© AIRBUS S.A.S 2009. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. This document and all information contained herein is the sole property of AIRBUS S.A.S. No intellectual property rights are granted by 

the delivery of this document or the disclosure of its content. This document shall not be reproduced or disclosed to a third party without the express written consent of AIRBUS S.A.S. This document and its content 

shall not be used for any purpose other than that for which it is supplied. 

AN EADS COMPANY AIRBUS S.A.S

SOCIÉTÉ PAR ACTIONS SIMPLIFIÉE 

AU CAPITAL DE 2.704.375 EUROS 

383 474 814 R.C.S. TOULOUSE

SIÈGE SOCIAL : 

1, ROND-POINT MAURICE BELLONTE 

31707 BLAGNAC CEDEX, FRANCE 

PHONE +33 (0)5 61 93 33 33

FROM 

Yves REGIS - EA 

DATE 

28 July 2010 

PHONE 

33561933028 

FAX 

33561934271 

E-MAIL 

Yves.regis@airbus.com 

OUR REFERENCE 

F28M10021337 

YOUR REFERENCE 

Docket Management Facility 

US department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

West Building Ground Floor 

Room W12-140 

WASHINGTON DC 20590 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

Subject : Airbus A340 - Petition for temporary exemption to § FAR 26.33, 

 title 14 Code of Federal Regulations 

Dear Madam / Sir, 

Airbus is hereby petitioning for a temporary exemption to some requirements of section 14 CFR 

26.33 – Holders of type certificates: Fuel tank flammability – for the A340 aircraft models. In order 

to ease the review of this exemption request, it has been formatted as per the guidelines of § FAR 

11.81. 

(a) Name, mailing address and other contact information 

Yves REGIS 

Head of Product Integrity 

Airbus SAS 

B35-0A7 

1 rond-point Maurice Bellonte 

31707 Blagnac Cedex 

France 

(b) The specific section or sections of 14 CFR from which exemption is sought 

A temporary exemption is sought from the requirements of paragraphs (d), (e), (f) and (h) of section 14 CFR 26.33. 

(c) The extent of the sought relief and the reason for seeking this relief 

Airbus plans to be ready to release the Service Instructions (or Service Bulletins – SB) required by 

FAR 26.33(d) for the A340 aircraft models (A340-211, -212, -213, -311, -312, -313, -541, -542, -

642, -643) from December 31, 2011 (instead of December 27, 2010 as required by the FAA). Consistently with the requirement of FAR 26.33(h)(3) Airbus plans to have a draft of the SB available 

three months earlier, i.e. a the end of October 2011. There will be one SB for the A340-200/300 
© AIRBUS S.A.S 2009. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. This document and all information contained herein is the sole property of AIRBUS S.A.S. No intellectual property rights are granted by 

the delivery of this document or the disclosure of its content. This document shall not be reproduced or disclosed to a third party without the express written consent of AIRBUS S.A.S. This document and its content 

shall not be used for any purpose other than that for which it is supplied. 

FROM Yves REGIS DATE 28 July 2010 REFERENCE F28M10021337 PAGE 2 

models and one SB for the A340-500/600 models since the Flammability Reduction System designs are slightly different for these two families. 

In addition, for the A340-541, -542, -642 and -643 aircraft models, Airbus plans to publish the Airworthiness Limitation Section (ALS) of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA) required 

by FAR 26.33 (e) & (f) in the second half of 2011, no later than December 31, 2011. The exact 

date will depend on the date of approval of the aircraft modification installing the fuel tank flammability reduction system on this aircraft model (currently scheduled to take place in the second half 

of 2011). 

These delays in compliance are sought since: 

• there are currently no A340 aircraft operated under FAR 121/125/129 

and, 

• only second-hand aircraft could enter FAR 121/125/129 operations before the end of 

December 2011. To the best Airbus current knowledge of second-hand aircraft availability, only a very limited number of units could therefore be added to the US registry before this date. 

The delays in compliance are therefore sought in order to optimize the resources allocation and 

give the priority to the progress of the compliance work for the overall Fuel Tank Flammability Reduction Rule (i.e. including the support to the operators affected by the operational FAR requirements) for the A320 family and the A330-200 model. Airbus has a significant number of these aircraft under FAR 121/125/129 operations and a few airlines have already placed orders for FRS 

retrofit (A320 family). 

(d) The reasons why granting the request would be in the public interest; that is how it would 

benefit the public as a whole 

As indicated above, granting the request will improve: 

• the Airbus capability to meet the FAR 26.33 2010 compliance deadlines for the models 

for which Airbus has a significant number of aircraft operated under FAR 121/125/129 

• the Airbus capability, throughout 2011, to provide the necessary support to the US operators of these aircraft models in preparing, scheduling and finally meeting the FAR 

121/125/129 retrofit requirements 

hence benefiting the US public as a whole. 

(e) The reasons why granting the exemption would not adversely affect safety 

Granting this exemption would not adversely affect safety since it will not impair the Airbus and 

potential future A340 operators capability to meet the FAR 121/125/129 retrofit dates. No A340 

aircraft models are currently operated under FAR 121/125/129 and, to the current Airbus knowledge, only a very limited number of second-hand aircraft could be added to the US registry in the 

near future. On this basis Airbus considers that delaying the publication of Service Instructions for 

the A340 aircraft will not impair the capability of the potentially concerned operators to meet the 

FAR 121/125/129 retrofit dates. 
© AIRBUS S.A.S 2009. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. This document and all information contained herein is the sole property of AIRBUS S.A.S. No intellectual property rights are granted by 

the delivery of this document or the disclosure of its content. This document shall not be reproduced or disclosed to a third party without the express written consent of AIRBUS S.A.S. This document and its content 

shall not be used for any purpose other than that for which it is supplied. 

FROM Yves REGIS DATE 28 July 2010 REFERENCE F28M10021337 PAGE 3 

(f) A summary that the FAA can publish in the Federal Register 

Airbus seeks a temporary exemption from § FAR 26.33 (d), (e), (f) and (h), title 14 Code of Federal 

Regulation, for its A340 aircraft models. 

More precisely, Airbus seeks an exemption from the requirement to meet the December 27, 2010 

deadline for releasing the required compliance items. Instead, these items will be ready for release 

to any concerned operator at the latest at the end of December 2011. 

Airbus considers that this request is in the public interest since it will contribute to ensure full and 

timely compliance to FAR 26, FAR 121, FAR 125 and FAR 129 Fuel Tank Flammability Reduction 

requirements for the Airbus models that have a significant number of aircraft operated under FAR 

121/125/129. 

Airbus considers that granting this request will not adversely affect safety since no A340 aircraft 

models are currently operated under FAR 121/125/129 and, to the current Airbus knowledge, only 

a very limited number of second-hand aircraft could be added to the US registry before end of 

2011. On this basis, delaying by one year the availability of the Service Instructions will not impair 

the capability of the potential future A340 operators to meet the FAR121/125/129 retrofit dates. 

(g) Any additional information, views or arguments available to support the exemption request 

None 

 

(h) The reason to exercise the privileges of the requested exemption outside the United States 

if needed 

To the best of Airbus knowledge, no N registered airplanes affected by this rule are operated outside the United States. There is therefore no need to exercise the privileges of the requested exemption outside the United States. 

Yours faithfully, 

Yves REGIS 

Head of Product Integrity