[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 16, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13969-13971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05995]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 25
[Docket No. FAA-2015-8298; Special Conditions No. 25-611-SC]
Special Conditions: JAMCO America, Inc., Boeing Model 777-300ER,
Dynamic Test Requirements for Single-Occupant Oblique (Side-Facing)
Seats With Inflatable Restraints
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final special condition; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: These special conditions are issued for the Boeing Model 777-
300ER airplane. This airplane, as modified by JAMCO America, Inc.
(JAMCO), will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with
side-facing, oblique seats equipped with inflatable restraints. The
applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or
appropriate safety standards for occupants of seats installed at an
angle of greater than 18 degrees, but substantially less than 90
degrees, to the centerline of the airplane, nor for airbag devices.
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 March 16, 2016. We must receive your
comments by May 2, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by docket number FAA-2015-8298
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 Web site, 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), as well as at http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov/.
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 and Cabin
Safety, ANM-115, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification
Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 98057-3356; telephone
425-227-2785; facsimile 425-227-1320.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA has determined that notice of, and
opportunity for prior public comment on, these special conditions are
impracticable because these procedures would significantly delay
issuance of the design approval and thus delivery of the affected
airplane.
The FAA therefore finds that good cause exists for making these
special conditions effective upon publication in the Federal Register.
Comments Invited
We invite 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.
We will consider all comments we receive by the closing date for
comments. We may change these special conditions based on the comments
we receive.
Background
On April 15, 2015, through FAA project no. JAST1977-0, JAMCO
applied for a supplemental type certificate to allow the installation
of oblique passenger seats, installed at a 43-inch pitch and at an
angle of 30 degrees to the vertical plane of the
[[Page 13970]]
airplane longitudinal centerline, and to include inflatable lap belts,
in Boeing Model 777-300ER airplanes. The Boeing Model 777-300ER
airplane is a wide-body, swept-wing, conventional-tail, twin-engine,
turbofan-powered transport airplane, with seating capacity for 550
passengers.
JAMCO proposes the installation of oblique (side-facing) B/E
Aerospace Super Diamond business-class seats. These seats will include
airbag devices for occupant restraint and injury protection.
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of 14 CFR 21.101, JAMCO America, Inc., must
show that the Model 777-300ER airplane, as changed, continues to meet
the applicable provisions of the regulations incorporated by reference
in type certificate no. T00001SE or the applicable regulations in
effect on the date of application for the change. The regulations
listed in the type certificate are commonly referred to as the
``original type certification basis.'' The regulations listed in type
certificate no. T00001SE are as follows:
Sections 25.562 and 25.785; and special conditions no. 25-295-SC
for single-occupant, side-facing seats.
In addition, the certification basis includes certain special
conditions, exemptions, or later amended sections of the applicable
part that are not relevant to these special conditions.
If the Administrator finds that the applicable airworthiness
regulations (i.e., 14 CFR part 25) do not contain adequate or
appropriate safety standards for the Boeing Model 777-300ER 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 777-300ER 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 Model 777-300ER airplane, as modified by JAMCO will
incorporate the following novel or unusual design features:
Installation of B/E Aerospace Super Diamond business-class seats
manufactured by B/E Aerospace, to be installed at an angle of 30
degrees to the airplane centerline. These seats will include airbag
devices for occupant restraint and injury protection. The applicable
airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety
standards for occupants of seats installed in the proposed
configuration.
The seating configuration JAMCO proposes is novel and unusual due
to the seat installation at 30 degrees to the airplane centerline, the
airbag-system installation, and the seat/occupant interface with the
surrounding furniture that introduces occupant alignment and loading
concerns.
Ongoing research is progressing to establish acceptable occupant-
injury limits. Until those limits become available, the FAA proposes a
set of interim limits based on the current literature available,
current National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
regulations, and preliminary test data from the research program.
The existing regulations do not provide adequate or appropriate
safety standards for occupants of oblique-angled seats with airbag
systems. To provide a level of safety that is equivalent to that
afforded occupants of forward- and aft-facing seats, additional
airworthiness standards, in the form of special conditions, are
necessary. These special conditions supplement part 25 and, more
specifically, supplement Sec. Sec. 25.562 and 25.785. The requirements
contained in these special conditions consist of both test conditions
and injury pass/fail criteria.
Discussion
Amendment 25-15 to part 25, dated October 24, 1967, introduced the
subject of side-facing seats and a requirement that each occupant in a
side-facing seat must be protected from head injury by a safety belt
and a cushioned rest that will support the arms, shoulders, head, and
spine.
Subsequently, Amendment 25-20, dated April 23, 1969, clarified the
definition of side-facing seats to require that each occupant of a seat
that is positioned at more than an 18-degree angle to the vertical
plane containing the airplane centerline must be protected from head
injury by a safety belt and an energy-absorbing rest that supports the
arms, shoulders, head, and spine; or by a safety belt and shoulder
harness that prevents the head from contacting injurious objects. The
FAA concluded that a maximum 18-degree angle would provide an adequate
level of safety based on tests that were performed at the time, and
thus adopted that standard.
Amendment 25-64, dated June 16, 1988, revised the emergency-landing
conditions that must be considered in the design of the airplane. It
revised the static-load conditions in Sec. 25.561 and added a new
Sec. 25.562, requiring dynamic testing for all seats approved for
occupancy during takeoff and landing. The intent was to provide an
improved level of safety for occupants on transport-category airplanes.
Because most seating on transport-category airplanes is forward-facing,
the pass/fail criteria developed in Amendment 25-64 focused primarily
on forward-facing seats. Therefore, the testing specified in the rule
did not provide a complete measure of occupant injury in seats that are
not forward-facing; although Sec. 25.785 does require occupants of all
seats that are occupied during taxi, takeoff, and landing not suffer
serious injury as a result of the inertia forces specified in
Sec. Sec. 25.561 and 25.562.
To address recent research findings and accommodate commercial
demand, the FAA developed a methodology to address all fully side-
facing seats (i.e., seats oriented in the airplane with the occupant
facing 90 degrees to the direction of airplane travel) and has
documented those requirements in a set of proposed new special
conditions. The FAA issued policy statement PS-ANM-25-03-R1 on November
12, 2012, titled, ``Technical Criteria for Approving Side-Facing
Seats,'' which conveys the injury criteria to be used in the special
conditions. Some of those criteria are applicable to oblique seats but
others are not because the motion of an occupant in an oblique seat is
different from the motion of an occupant in a fully side-facing seat
during emergency landing conditions.
For shallower installation angles, the FAA has granted equivalent
level of safety (ELOS) findings for oblique seat installations on the
premise that an occupant's kinematics in an oblique seat during a
forward impact would result in the body aligning with the impact
direction. We predicted that the occupant response would be similar to
an occupant of a forward-facing seat, and would produce a level of
safety equivalent to that of a forward-facing seat. These ELOS findings
were subject to many conditions that reflected the injury-evaluation
criteria and mitigation strategies available at the time of
[[Page 13971]]
issuance of the ELOS. However, review of dynamic test results for many
of these oblique seat installations raised concerns that the premise
was not correct. Potential injury mechanisms exist that are unique to
oblique seats and are not mitigated by the ELOS self-alignment approach
even if the occupant appears to respond similarly to a forward-facing
seat.
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.
Applicability
As discussed above, these special conditions are applicable to the
Boeing Model 777-300ER airplane. These special conditions can be
applied to oblique seats installed at an angle greater than 18 degrees
but less than 46 degrees to the vertical plane containing the airplane
centerline.
Should JAMCO apply at a later date for a supplemental type
certificate to modify any other model included on type certificate no.
T00001SE 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.
The substance of these special conditions has been subjected to the
notice and comment period in several prior instances and has 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, because a delay would
significantly affect the certification of the airplane, which is
imminent, the FAA has determined that prior public notice and comment
are unnecessary and impracticable, and good cause exists for adopting
these special conditions upon publication in the Federal Register. The
FAA is requesting comments to allow interested persons to submit views
that may not have been submitted in response to the prior opportunities
for comment described above.
List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25
Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
The authority citation for these special conditions is as follows:
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 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 the Boeing Model 777-300ER airplane as
modified by JAMCO.
In addition to the requirements of Sec. 25.562:
1. Head-Injury Criteria
Compliance with Sec. 25.562(c)(5) is required, except that, if the
anthropomorphic test device (ATD) has no apparent contact with the
seat/structure but has contact with an airbag, a head-injury criterion
(HIC) unlimited score in excess of 1000 is acceptable, provided the
HIC15 score (calculated in accordance with 49 CFR 571.208) for that
contact is less than 700.
2. Body-to-Wall/Furnishing Contact
If a seat is installed aft of structure (e.g., an interior wall or
furnishing) that does not provide a homogenous contact surface for the
expected range of occupants and yaw angles, then additional analysis
and/or test(s) may be required to demonstrate that the injury criteria
are met for the area that an occupant could contact. For example, if
different yaw angles could result in different airbag performance, then
additional analysis or separate test(s) may be necessary to evaluate
performance.
3. Neck Injury Criteria
The seating system must protect the occupant from experiencing
serious neck injury. The assessment of neck injury must be conducted
with the airbag device activated, unless there is reason to also
consider that the neck-injury potential would be higher for impacts
below the airbag-device deployment threshold.
a. The Nij (calculated in accordance with 49 CFR
571.208) must be below 1.0, where Nij = Fz/
Fzc + My/Myc, and Nij
critical values are:
i. Fzc = 1530 lb for tension
ii. Fzc = 1385 lb for compression
iii. Myc = 229 lb-ft in flexion
iv. Myc = 100 lb-ft in extension
b. In addition, peak upper-neck Fz must be below 937 lb
of tension and 899 lb of compression.
c. Rotation of the head about its vertical axis, relative to the
torso, is limited to 105 degrees in either direction from forward-
facing.
d. The neck must not impact any surface that would produce
concentrated loading on the neck.
4. Spine and Torso Injury Criteria
a. The shoulders must remain aligned with the hips throughout the
impact sequence, or support for the upper torso must be provided to
prevent forward or lateral flailing beyond 45 degrees from the vertical
during significant spinal loading. Alternatively, the lumbar spine
tension (Fz) cannot exceed 1200 lb.
b. Significant concentrated loading on the occupant's spine, in the
area between the pelvis and shoulders during impact, including rebound,
is not acceptable. During this type of contact, the interval for any
rearward (X-direction) acceleration exceeding 20g must be less than 3
milliseconds as measured by the thoracic instrumentation specified in
49 CFR part 572, subpart E, filtered in accordance with SAE
International (SAE) J211-1.
c. Occupant must not interact with the armrest or other seat
components in any manner significantly different than would be expected
for a forward-facing seat installation.
5. Longitudinal test(s), conducted to measure the injury criteria
above, must be performed with the FAA Hybrid III ATD, as described in
SAE 1999-01-1609. The test(s) must be conducted with an undeformed
floor, at the most-critical yaw case(s) for injury, and with all
lateral structural supports (armrests/walls) installed.
Note: JAMCO must demonstrate that the installation of seats via
plinths or pallets meets all applicable requirements. Compliance
with the guidance contained in FAA Policy Memorandum PS-ANM-100-
2000-00123, dated February 2, 2000, titled, ``Guidance for
Demonstrating Compliance with Seat Dynamic Testing for Plinths and
Pallets,'' is acceptable to the FAA.
Inflatable Lap Belt Special Conditions
If inflatable lap belts are installed on single-place side-facing
seats, the lap belts must meet Special Conditions no. 25-187A-SC.
Issued in Renton, Washington, on March 10, 2016.
Michael Kaszycki,
Acting Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft Certification
Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-05995 Filed 3-15-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P