[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 218 (Friday, November 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65493-65495]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-25209]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

[Docket No. FAA-2004-19612]


Use of Non-Original Equipment Manufacturer's Components in 
Certified Aviation Obstruction/Antenna Lighting Systems

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of policy; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: On June 17, 2004, the FAA published a notice of policy in the 
Federal Register pertaining to the use of replacement components to 
repair certified lighting systems on antenna structures. The notice 
dealt with the issue of certified lighting systems manufactured by 
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that have been repaired with 
replacement components manufactured by other manufacturers (non-OEMs). 
Since the publication of that notice, the FAA has received information 
from manufacturers of certified lighting systems and of replacement 
components. After reviewing this information, as well as the 
information that led the agency to publish the notice of policy, the 
FAA has determined that further public input and further study by the 
agency are necessary to assess (1) the adequacy of existing guidance in 
FAA advisory circulars pertaining to obstruction lighting, and (2) the 
need for any changes in such guidance. Accordingly, the agency is 
withdrawing its June 17, 2004, notice of policy. In addition, the FAA 
is announcing an immediate interim expansion of the Airport Lighting 
Equipment Certification Program (the certification program), provided 
for in Advisory Circular (AC) 150/5345-53B. Manufacturers of 
obstruction lighting systems may show compliance with FAA 
specifications through the certification program. Under the 
certification program, manufacturers of obstruction lighting systems 
have their products tested by third party certification bodies to 
determine whether those systems meet the FAA specifications set forth 
in another advisory circular, AC 150/5345-43E. The certification 
program, however, does not provide a method for certifying replacement 
components. The interim procedure announced here will provide a 
mechanism for certification of airport lighting equipment that contains 
replacement parts not produced by the original equipment manufacturer 
while the agency reviews its policy in this area.

DATES: Comments must be received by January 11, 2005. Comments that are 
received after that date will be considered only to the extent 
possible.

ADDRESSES: This notice is available for public review in the Dockets 
Office, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room Plaza Level (PL) 401, 
400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. The documents have 
been filed under Docket No. FAA-200---XXXXX.

[[Page 65494]]

The Dockets Office is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays. The Dockets Office is on the plaza 
level of the Nassif Building at the Department of Transportation at the 
above address.
    Also, you may review public dockets on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. Comments on the proposed policy must be delivered or 
mailed, in duplicate, to: the Docket Management System, U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Room Plaza Level 401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001. You must identify the docket number ``FAA 
Docket No. FAA-200---XXXXX'' at the beginning of your comments. 
Commenters wishing the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their comments 
must include a preaddressed, stamped postcard on which the following 
statement is made: ``Comments to FAA Docket No. FAA-200---XXXXX.'' The 
postcard will be date-stamped and mailed to the commenter. You may also 
submit comments through the Internet to http://dms.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Marinelli, Manager, Airport 
Engineering Division, AAS-100, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267-
7669.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 17, 2004, the FAA published a notice 
in the Federal Register advising that if certain non-OEM replacement 
components were installed in certified lighting systems, those systems 
could not longer be considered certified under FAA standards. The 
agency wrote further that a tower owner who used a non-OEM replacement 
part in a certified lighting system could be liable for possible 
violations of a regulation promulgated by the Federal Communications 
Commission, 47 CFR 1723, requiring that FCC-licensed broadcast towers 
use lighting systems that comply with FAA specifications. That FCC 
regulation makes it mandatory for FCC-licensed broadcast towers to meet 
the specifications, standards, and general requirements stated in FAA 
AC 70/7460-1J, Obstruction Marking and Lighting, (which has been 
replaced by AC 70/7460-1K) and FAA AC 150/5345-43E, Specification for 
Obstruction Lighting Equipment.
    AC 150/5345-53B, Airport Lighting Equipment Certification Program, 
establishes a certification program that applies to numerous types of 
airport lighting equipment, including obstruction lighting systems. The 
certification program is designed to ensure a high level of aviation 
safety. Under the certification program, third party certification 
bodies (listed in Appendix 1 of AC 150/5345-53B) test lighting 
equipment to determine whether it complies with the FAA's substantive 
standards prescribed in AC 150/5345-43E for all obstruction lighting 
systems. Lighting equipment that is certified by third party 
certification bodies is listed in Appendix 3 of AC 150/5345-53B.
    In its current form, AC 150/5345-53B provides for certification 
only of entire lighting systems, and makes no provision for 
certification of such systems' individual components. Thus, AC 150/
5345-53B does not provide a mechanism for ensuring that a certified 
lighting system in which non-OEM replacement components have been 
installed continues to meet the safety standards of AC 150/5345-43E. A 
non-OEM replacement part might perform as well as the original 
components in the system, but there is no current way under the current 
certification program for the FAA, the FCC, and/or the tower operator/
owner to know that. Knowing the performance of safety equipment is the 
core purpose of certification, and the use of non-OEM replacement 
components in certified equipment at least has the potential for 
undermining the safety purpose and benefits of the certification 
program.
    The FAA is considering developing a permanent procedure that would 
be available for the certification of all qualified equipment that will 
meet FAA safety standards. As explained below, we are soliciting public 
comment regarding the possible expansion of the certified equipment 
list and specifications to include equipment with non-OEM replacement 
parts.

Request for Comments on Certification of Replacement Parts

    The FAA is requesting comment on the general scope and procedures 
for the certification of obstruction lighting equipment systems 
containing non-OEM components. Based on the comments received, the FAA 
will consider whether to publish specific guidance implementing such a 
change, in the form of changes to AC 150/5345-43E, AC 150/5345-53B and 
AC 70/7460-1K. We will publish that specific guidance for further 
comment before issuing a final version.
    At this time, the FAA is requesting comment on the following 
general questions and issues:
    1. What certification procedure should apply to a replacement part 
that is only part of a unit listed in Appendix 3 of AC 150/5345-53B?
    2. What safety issues should be considered in the certification of 
replacement parts (both OEM and non-OEM)?
    3. Should special testing procedures apply to replacement parts 
(such as lamp burn in and photometric testing)?
    4. How can replacement parts be listed in Appendix 3 of AC 150/
5345-53B in a manner that makes clear that their use is limited to 
particular units or systems?
    5. What terminology should apply to replacement parts to 
distinguish them from the original units now listed in Appendix 3 of AC 
150/5345-53B?
    6. What provision should be made for out-of-production equipment 
for which OEM replacement components are unavailable, and for which a 
new unit may not be available for use in certifying replacement parts?
    7. What provision should be made for stock parts which currently 
may be subject to more stringent requirements by the manufacturers of 
original light systems than the specifications of the stock parts 
manufacturers?

Interim Procedure for Recertification of Certified Lighting Equipment 
With Non-OEM Components

    Review of public comments responding to this notice and development 
of a change to the airport lighting equipment certification program to 
include testing and certification of equipment with non-OEM replacement 
components could require a number of months. Because the FAA believes 
that the certification program promotes air safety, we have decided to 
provide an interim procedure for certification of lighting systems that 
incorporate replacement parts produced by non-OEMs. The FAA does not 
intend to establish permanent, specific criteria for certification of 
equipment with non-OEM replacement lighting components without first 
issuing such criteria in proposed form and requesting public comment.
    While the agency considers a permanent change, the FAA will allow 
the following procedure--effective immediately--to determine whether 
particular parts can be installed in existing certified fixtures and be 
certified. Under the interim process, the FAA will consider the 
substitution of a non-OEM parts as equivalent to an equipment 
modification by an original equipment manufacturer for the purposes of 
testing for recertification. Equipment modification by original 
equipment manufacturers is dealt with in paragraph 7, Modifications to 
Equipment, of Appendix 2 of AC 150/5345-53B. Under that paragraph, 
recertification of the entire lighting system is required when an 
original

[[Page 65495]]

equipment manufacturer modifies the system. Applying that paragraph to 
non-OEM replacement parts, the non-OEM supplier may obtain certified 
equipment, substitute its own replacement part(s), and submit the 
modified device to a third party certification body for testing. Non-
OEMs seeking interim certification of their replacement parts in OEM 
lighting equipment will be required to follow the same procedures as 
OEMs of lighting equipment as provided in paragraph 2a of AC 150/5345-
53B. Also, these non-OEMs will be required to pay for the costs of 
testing their products in OEM lighting equipment, just as OEMs, under 
paragraph 2b of that advisory circular bear, the costs of testing their 
equipment. The addendum to AC 150/5345/53B will be modified to include 
equipment certified in this manner with specific substitute part(s). 
Separate tests will be required for each combination of substitute 
parts (e.g., a supplier selling both a flash tube and a timing circuit 
must have a device certified with each part substituted independently, 
and then together).
    As part of this interim procedure, non-OEM components will be 
subject to Appendix 2 of AC 150/5345-53B with the following exception. 
Paragraph 7 of Appendix 2 of that AC notes that ``substitution of stock 
electrical items such as resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc., 
which are identical in form, fit, and function and which are equal to 
or better in quality and rating is permissible.'' This exemption is not 
extended automatically to non-OEM suppliers, as OEM specifications for 
stock items may be more stringent than those applied by the 
manufacturers of those items. However, this exemption may be granted at 
the third party certification body's judgment. The requirements of 
Appendix 5, Lamp Life Test Procedure, in AC 150-5345-53B, will apply to 
replacement lamps. Upon the issuance of any permanent change to the 
certification program, the FAA will decide if substitute parts 
certified under this interim program will require further testing to 
retain certified status.

    Issued in Washington DC, on November 4, 2004.
J.R. White,
Director of Airport Safety and Standards.
[FR Doc. 04-25209 Filed 11-10-04; 8:45 am]
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