[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 20, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43037-43039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17696]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 20, 2019 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 43037]]
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 25
[Docket No. FAA-2019-0632; Special Conditions No. 25-19-08-SC]
Special Conditions: The Boeing Company Model 747-8 Series
Airplane; Certification of Cooktops
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 The Boeing Company
(Boeing) Model 747-8 series airplane. This airplane, as modified by
Boeing will have a novel or unusual design feature when compared to the
state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for
transport category airplanes. This design feature is associated with
the replacement and re-certification of existing cooktops with advanced
technology induction coil cooktops in the main deck galleys on a Boeing
Model 747-8 series airplane. The proposed modification is limited to
removing the existing cooktops and replacing them with new technology
cooktops. No changes to the galley surfaces, smoke detection system,
ventilation system, warning systems, and fire suppression systems are
included in this modification. 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 The Boeing Company on August 20,
2019. Send comments on or before October 4, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Send comments identified by Docket No. FAA-2019-0632 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: Alan Sinclair, FAA, Airframe/Cabin
Safety Branch, 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 206-231-3215; email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The substance of these special conditions
has been published in the Federal Register for public comment in
several prior instances with no substantive comments received.
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
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 July 2, 2018, Boeing applied for a supplemental type certificate
for the replacement of existing cooktops in the Boeing Model 747-8
series airplane. The Boeing Model 747-8 currently approved under Type
Certificate No. A20WE, is an extended range passenger version of the
Boeing Model 747-400 series airplanes with four General Electric
engines having changes to increase its strength and fuel capacity.
The modification incorporates the installation of an electrically
heated surface, called a cooktop. Cooktops introduce high heat, smoke,
and the possibility of fire into the passenger cabin environment. These
potential hazards to the airplane and its occupants must be
satisfactorily addressed. Since existing airworthiness regulations do
not contain safety standards addressing cooktops, special conditions
are therefore needed.
Type Certification Basis
Under the provisions of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14
CFR) 21.101, Boeing must show that the Model 747-8 series airplane, as
changed, continues to meet the applicable provisions of the regulations
listed in Type Certificate No. A20WE 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 (i.e., 14 CFR part 25) do not contain adequate or
appropriate safety standards
[[Page 43038]]
for the Boeing Model 747-8 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 747-8 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 modification of the Boeing Model 747-8 series airplane will
incorporate a novel or unusual design feature, which is the
installation of cooktops in the passenger cabin. Cooktops introduce
high heat, smoke, and the possibility of fire into the passenger cabin
environment. The current airworthiness standards of part 25 do not
contain adequate or appropriate safety standards to protect the
airplane and its occupants from these potential hazards.
Discussion
Currently, ovens are the prevailing means of heating food on
airplanes. Ovens are characterized by an enclosure that contains both
the heat source and the food being heated. The hazards represented by
ovens are thus inherently limited, and are well understood through
years of service experience. Cooktops, on the other hand, are
characterized by exposed heat sources and the presence of relatively
unrestrained hot cookware and heated food, which may represent
unprecedented hazards to both occupants and the airplane. Cooktops
could have serious passenger and airplane safety implications if
appropriate requirements are not established for their installation and
use. These special conditions apply to cooktops with electrically
powered burners. The use of an open flame cooktop (for example, natural
gas) is beyond the scope of these special conditions and would require
separate rulemaking action. The requirements identified in these
special conditions are in addition to those considerations identified
in Advisory Circular (AC) 20-168, Certification Guidance for
Installation of Non-Essential, Non-Required Aircraft Cabin Systems &
Equipment (CS&E), dated July 22, 2010, and those in AC 25-17A,
Transport Airplane Cabin Interiors Crashworthiness Handbook, Change 1,
dated May 24, 2016. The intent of these special conditions is to
provide a level of safety that is consistent with that on similar
airplanes without cooktops.
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 747-8 series airplane as modified by Boeing. Should Boeing apply
at a later date for a supplemental type certificate to modify any other
model included on Type Certificate No. A20WE to incorporate the same
novel or unusual design feature, these special conditions would apply
to that model as well.
Conclusion
This action affects only a certain novel or unusual design feature
on the Boeing Model 747-8 series airplane. 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 the Boeing Model 747-8 series
airplane, as modified by The Boeing Company:
Cooktop Installations With Electrically-Powered Burner
1. Means, such as conspicuous burner-on indicators, physical
barriers, or handholds, must be installed to minimize the potential for
inadvertent personnel contact with hot surfaces of both the cooktop and
cookware. Conditions of turbulence must be considered.
2. Sufficient design means must be included to restrain cookware
while in place on the cooktop, as well as representative contents,
e.g., soup, sauces, etc., from the effects of flight loads and
turbulence. Restraints must be provided to preclude hazardous movement
of cookware and contents. These restraints must accommodate any
cookware that is identified for use with the cooktop. Restraints must
be designed to be easily utilized and effective in service. The
cookware restraint system should also be designed so that it will not
be easily disabled, thus rendering it unusable. Placarding must be
installed which prohibits the use of cookware that can not be
accommodated by the restraint system.
3. Placarding must be installed which prohibits the use of cooktops
(i.e., power on any burner) during taxi, takeoff, and landing.
4. One of the following options must be provided to address the
possibility of a fire occurring on or in the immediate vicinity of the
cooktop:
a. Placarding must be installed that prohibits any burner from
being powered when the cooktop is unattended (Note: That this would
prohibit a single person from cooking on the cooktop and intermittently
serving food to passengers while any burner is powered). A fire
detector must be installed in the vicinity of the cooktop, which
provides an audible warning in the passenger cabin, and a fire
extinguisher of appropriate size and extinguishing agent must be
installed in the immediate vicinity of the cooktop. Access to the
extinguisher must not be blocked by a fire on or around the cooktop.
b. An automatic, thermally activated fire suppression system must
be installed to extinguish a fire at the cooktop and immediately
adjacent surfaces. The agent used in the system must be an approved
total flooding agent suitable for use in an occupied area. The fire
suppression system must have a manual override. The automatic
activation of the fire suppression system must also automatically shut
off power to the cooktop.
5. The surfaces of the galley surrounding the cooktop, which could
be exposed to a fire on the cooktop surface or in cookware on the
cooktop must be constructed of materials that comply with the
flammability requirements of Part III of Appendix F of part 25. This
requirement is in addition to the flammability requirements typically
required of the materials in these galley surfaces.
[[Page 43039]]
During the selection of these materials, consideration must also be
given to ensure that the flammability characteristics of the materials
will not be adversely affected by the use of cleaning agents and
utensils used to remove cooking stains.
6. The cooktop must be ventilated with a system independent of the
airplane cabin and cargo ventilation system. Procedures and time
intervals must be established to inspect and clean or replace the
ventilation system to prevent a fire hazard from the accumulation of
flammable oils and be included in the instructions for continued
airworthiness. [Note: The applicant may find additional useful
information in Society of Automotive Engineers, Aerospace Recommended
Practice 85, Rev. E, entitled ``Air Conditioning Systems for Subsonic
Airplanes,'' dated August 1, 1991.]
7. Means must be provided to contain spilled foods or fluids in a
manner that will prevent the creation of a slipping hazard to occupants
and will not lead to the loss of structural strength due to corrosion.
8. Cooktop installations must provide adequate space for the user
to immediately escape a hazardous cooktop condition.
9. A means to shut off power to the cooktop must be provided at the
galley containing the cooktop and in the cockpit. If additional
switches are introduced in the cockpit, revisions to smoke or fire
emergency procedures of the AFM will be required.
10. If the cooktop is required to have a lid to enclose the
cooktop, there must be a means to automatically shut off power to the
cooktop when the lid is enclosed.
Issued in Des Moines, Washington, on August 13, 2019
Mary A. Schooley,
Acting Manager, Transport Standards Branch, Policy and Innovation
Division, Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-17696 Filed 8-19-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P