2120-0730 2017doc

Certification of Aircraft and Airmen for the Operation of Light‑Sport Aircraft; Modifications to Rules for Sport Pilot and Flight Instructor with a Sport Pilot Rating

2120-0730

A. Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.

Previous FAA regulations (§91.327 (b)(4)) specified that no person may operate an aircraft that has a special airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category unless the owner or operator complies with each safety directive applicable to the aircraft that corrects an existing unsafe condition. Although owners and operators were required to comply with these safety directives, there had been no requirement to retain a record of the current status of applicable safety directives or transfer that information at the time of sale of the aircraft.

Without a requirement to retain and transfer this information, owners, operators, and FAA safety inspectors would not have been able to easily determine whether maintenance actions critical to flight safety have been accomplished on special light-sport aircraft. The FAA therefore amended its regulations (§91.417 (a)(2)(v)) to require owners or operators to retain these records.

This collection promotes the goal of safety.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used.

The information is used by FAA safety inspectors in determining whether required maintenance actions were accomplished on aircraft. The information is also used when investigating accidents.

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 information is not submitted to the FAA either electronically or otherwise. Rather, the owner or operator of a previously owned aircraft retains the record of the current status of applicable safety directives and makes it available to the FAA upon request.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.

Since the FAA does not maintain records of the current status of applicable safety directives on file, an FAA safety inspector does not have access to the information other than by requesting the owners and operators to show it upon request.

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

The record maintenance requirement does not impact small businesses.

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.

There is no regular schedule for information collection. FAA inspectors need access to the records only on a case-by-case basis.

7. Explain any special circumstances.

N/A

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.

The FAA published a 60 day Notice in the Federal Register on November 1, 2016 (81 FR 75899) to seek public comment. There were no comments.

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

Not applicable.

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

It is not necessary to provide assurance of confidentiality to respondents. The information is used by FAA inspectors only.

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

Not applicable. No questions of a sensitive nature are contained in records of the current status of applicable safety directives.

12. Provide estimates of hour burden of the collection information.

FAA regulations require owners and operators of special light-sport aircraft (SLSA) to save and transfer the current status of applicable safety directives. There are currently 2,628 registered SLSAs.

Owners and operators of SLSAs would retain and transfer records on the status of safety directives only when safety directives have been issued on their SLSAs. The FAA estimates that it would take an owner operator 2 hours per year to comply with the requirement.

For the requested approval period, the average burden per year would be 5,396 hours, as shown in the table below.

Year	Number of SLSA Aircraft	Hours Per Aircraft	Total Hour Burden
2017	2628	2	5256
2018	2698	2	5396
2019	2768	2	5536
Total			16188
Average per year	16188/3		5396

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

There is no cost to respondents with the exception of their time. Assuming the value of an owner or operator’s time is $31.50 per hour, the cost would be $165,564.00 per year.

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

There is no annualized cost to the federal government.

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

An increase in annual sales has resulted in an increased operators/owners.

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.

Not applicable. Results are not published.

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.

N/A

18. Explain each exception.

No exceptions.

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