).

Information and data relevant to NTSB rulemaking actions, including notices of proposed rulemaking; comments received in response to notices; petitions for rulemaking and reconsideration; denials of petitions for rulemaking; and final rules are maintained in the NTSB's public reading room, located at 490 L'Enfant Plaza SW., Washington, DC 20594-2003.

The NTSB may initiate rulemaking either on its own motion or on petition by any interested person after a determination that grant of the petition is advisable. The NTSB may also consider the recommendations of other agencies of the United States.

Unless the NTSB, for good cause, finds notice is impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, and incorporates that finding and a brief statement of the reasons for it in the rule, a notice of proposed rulemaking is issued and interested persons are invited to participate in the rulemaking proceedings under applicable provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553.

(a) Each notice of proposed rulemaking is published in the Federal Register.

(b) Each notice includes:

(1) A statement of the time, place, and nature of the proposed rulemaking proceeding;

(2) A reference to the authority under which it is issued;

(3) A description of the subjects and issues involved or the substance and terms of the proposed rule;

(4) A statement of the time within which written comments must be submitted; and

(5) A statement of how and to what extent interested persons may participate in the proceedings.

(a) Any interested person may participate in a rulemaking proceeding by submitting written comments,information, views or arguments.

(b) In its discretion, the agency may invite any interested person to participate in the rulemaking procedures described in this subpart.

A petition for extension of the time to submit comments must be received not later than 10 days before the end of the comment period stated in the notice. The petition must be submitted to: General Counsel, National Transportation Safety Board, 490 L'Enfant Plaza SW., Washington, DC 20594-2003. The filing of the petition does not automatically extend the time for petitioner's comments. Such a petition is granted only if the petitioner shows good cause for the extension, and if the extension is consistent with the public interest. If an extension is granted, it is granted to all persons, and the NTSB will publish a notice of the extension of the comment period in the Federal Register.

All written comments shall be in English. Unless otherwise specified in a notice requesting comments, comments may not exceed 15 pages in length, but necessary attachments may be appended to the submission without regard to the 15-page limit. Any commenter shall submit as a part of his or her written comments all material he or she considers relevant to any statement of fact made in the comment. Commenters should avoid incorporation by reference. However, if incorporation by reference is necessary, the incorporated material shall be identified with respect to document and page. The NTSB may reject comments if they are frivolous, abusive, or repetitious. The NTSB may also reject comments filed electronically if the commenter does not adhere to the electronic filing instructions at the Federal Docket Management System Web site.

All timely comments are considered before final action is taken on a rulemaking proposal. Late filed comments may be considered to the extent practicable.

The NTSB may initiate any further rulemaking proceedings it finds necessary or desirable. For example, interested persons may be invited to make oral arguments, to participate in conferences between the Board or a representative of the Board and interested persons at which minutes of the conference are kept, to appear at informal hearings presided over by officials designated by the Board, at which a transcript or minutes are kept, or participate in any other proceeding to assure informed administrative action and to protect the public interest.

(a) Sections 556 and 557 of title 5, United States Code, do not apply to hearings held under this part. Unless otherwise specified, hearings held under this part are informal, fact-finding proceedings, at which there are no formal pleadings or adverse parties. Any rule issued in a case in which an informal hearing is held is not necessarily based exclusively on the record of the hearing.

(b) The NTSB designates a representative to conduct any hearing held under this part. The General Counsel or a designated member of his or her staff may serve as legal officer at the hearing.

Final rules are prepared by representatives of the office concerned and the Office of the General Counsel. The rule is then submitted to the Board for its consideration. If the Board adopts the rule, it is published in the Federal Register.

(a) Any interested person may petition the Chairman to establish, amend, or repeal a rule.

(b) Each petition filed under this section must:

(1) Be submitted in duplicate to the Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board, 490 L'Enfant Plaza SW., Washington, DC 20594-0003;

(2) Set forth the text or substance of the rule or amendment proposed, or specify the rule the petitioner seeks to have repealed, as the case may be;

(3) Explain the interest of the petitioner in the action requested; and

(4) Contain any information and arguments available to the petitioner to support the action sought.

(a) Unless the NTSB otherwise specifies, no public hearing, argument, or other proceeding is held directly on a petition before its disposition under this section.

(b) Grants. If the agency determines the petition contains adequate justification, it initiates rule making action this subpart.

(c) Denials. If the agency determines the petition does not justify rulemaking, it denies the petition.

(d) Notification. Whenever the agency determines a petition should be granted or denied, the Office of the General Counsel prepares a notice of the grant or denial for issuance to the petitioner, and the agency issues it to the petitioner.

A direct final rule makes regulatory changes and states those changes will take effect on a specified date unless the NTSB receives an adverse comment or notice of intent to file an adverse comment by the date specified in the direct final rule published in the Federal Register.

(a) Types of actions appropriate for direct final rulemaking. Rules the Board determines to be non-controversial and unlikely to result in adverse public comments may be published in the final rule section of the Federal Register as direct final rules. These include non-controversial rules that:

(1) Make non-substantive clarifications or corrections to existing rules;

(2) Incorporate by reference the latest or otherwise updated versions of technical or industry standards;

(3) Affect internal NTSB procedures;

(4) Update existing forms; and

(5) Make minor changes to rules regarding statistics and reporting requirements, such as a change in reporting period (for example, from quarterly to annually) or eliminating a type of data collection no longer necessary.

(b) Adverse comment. An adverse comment is a comment the NTSB judges to be critical of the rule, to suggest the rule should not be adopted, or to suggest a change should be made to the rule. Under the direct final rule process, the NTSB does not consider the following types of comments to be adverse:

(1) Comments recommending another rule change, unless the commenter states the direct final rule will be ineffective without the change;

(2) Comments outside the scope of the rule and comments suggesting the rule's policy or requirements should or should not be extended to other topics outside the scope of the rule;

(3) Comments in support of the rule; or

(4) Comments requesting clarification.

(c) Confirmation of effective date. The NTSB will publish a confirmation rule document in the Federal Register if it has not received an adverse comment or notice of intent to file an adverse comment by the date specified in the direct final rule. The confirmation rule document informs the public of the effective date of the rule.

(d) Withdrawal of a direct final rule. (1) If the NTSB receives an adverse comment or a notice of intent to file an adverse comment within the comment period, it will publish a rule document in the Federal Register, before the effective date of the direct final rule, advising the public and withdrawing the direct final rule.

(2) If the NTSB withdraws a direct final rule because of an adverse comment, the NTSB may issue a notice of proposed rulemaking if it decides to pursue the rulemaking.

(a) An interim rule may be issued when it is in the public interest to promulgate an effective rule while keeping the rulemaking open for further refinement. For example, an interim rule may be issued in instances when normal procedures for notice and comment prior to issuing an effective rule are not required, minor changes to the final rule may be necessary after the interim rule has been in place for some time, or the interim rule only implements portions of a proposed rule, while other portions of the proposed rule are still under development.

(b) An interim rule will be published in the Federal Register with an effective date on or after the date of publication. After the effective date, an interim rule is enforceable and is codified in the next annual revision of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(a) Acting pursuant to the authority vested in it by Title VII of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. 1441) and section 304(a)(1) of the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974, the National Transportation Safety Board (Board) hereby requests the Secretary of the Department of Transportation (Secretary) to exercise his authority subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations of Title VII and section 304(a)(1) of the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974, and as set forth below to investigate the facts, conditions, and circumstances surrounding certain fixed-wing and rotorcraft aircraft accidents and to submit a report to the Board from which the Board may make a determination of the probable cause.

(b) The authority to be exercised hereunder shall include the investigation of all civil aircraft accidents involving rotorcraft, aerial application, amateur-built aircraft, restricted category aircraft, and all fixed-wing aircraft which have a certificated maximum gross takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds or less except:

(1) Accidents in which fatal injuries have occurred to an occupant of such aircraft, but shall include accidents involving fatalities incurred as a result of aerial application operations, amateur-built aircraft operations, or restricted category aircraft operations.

(2) Accidents involving aircraft operated in accordance with the provisions of Part 135 of the Federal Air Regulations entitled “Air Taxi Operators and Commercial Operators of Small Aircraft.”

(3) Accidents involving aircraft operated by an air carrier authorized by certificate of public convenience and necessity to engage in air transportation.

(4) Accidents involving midair collisions.

(c) Provided, That the Board may, through the chiefs of its field offices, or their designees who receive the initial notifications, advise the Secretary, through his appropriate designee, that the Board will assume the full responsibility for the investigation of an accident included in this request in the same manner as an accident not so included; and Provided further, That the Board, through the chiefs of its field offices, or their designees who receive initial notifications may request the Secretary, through his appropriate designee, to investigate an accident not included in this request, which would normally be investigated by the Board under section (b) (1) through (4) above, and in the same manner as an accident so included.

(d) Provided, That this authority shall not be construed to authorize the Secretary to hold public hearings or to determine the probable cause of the accident; and Provided further, That the Secretary will report to the Board in a form acceptable to the Board the facts, conditions, and circumstances surrounding each accident from which the Board may determine the probable cause.

(e) And provided further, That this request includes authority to conduct autopsies and such other tests of the remains of deceased persons aboard the aircraft at the time of the accident, who die as a result of the accident, necessary to the investigations requested hereunder and such authority may be delegated and redelegated to any official or employee of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). For the purpose of this provision, designated aviation examiners are not deemed to be officials or employees of the FAA.

(f) Invoking the provisions of section 701(f) of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, and section 304(a)(1) of the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974, is necessary inasmuch as sufficient funds have not been made available to the Board to provide adequate facilities and personnel to investigate all accidents involving civil aircraft. This request, therefore, is considered to be temporary in nature and may be modified or terminated by written notice to the Secretary.