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. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

38463 

Vol. 77, No. 125 

Thursday, June 28, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 205 

[Document Number AMS–NOP–12–0034; 

NOP–12–11] 

Implementation of National Organic 

Program (NOP); Sunset Review (2012) 

Amendments to Pectin on the National 

List of Allowed and Prohibited 

Substances 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule; notice of 

implementation period. 

SUMMARY: On June 6, 2012, AMS 

published a final rule to address 

substances due to sunset from the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s National 

List of Allowed and Prohibited 

Substances (National List) in 2012. This 

final rule amended two listings for 

pectin on the National List effective 

June 27, 2012. 

DATES: Based upon new information 

from the organic industry, AMS is 

informing operations certified to the 

USDA organic regulations that AMS 

will allow operations to reformulate 

their products until October 21, 2012. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 

(OFPA) (7 U.S.C. 6501–6522) authorizes 

the establishment of the National List of 

Allowed and Prohibited Substances 

(National List). The National List 

identifies synthetic substances that may 

be used in organic production and 

nonsynthetic (natural) substances that 

are prohibited in organic crop and 

livestock production. The National List 

also identifies nonagricultural 

nonsynthetic, nonagricultural synthetic 

and nonorganic agricultural substances 

that may be used in organic handling. 

On June 6, 2012, AMS published a 

final rule (77 FR 33290) addressing 

multiple exemptions due to sunset from 

the National List in 2012. Based on the 

comments received, AMS finalized the 

amendments to pectin as proposed. In 

an effort to streamline the sunset dates 

for over 200 listings for substances on 

the National List and in consideration of 

the comments on the proposed rule that 

supported the proposed changes to 

pectin, AMS determined that the 

changes to pectin should be included 

among the amendments and renewals 

effective on the earliest sunset date, 

June 27, 2012, for all substances due to 

expire in 2012. 

After publication of the final rule on 

June 6, 2012, AMS received new 

information from industry that some 

organic processors are currently using 

amidated, non-organic pectin in their 

products. The industry indicated that 

these processors would need time to 

reformulate these products using either 

non-amidated, non-organic pectin (if 

organic pectin is not commercially 

available), or organic pectin in 

accordance with the changes codified 

through the final rule. In response to 

this information, AMS now understands 

that some product reformulation is 

necessary. 

The amendments to pectin are 

effective on June 27, 2012. However, 

AMS considers a period until October 

21, 2012, the original sunset date in 

2012 for the pectin listings, to be 

reasonable and appropriate for the 

industry to reformulate products in 

order to ensure that the amendments are 

effectively and rationally implemented. 

AMS will conduct outreach to the 

industry and training for certifying 

agents as appropriate. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6501–6522. 

Dated: June 22, 2012. 

David R. Shipman, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–15904 Filed 6–26–12; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 21 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0408] 

Issuance of Special Airworthiness 

Certificates for Light-Sport Category 

Aircraft 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of policy; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: Based upon its assessment of 

the special light-sport aircraft (SLSA) 

manufacturing industry, the FAA is 

issuing this notice of policy to inform 

the public of its policy for assessing the 

accuracy of declarations made in 

Statements of Compliance issued for 

aircraft intended for airworthiness 

certification as SLSA and to ensure that 

SLSA conform to identified consensus 

standards. Additionally, in response to 

findings noted in its assessment of the 

SLSA manufacturing industry, the FAA 

is reiterating its policy regarding the 

airworthiness certification of SLSA 

manufactured outside the United States. 

DATES: Effective Date: This policy 

becomes effective September 26, 2012. 

Comment Date: Comments must be 

received on or before July 30, 2012 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments 

identified by Docket Number FAA– 

2012–0408 using any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking 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, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., West Building Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, West Building 

Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. 

• Hand Delivery: 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: (202) 493–2251. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

technical questions concerning this 

policy statement, contact Richard Posey, 

Federal Aviation Administration, 


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38464 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

Airworthiness Certification Branch 

AIR–230, FAA Headquarters, 800 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20591; telephone: (202) 

385–6378; fax: 202–385–6475 email: 

richard.posey@faa.gov. For legal 

questions concerning this policy 

statement, contact Paul Greer, AGC–200, 

Office of the Chief Counsel, Federal 

Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 

267–3083; email: paul.g.greer@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the 

following section, we discuss how you 

can comment on this policy statement 

and how we will handle your 

comments. Included in this discussion 

is related information about the docket, 

privacy, and the handling of proprietary 

or confidential business information. 

We also discuss how you can get a copy 

of this policy statement and related 

documents. 

Comments Invited 

The FAA invites interested persons to 

participate in formulating this policy 

statement and request for comments by 

submitting written comments, data, or 

views. The most helpful comments 

reference a specific portion of the 

notice, explain the reason for any 

recommended change, and include 

supporting data. To ensure the docket 

does not contain duplicate comments, 

please send only one copy of written 

comments, or if you are filing comments 

electronically, please submit your 

comments only one time. 

We will file in the docket all 

comments we receive, as well as a 

report summarizing each substantive 

public contact with FAA personnel 

concerning this notice. Before acting on 

this notice, we will consider all 

comments we receive on or before the 

closing date for comments. We will 

consider comments filed after the 

comment period has closed if it is 

possible to do so without incurring 

expense or delay. We may change this 

policy in light of the comments we 

receive. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. 

Using the search function of our docket 

Web site, anyone can find and read the 

comments received into any of our 

dockets, including the name of the 

individual sending the comment (or 

signing the comment for an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 

19477–78) or you may visit http:// 

DocketsInfo.dot.gov. 

To read background documents or 

comments received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov at any time and 

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. 

Proprietary or Confidential Business 

Information 

Do not file in the docket information 

that you consider to be proprietary or 

confidential business information. Send 

or deliver this information directly to 

the person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

document. You must mark the 

information that you consider 

proprietary or confidential. If you send 

the information on a disk or CD–ROM, 

mark the outside of the disk or CD–ROM 

and also identify electronically within 

the disk or CD–ROM the specific 

information that is proprietary or 

confidential. When we are aware of 

proprietary information filed with a 

comment, we do not place it in the 

docket. We hold it in a separate file to 

which the public does not have access, 

and we place a note in the docket that 

we have received it. If we receive a 

request to examine or copy this 

information, we treat it as any other 

request under the Freedom of 

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). We 

process such a request under the DOT 

procedures found in 49 CFR part 7. 

Availability of This Policy 

You can get an electronic copy using 

the Internet by— 

(1) Searching the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal (http:// 

www.regulations.gov); 

(2) Visiting the FAA’s Regulations and 

Policies Web page at http:// 

www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/; or 

(3) Accessing the Government 

Printing Office’s Web page at http:// 

www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. 

You can also get a copy by sending a 

request to the Federal Aviation 

Administration, Office of Rulemaking, 

ARM–1, 800 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by 

calling (202) 267–9680. Make sure to 

identify the docket number or notice 

number of this policy statement. You 

may access all documents the FAA 

considered in developing this policy 

statement, including any analysis or 

technical reports, from the internet 

through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 

referenced in paragraph (1). 

Background 

On July 24, 2004, the final rule, 

Certification of Aircraft and Airmen for 

the Operation of Light-Sport Aircraft, 

was published in the Federal Register 

(69 FR 44772). The rule established 

requirements for the issuance of 

airworthiness certificates for light-sport 

category aircraft under the provisions of 

Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations 

(14 CFR) § 21.190, Issue of special 

airworthiness certificates for light-sport 

category aircraft. Additionally, the rule 

established procedures for the 

airworthiness certification of these 

aircraft in accordance with industrydeveloped consensus standards. 

Through the use of consensus standards, 

the FAA believed that light-sport 

aircraft (LSA) could be designed, 

manufactured, and certificated with less 

FAA oversight than that required for an 

aircraft manufactured under type and 

production certification procedures. 

Persons presenting an aircraft for 

airworthiness certification in the lightsport category must provide the FAA 

with a Statement of Compliance (FAA 

Form 8130–15) issued by the aircraft’s 

manufacturer indicating that the aircraft 

meets the provisions of an identified 

consensus standard that has been 

accepted by the FAA. Additionally, an 

aircraft presented for airworthiness 

certification as SLSA must be inspected 

to determine that it is in a condition for 

safe operation. This inspection is 

accomplished after the aircraft has been 

completed but before issuance of the 

airworthiness certificate. The 

airworthiness certification process also 

requires a review of the applicant’s 

documentation supplied with the 

aircraft, which includes the 

manufacturer’s Statement of 

Compliance. 

When originally proposing the rule, 

the FAA noted that an aircraft presented 

for airworthiness certification would be 

inspected by the FAA (or an FAAdesignated representative) to determine 

that it is in a condition for safe 

operation. The person conducting the 

inspection would rely upon the 

manufacturer’s Statement of 

Compliance to assist in determining that 

the aircraft meets the applicable 

consensus standards. At the time that 

the rule was originally proposed, the 

FAA indicated that it would follow this 

course of action unless FAA experience 

with a manufacturer dictated otherwise 

(67 FR 5378; February 5, 2002). This 

intent remained unchanged with 

publication of the final rule. 

As the number of aircraft certificated 

as SLSA rapidly grew, the FAA 

determined that it was appropriate to 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 38465 

conduct an assessment to evaluate the 

health, state of systems implementation, 

and compliance of the SLSA industry. 

From September 2008 through March 

2009, the Aircraft Certification Service, 

Production and Airworthiness Division 

(AIR–200) conducted an assessment of 

SLSA manufacturers by evaluating their 

systems and processes through on-site 

evaluation, analysis, and reporting. 

The FAA assessment team collected 

data from SLSA manufacturers 

(including their extensions and 

distributors located in the United States) 

regarding compliance with applicable 

regulations and standards. After 

reviewing this data the team 

recommended enhancements to 

industry consensus standards for LSA 

design, manufacturing, continued 

airworthiness, and maintenance. It also 

made recommendations for changes to 

agency internal processes and 

procedures. A copy of the report can be 

found in the docket for this notice. 

Among the report’s conclusions, the 

FAA found that the majority of the 

manufacturing facilities evaluated could 

not fully substantiate that the aircraft for 

which they had issued Statements of 

Compliance did, in fact, meet the 

consensus standards identified in those 

documents. Therefore, the FAA could 

not determine that aircraft for which 

these statements were issued actually 

met the provisions of the identified 

consensus standards. 

The assessment raised concerns that 

the SLSA airworthiness certification 

process, as originally envisioned, does 

not always achieve its intended 

purpose. Additionally, the FAA was 

particularly concerned that SLSA 

manufacturers have not been 

sufficiently verifying that their 

continued airworthiness systems are 

functioning properly. The FAA has 

determined that its original policy of 

reliance on manufacturers’ Statements 

of Compliance for the issuance of 

airworthiness certificates for SLSA 

under the provisions of § 21.190 should 

be reconsidered and that more FAA 

involvement in the airworthiness 

certification process for SLSA is 

warranted. 

Manufacturer’s Statement of 

Compliance 

The FAA notes that a manufacturer’s 

Statement of Compliance presented 

during the airworthiness certification 

process for an SLSA must contain a 

statement that at the request of the FAA, 

the manufacturer will provide 

unrestricted access to its facilities. The 

Statement of Compliance, when signed 

by the aircraft’s manufacturer, sets forth 

the manufacturer’s consent to FAA 

inspection of its facilities and 

constitutes an assertion that the 

information contained in the document 

is true. If, upon examination, the FAA 

finds that the manufacturer’s statements 

are not accurate, an airworthiness 

certificate will not be issued for that 

SLSA until it has been demonstrated 

that the aircraft meets the identified 

consensus standards and that the 

manufacturer is able to comply with the 

provisions of its Statement of 

Compliance. SLSA manufacturers 

signing a Statement of Compliance must 

ultimately be able to demonstrate their 

ability to carry out those functions and 

responsibilities referenced in the 

statement to the satisfaction of the FAA, 

and meet all other relevant 

airworthiness certification 

requirements. 

SLSA Manufacturers 

The current process for airworthiness 

certification of SLSA is described in 

FAA Order 8130.2, Airworthiness 

Certification of Aircraft and Related 

Products. The process includes 

reviewing the applicant’s 

documentation supplied with the 

aircraft, and verifying it agrees with the 

identification and description of the 

aircraft and that it conforms to 

applicable regulations. The FAA 

considers an SLSA manufacturer to be 

a person who not only can attest to 

meeting the provisions of 14 CFR 

21.190, but who can demonstrate these 

abilities to the satisfaction of the FAA. 

A person who cannot demonstrate these 

abilities, or complete the manufacturer’s 

Statement of Compliance would not be 

considered a manufacturer. 

The Statement of Compliance issued 

for an SLSA in accordance with 

§ 21.190(c), by an SLSA manufacturer, 

must: 

(1) Identify the aircraft by make and 

model, serial number, class, date of 

manufacture, and consensus standard 

used; 

(2) State that the aircraft meets the 

provisions of the identified consensus 

standard; 

(3) State that the aircraft conforms to 

the manufacturer’s design data, using 

the manufacturer’s quality assurance 

system that meets the identified 

consensus standard; 

(4) State that the manufacturer will 

make available to any interested person 

the following documents that meet the 

identified consensus standard: 

(i) The aircraft’s operating 

instructions. 

(ii) The aircraft’s maintenance and 

inspection procedures. 

(iii) The aircraft’s flight training 

supplement. 

(5) State that the manufacturer will 

monitor and correct safety-of-flight 

issues through the issuance of safety 

directives and a continued 

airworthiness system that meets the 

identified consensus standard; 

(6) State that at the request of the 

FAA, the manufacturer will provide 

unrestricted access to its facilities; and 

(7) State that the manufacturer, in 

accordance with a production 

acceptance test procedure that meets an 

applicable consensus standard has— 

(i) Ground and flight tested the 

aircraft; 

(ii) Found the aircraft performance 

acceptable; and 

(iii) Determined that the aircraft is in 

a condition for safe operation. 

If a manufacturer cannot demonstrate 

it can perform the functions specified in 

the Statement of Compliance for an 

SLSA or cannot substantiate that those 

functions have been (or can be, as 

appropriate) accomplished, the FAA 

would not consider that person to be the 

manufacturer of the aircraft intended for 

airworthiness certification as an SLSA. 

Persons providing the FAA with a 

Statement of Compliance must 

understand the implications of making 

the statement. The FAA expects the 

Statement of Compliance to reflect the 

manufacturer’s understanding of its 

responsibilities, its capability to execute 

those responsibilities fully, and a 

commitment to meeting its obligations 

in the future. 

The FAA is particularly concerned 

that manufacturers issuing a Statement 

of Compliance have a system to monitor 

and correct safety-of-flight issues. The 

manufacturer therefore must be able to 

monitor and notify operators to correct 

unsafe conditions for as long as these 

aircraft are U.S.-registered. The 

manufacturer also is responsible for 

issuing corrective actions in accordance 

with its program to monitor and correct 

safety-of-flight issues and must notify 

the owners of the affected aircraft of 

these corrective actions. To ensure the 

success of the FAA’s program for SLSA 

airworthiness certification, the FAA 

expects manufacturers to implement a 

vigorous system to monitor and correct 

safety-of-flight issues. 

SLSA manufacturers must be able to 

provide for the continued operational 

safety of their aircraft. In order to meet 

this obligation, which the manufacturer 

has accepted through its issuance of a 

Statement of Compliance, it must 

maintain adequate engineering data and 

engineering staff to monitor and correct 

safety-of-flight issues affecting the 

aircraft. This continuing obligation is 

incurred by both manufacturers who 

have issued Statements of Compliance 


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38466 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

for aircraft that are currently certificated 

as SLSA and manufacturers who have 

issued Statements of Compliance for 

aircraft being presented for 

airworthiness certification. 

If, during the FAA’s examination of 

an aircraft, it finds that the aircraft was 

received from a location outside the 

United States and only assembled 

within the United States, the 

requirements of 14 CFR 21.190(d) must 

be met for the aircraft to be considered 

eligible for an airworthiness certificate. 

This is further clarified in the following 

section. 

SLSA Manufactured Outside the United 

States 

Aircraft intended for airworthiness 

certification as SLSA that have been 

manufactured outside the United States 

must be manufactured in country with 

which the United States has a Bilateral 

Airworthiness Agreement concerning 

airplanes, a Bilateral Aviation Safety 

Agreement with associated 

Implementation Procedures for 

Airworthiness concerning airplanes, or 

an equivalent airworthiness agreement. 

The aircraft must also be eligible for an 

airworthiness certificate, flight 

authorization, or other similar 

certification in its country of 

manufacture. These requirements are set 

forth in 14 CFR 21.190(d). 

During the recent assessment, the 

FAA identified several anomalies 

involving aircraft manufactured outside 

the United States. These included: 

• Aircraft manufactured outside the 

United States that were shipped 

disassembled to the United States, and 

assembled by U.S. persons who 

declared themselves to be the U.S. 

manufacturers. The FAA found that 

some aircraft were manufactured in 

countries with a bilateral agreement and 

some were not. In both situations, the 

U.S persons who performed the 

assembly did not, or could not, carry out 

the functions to which they attested in 

their Statements of Compliance for the 

aircraft. 

• Aircraft manufactured in countries 

without bilateral agreements that were 

‘‘passed through’’ a country with which 

the U.S. has a bilateral agreement. A 

person in the country with which the 

U.S. has a bilateral agreement 

completed the Statement of Compliance 

before shipping the aircraft to the 

United States. Again, these persons did 

not, or could not, carry out the functions 

to which they attested in their 

Statements of Compliance for the 

aircraft. 

• Aircraft for which a foreign entity 

claimed responsibility for certain 

aspects of the Statement of Compliance 

and a U.S. person claimed responsibility 

for the remaining aspects, thereby 

splitting the manufacturer’s 

responsibility between two distinct 

persons; and 

• Aircraft manufactured in countries 

with appropriate bilateral agreements by 

entities that would ship the aircraft to 

a U.S. distributor. Neither the U.S. 

distributor nor the foreign entity could 

maintain a program to correct safety-offlight issues as attested to in the 

aircraft’s Statement of Compliance. 

The assessment clearly identified that 

aircraft have been supplied to U.S. 

persons who lack the ability to 

reasonably attest to the provisions set 

forth in § 21.190(c). Additionally, U.S. 

persons have been providing the FAA 

with a manufacturer’s Statement of 

Compliance identifying themselves as 

the U.S. manufacturer of an aircraft 

when the aircraft was in fact produced 

outside the United States. These 

situations are not in compliance with 

the regulations. The FAA did not intend 

for U.S. persons to receive disassembled 

LSA from outside the United States, 

reassemble them within the United 

States, and characterize themselves as 

the U.S. manufacturer of an SLSA. As 

these persons cannot substantiate the 

information contained in the Statement 

of Compliance, the FAA does not 

consider them to be the manufacturers 

of the aircraft. Accordingly, the FAA 

will not issue airworthiness certificates 

in the light-sport category for these 

aircraft. 

Additionally, persons who are unable 

to make available the documents 

required by the consensus standards 

and regulations, do not have the systems 

in place to monitor and correct safetyof-flight issues, or are unable to 

adequately ensure the continued 

airworthiness of the aircraft they 

assemble, would not be able to sign a 

Statement of Compliance as a 

manufacturer. The FAA also notes that 

any person who makes any fraudulent, 

intentionally false, or misleading 

statement on the Statement of 

Compliance could be found to be in 

violation of 14 CFR 21.2. 

The FAA recognizes that it may be 

possible for a U.S. person to receive 

portions of a LSA from an entity outside 

the United States that is acting as a 

supplier to the U.S. SLSA manufacturer. 

If this person signs a Statement of 

Compliance, this person is asserting that 

the declarations made in the statement 

are true, and that the person can fulfill 

the responsibilities set forth in that 

statement. While some of the U.S. SLSA 

manufacturers can meet this standard; 

the FAA has concerns that many cannot 

substantiate the declarations made in 

their Statement of Compliance when the 

majority of the production activity for 

the aircraft takes place outside the 

United States. 

The provisions of § 21.190(d) were 

enacted to ensure that a bilateral 

agreement would exist which would 

provide the FAA with a means, if 

necessary, to seek assistance from local 

civil aviation authorities on any issues 

affecting the design, production, 

continued airworthiness, or other 

matters needing investigation or 

analysis (69 FR 44806). Any attempts to 

circumvent the provisions of § 21.190(d) 

significantly hinder the FAA’s ability to 

address safety issues affecting aircraft 

certificated as SLSA. 

Effect of This Policy Statement 

The FAA’s actions are intended to 

ensure compliance with existing 

regulations and enhance the safety of 

the existing and future SLSA fleet. The 

FAA recognizes that these actions may 

impact existing SLSA manufacturers as 

well as those persons intending to 

initiate SLSA production. The FAA has 

established a Frequently Asked 

Questions page at http://www.faa.gov/ 

aircraft/gen_av/light_sport/ to assist 

current manufacturers in assessing their 

own capabilities, and ensuring that the 

Statements of Compliance they issue are 

accurate. 

Aircraft that were issued an 

airworthiness certificate prior to the 

effective date of this notice are not 

affected by this policy statement 

provided all other applicable 

requirements are met. 

The FAA recognizes that upon 

implementation of this policy, some 

entities who have claimed to be SLSA 

manufacturers may not be able to issue 

a valid Statement of Compliance, and 

that other entities may not be willing to 

assume responsibility for continuing 

operational safety requirements. 

Therefore, aircraft within the existing 

fleets from these manufacturers may no 

longer be eligible to retain their 

airworthiness certification as SLSA. 

These aircraft, however, may be eligible 

for airworthiness certification as 

experimental light-sport aircraft (ELSA). 

The FAA does not intend to accept 

continued operational safety 

responsibility for an SLSA whose 

manufacturer no longer exists or is 

unable or unwilling to assume that 

responsibility. The FAA also recognizes 

that some aircraft that are primarily 

manufactured outside the United States 

and assembled in the United States may 

be found to be ineligible for 

airworthiness certification as SLSA or 

ELSA. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 38467 

Issued in Washington, DC, on June 19, 

2012. 

Frank P. Paskiewicz, 

Deputy Director, Aircraft Certification 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–15765 Filed 6–27–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0624; Special 

Conditions No. 25–464–SC] 

Special Conditions: Gulfstream 

Aerospace LP (GALP), Model 

Gulfstream G280 Airplane; Isolation or 

Aircraft Electronic System Security 

Protection From Unauthorized Internal 

Access 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final special conditions; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: These special conditions are 

issued for the Gulfstream Aerospace LP, 

Model Gulfstream G280 airplane. This 

airplane will have novel or unusual 

design features associated with 

connectivity of the passenger service 

computer systems to the airplane 

critical systems and data networks. The 

applicable airworthiness regulations do 

not contain adequate or appropriate 

safety standards for these design 

features. 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: The effective date of these 

special conditions is June 7, 2012. We 

must receive your comments by August 

13, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2012–0624 

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 by 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 

8 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 the 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: 

Varun Khanna, FAA, Airplane and 

Flight Crew Interface Branch, ANM– 

111, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service, 1601 Lind 

Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 

98057–3356; telephone 425–227–1298; 

facsimile 425–227–1149. 

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 aircraft. In addition, the 

substance of these special conditions 

has been subject to the public comment 

process in several prior instances with 

no substantive comments received. The 

FAA therefore finds that good cause 

exists for making these special 

conditions effective upon issuance. 

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 March 30, 2006, Gulfstream 

Aerospace LP (hereafter referred to as 

‘‘GALP’’) applied for a type certificate 

for their new Model Gulfstream G280 

(hereafter referred to as ‘‘Model G280’’) 

airplane. The Model G280 is a twoengine jet transport airplane with a 

maximum takeoff weight of 39,600 

pounds and an emergency exit 

arrangement to support a maximum of 

19 passengers. Although the Model 

G280 design includes occupancy 

provisions for pilot and copilot only (no 

passengers), GALP requested issuance of 

these special conditions to support 

efficient design and certification of 

passenger cabin interiors through the 

supplemental type certification process. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under the provisions of Title 14, Code 

of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 21.17, 

GALP must show that the Model G280 

meets the applicable provisions of part 

25, as amended by Amendments 25–1 

through 25–120, thereto, and 

Amendment 25–122. In addition, the 

certification basis includes certain 

special conditions, exemptions, and 

equivalent safety findings 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 Model G280 because of a novel 

or unusual design feature, special 

conditions are prescribed under the 

provisions of § 21.16. 

Special conditions are initially 

applicable to the model for which they 

are issued. Should the type certificate 

for that model be amended later to 

include any other model that 

incorporates the same novel or unusual 

design feature, the special conditions 

would also apply to the other model. 

In addition to the applicable 

airworthiness regulations and special 

conditions, the Model G280 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; and the 

FAA must issue a finding of regulatory 

adequacy under § 611 of Public Law 92– 

574, the ‘‘Noise Control Act of 1972.’’ 

The FAA issues special conditions, as 

defined in 14 CFR 11.19, in accordance 

with § 11.38, and they become part of 

the type certification basis under 

§ 21.17(a)(2). 

Novel or Unusual Design Features 

The Model G280 will incorporate the 

following novel or unusual design 

features: Digital systems architecture 


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