IV. The Proposed Rule and General Description of Comments

In Notice 95-5, the FAA proposed to require that all scheduled

passenger-carrying operations in airplanes with a passenger-seating

configuration of 10 or more seats (excluding any crewmember seat) and

all scheduled operations in turbojets (regardless of the number of

seats) must be conducted under part 121. The proposal would require

certificate holders now conducting scheduled passenger-carrying

operations under part 135 in airplanes with a passenger-seating

configuration (excluding any crewmember seat) of 10 to 30 seats or in

turbojets to be recertificated and to conduct the applicable

operations in compliance with part 121 requirements. In some

instances the proposed rule revised the requirements of part 121 to

make compliance with the requirements feasible for operations in

smaller, nontransport category airplanes.

In response to Notice 95-5, the FAA has received over 3,000

comments from the public. Of these, most are solely on the issue of

the Age 60 Rule. Many of the Age 60 commenters are pilots and other

individuals who address the current rule in part 121; very few address

the specific Age 60 issue contained in this rulemaking, i.e. the

applicability of the Age 60 Rule to pilots of affected commuter

airplanes. These comments are summarized in Section V.E., The Age 60

Rule.

Approximately 200 comments were received on the substantive

issues raised by Notice 95-5. These commenters represent air

carriers; manufacturers; associations representing air carriers,

manufacturers, pilots, dispatchers, and passengers; State and local

governments; the U.S. Small Business Administration; the National

Transportation Safety Board; and individuals. While some commenters

voice general support for the goals of Notice 95-5, most raise

concerns about specific proposals. Industry commenters are

particularly concerned about the costs of complying with the proposed

rule.

The FAA also conducted three public meetings on the proposed

rule: on May 18, 1995, in Anchorage, Alaska; on June 14, 1995, in

Chicago, Illinois; and on June 21, 1995, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Testimony from the public meetings and written statements submitted at

the meetings have been included in the FAA public docket, have been

considered by the FAA in developing the final rule, and are discussed

in the following discussion of comments along with all written

comments that were submitted to the FAA docket.

In Notice 95-5, the FAA identified major issues that the agency

addressed in developing the proposal. These included applicability of

the proposal, aircraft certification issues, flight time limits, the

Age 60 Rule, use of a dispatch system, certain equipment items, and

the compliance schedule. Comments received on these major issues and

the FAA's response to these comments are discussed in Section V.

Comments received on specific proposals and the FAA's response to

these comments are discussed in Section VI. Comments specifically

addressing cost issues are discussed in Section VII. Below is a list

of some of the major commenters and their associated abbreviations.

The full name of each commenter is used when the commenter is first

mentioned. In subsequent discussions, the commenter's abbreviation,

as shown below, is used.

Abbreviations for Commenters

AAAE American Association of Airport Executives

AACA Alaska Air Carriers Association

ADF Airline Dispatchers Federation

AIA Aerospace Industries Association

ALPA Air Line Pilots Association

APA Allied Pilots Association

ASA Atlantic Southeast Airlines

GAMA General Aviation Manufacturers Association

HAI Helicopter Association International

IAPA International Airline Passengers Association

NACA National Air Carrier Association

NATA National Air Transportation Association

NTSB National Transportation Safety Board

Penair Peninsula Airways

RAA Regional Airlines Association