[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 1, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18108-18110]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06339]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 25
[Docket No. FAA-2020-0273; Special Conditions No. 25-767-SC]
Special Conditions: Delta Flight Products, Boeing Model No. 757-
200 Series Airplane; Seats With Non-Traditional, Large, Non-Metallic
Panels
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final special conditions; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Boeing Model No.
757-200 series airplane. This airplane, as modified by Delta Flight
Products, will have novel or unusual design features when compared to
the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for
transport category airplanes. This design feature includes seats with
large, non-traditional, non-metallic panels on Boeing 757-200 series
airplanes. The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain
adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These
special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the
Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety
equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.
DATES: This action is effective on Delta Flight Products on April 1,
2020. Send comments on or before May 18, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by Docket No. FAA-2020-0273 using
any of the following methods:
Federal eRegulations Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/ and follow the online instructions for sending
your comments electronically.
Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30, U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room
W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket
Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.
Privacy: The FAA will post all comments it receives, without
change, to http://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal
information the commenter provides. Using the search function of the
docket website, anyone can find and read the electronic form of all
comments received into any FAA docket, including the name of the
individual sending the comment (or signing the comment for an
association, business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete Privacy Act
Statement can be found in the Federal Register published on April 11,
2000 (65 FR 19477-19478).
Docket: Background documents or comments received may be read at
http://www.regulations.gov/ at any time. Follow the online instructions
for accessing the docket or go to Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of
the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Shelden, Airframe & Cabin Safety
Section, AIR-675, Transport Standards Branch, Policy and Innovation
Division, Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation
Administration, 2200 South 216th Street, Des Moines, Washington 98198;
telephone and fax 206-231-3214; email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The substance of these special conditions
previously has been published in the Federal Register for public
comment. These special conditions have been derived without substantive
change from those previously issued. It is unlikely that prior public
comment would result in a significant change from the substance
contained herein. Therefore, the FAA has determined that prior public
notice and comment are unnecessary, and finds that, for the same
reason, good cause exists for adopting these special conditions upon
publication in the Federal Register.
Comments Invited
The FAA invites interested people to take part in this rulemaking
by sending written comments, data, or views. The most helpful comments
reference a specific portion of the special conditions, explain the
reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data.
The FAA will consider all comments received by the closing date for
comments. The FAA may change these special conditions based on the
comments received.
Background
On September 3, 2019, Delta applied for a supplemental type
certificate for an interior reconfiguration that includes seats
containing large, non-traditional, non-metallic panels on Boeing 757-
200 series airplanes. The Boeing 757-200
[[Page 18109]]
series airplane is a twin-engine, transport category airplane with
seating provisions for up to 239 passengers.
The applicable regulations to airplanes currently approved under
Type Certificate No. A2NM do not require seats to meet the more-
stringent flammability standards required of large, non-traditional,
non-metallic panels in the cabin interior. At the time the applicable
rules were written, seats were designed with a metal frame covered by
fabric, not with large, non-traditional, non-metallic panels. Seats
also met the then-recently adopted standards for flammability of seat
cushions. With the seat design being mostly fabric and metal, their
contribution to a fire in the cabin had been minimized and was not
considered a threat. For these reasons, seats did not need to be tested
to heat-release and smoke-emission requirements.
Seat designs have now evolved to occasionally include large, non-
traditional, non-metallic panels. Taken in total, the surface area of
these panels is on the same order as the sidewall and overhead-stowage-
bin interior panels. To provide the level of passenger protection
established by the airworthiness standards, these large, non-
traditional, non-metallic panels in the cabin must meet the standards
of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 25, Appendix F,
parts IV and V, heat-release and smoke-emission requirements.
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14
CFR) 21.101, Delta Flight Products must show that the Model 757-200
series airplane, as changed, continues to meet the applicable
provisions of the regulations listed in Type Certificate No. A2NM or
the applicable regulations in effect on the date of application for the
change, except for earlier amendments as agreed upon by the FAA.
If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness
regulations (e.g., 14 CFR part 25) do not contain adequate or
appropriate safety standards for the Boeing Model 757-200 series
airplane because of a novel or unusual design feature, special
conditions are prescribed under the provisions of Sec. 21.16.
Special conditions are initially applicable to the model for which
they are issued. Should the applicant apply for a supplemental type
certificate to modify any other model included on the same type
certificate to incorporate the same novel or unusual design feature,
these special conditions would also apply to the other model under
Sec. 21.101.
In addition to the applicable airworthiness regulations and special
conditions, the Boeing Model 757-200 series airplane must comply with
the fuel vent and exhaust emission requirements of 14 CFR part 34 and
the noise certification requirements of 14 CFR part 36.
The FAA issues special conditions, as defined in 14 CFR 11.19, in
accordance with Sec. 11.38, and they become part of the type
certification basis under Sec. 21.101.
Novel or Unusual Design Features
The Boeing 757-200 series airplane will incorporate the following
novel or unusual design feature:
This model offers interior arrangements that include passenger
seats that incorporate large, non-traditional, non-metallic panels in
lieu of the traditional metal frame covered by fabric. The flammability
properties of these panels have been shown to significantly affect the
survivability of cabin occupants in the event of fire. These seats are
considered a novel design for transport-category airplanes that include
Amendment 25-61 and Amendment 25-66 in the certification basis, and
were not considered when those airworthiness standards were
established.
The existing regulations do not provide adequate or appropriate
safety standards for seat designs that incorporate large, non-
traditional, non-metallic panels in their designs. To provide a level
of safety that is equivalent to that afforded to the balance of the
cabin, additional airworthiness standards, in the form of special
conditions, are necessary. These special conditions supplement 14 CFR
25.853. The requirements contained in these special conditions consist
of applying the identical test conditions, required of all other large
panels in the cabin, to seats with large, non-traditional, non-metallic
panels.
Discussion
In the early 1980s, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
conducted extensive research on the effects of post-crash flammability
in the passenger cabin. As a result of this research and service
experience, the FAA adopted new standards for interior surfaces
associated with larger surface-area parts. Specifically, the rules
require measurement of heat release and smoke emission (part 25,
Appendix F, parts IV and V) for the affected parts. Heat release has
been shown to have a direct correlation to post-crash fire-survival
time. The materials that comply with the standards (e.g., Sec. 25.853,
``Compartment Interiors,'' as amended by Amendments 25-61 and 25-66)
were found to extend survival time by approximately two minutes over
materials that do not comply.
At the time Amendment 25-61 was written, the potential application
of the requirement to seats was explored. The seat frame itself was not
a concern because it was primarily made of aluminum and incorporated
only small amounts of non-metallic materials (for example, a food-tray
table and armrest closeout). The FAA determined that the overall effect
on survivability was negligible, whether or not these panels met the
heat-release and smoke-emission requirements. The requirements
therefore did not address seats, and the preambles to both Notice of
Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) 85-10 and the final rule (Amendment 25-61)
specifically note that they were excluded ``. . . because the recently
adopted standards for flammability of seat cushions will greatly
inhibit involvement of the seats'' in their post-crash fire.
In the late 1990s, when it became clear that seat designs were
evolving to include large non-metallic panels with surface area that
would impact survivability during a cabin-fire event compared to
partitions or galleys, the FAA issued Policy Memorandum 97-112-39. This
memo noted that large surface-area panels must comply with heat-release
and smoke-emission requirements, even if they were attached to a seat.
If the FAA had not issued such policy, seat designs would have been an
exception to the airworthiness standards, which could result in an
unacceptable decrease in survivability during a cabin fire event.
These special conditions contain the additional safety standards
that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of
safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness
standards.
Definition of ``Large, Non-Traditional, Non-Metallic Panel''
A large, non-traditional, non-metallic panel, in this case, is
defined as a panel with exposed-surface areas greater than 1.5 square
feet installed per seat place. The panel may consist of either a single
component or multiple components in a concentrated area. Examples of
non-traditional areas include, but are not limited to, seat backs,
bottoms and leg/foot rests, kick panels, back shells, and associated
furniture. Examples of traditional, exempted areas include, but are not
limited to, arm caps, armrest close-outs, and items such as end-bays
[[Page 18110]]
and center consoles, food trays, video monitors, and shrouds.
Clarification of ``Exposed''
``Exposed'' is considered to include those panels directly exposed
to the passenger cabin in the traditional sense, plus those panels
enveloped, such as by a dress cover. Traditional fabrics or leathers
currently used on seats are excluded from the special conditions. These
materials must still comply with Sec. 25.853(a) and (c) if used as a
covering for a seat cushion, or Sec. 25.853(a) if installed elsewhere
on the seat. Large, non-metallic panels covered with traditional
fabrics or leathers will be tested without their coverings or covering
attachments.
Applicability
As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the
Boeing Model 757-200 series airplane. Should Delta Flight Products
apply at a later date for a supplemental type certificate to modify any
other model included on Type Certificate No. A2NM to incorporate the
same novel or unusual design feature, these special conditions would
apply to that model as well.
Conclusion
This action affects only certain novel or unusual design features
on one model series of airplanes. It is not a rule of general
applicability and affects only the applicant who applied to the FAA for
approval of these features on the airplane.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25
Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Authority Citation
The authority citation for these special conditions is as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40113, 44701, 44702, 44704.
The Special Conditions
Accordingly, pursuant to the authority delegated to me by the
Administrator, the following special conditions are issued as part of
the type certification basis for Boeing Model 757-200 series airplanes,
as modified by Delta Flight Products.
1. Compliance with 14 CFR part 25, Appendix F, parts IV and V, heat
release and smoke emission, is required for seats that incorporate
large, non-traditional, non-metallic panels that may either be a single
component or multiple components in a concentrated area in their
design.
2. The applicant may designate up to and including 1.5 square feet
of non-traditional, non-metallic panel material per seat place that
does not have to comply with No. 1. A triple seat assembly may have a
total of 4.5 square feet excluded on any portion of the assembly (e.g.,
outboard seat place 1 sq. ft., middle 1 sq. ft., and inboard 2.5 sq.
ft.).
3. Seats need not meet the test requirements of part 25 Appendix F,
parts IV and V when installed in compartments that are not otherwise
required to meet these requirements. Examples include:
a. Airplanes with passenger capacities of 19 or fewer.
b. Airplanes that do not have smoke emission and heat release in
their certification basis and do not need to comply with the
requirements of 14 CFR 121.312.
c. Airplanes exempted from heat-release and smoke-emission
requirements.
Issued in Des Moines, Washington, on March 12, 2020.
James E. Wilborn,
Acting Manager, Transport Standards Branch, Policy and Innovation
Division, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-06339 Filed 3-31-20; 8:45 am]
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