G/TBT/N/USA/943  
 
22 December 2014  
(14-7409)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
  NOTIFICATION 
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):    
2. Agency responsible: Federal Aviation Admini stration (FAA) [961] 
Name and address (including telephon e and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above : 
Please submit comments to: 
USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point 
Email: ncsci@nist.gov   
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applic able, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable): Airplane fuel tanks. 
Accident and disaster control (ICS: 13.200), Explosion protection (ICS: 13.230), Aircraft and 
space vehicles in general (ICS: 49.020) 
5. Title, number of pages and langua ge(s) of the notified document: Transport Airplane 
Fuel Tank and System Lightning Pr otection (10 pages, in English) 
6. Description of content: The FAA proposes to amend certain airworthiness regulations for 
transport category airplanes regarding lightning protection of fuel tanks and systems. This 
action would establish design requirements for both normal conditions and possible failures 
of fuel tank structure and systems that could lead to fuel tank explosions, add new 
maintenance requirements related to lightning protection features, and impose specific requirements for airworthiness limitations in the instructions for continued airworthiness. We would create performance-based standards for prevention of catastrophic fuel vapor 
ignition caused by lightning by regulating the risk due to both ignition sources and fuel 
tank flammability. This change would allow designers to take advantage of flammability reduction technologies whose effectiveness was not foreseen when earlier revisions to 
these rules were written. This change woul d also relieve some of the administrative 
burdens created by the current regulations.  These proposed amendments are based on 
recommendations from the Large Airplane Fu el System Lightning Protection Aviation 
Rulemaking Committee (Lightning ARC).  
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable: 
Protection of human health or safety  
8. Relevant documents:  79 Federal Register (FR) 75496, 18 December 2014; Title 14 Code 
of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 25. Will a ppear in the Federal Register when adopted. 
9. Proposed date of adoption:   To be determined 
Proposed date of entry into force:   To be determined   G/TBT/N/USA/943 
 
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  10. Final date for comments: 18 March 2015 
11. Texts available from: Nati onal enquiry point [ ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available, of other body: 
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR -2014-12-18/html /2014-29385.htm   
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR -2014-12-18/pd f/2014-29385.pdf