Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 2 / Tuesday, January 4, 2011 / Proposed Rules 291 

Archives and records, Imports, Labeling, 

Organically produced products, Plants, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Seals and insignia, Soil 

conservation. 

The authority citation for 7 CFR part 

205 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6501–6522. 

Dated: December 22, 2010. 

Rayne Pegg, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–33138 Filed 1–3–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. NM439 Special Conditions No. 

25–10–04–SC] 

Special Conditions: Gulfstream Model 

GVI Airplane; Single-Occupant SideFacing Seats 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed special 

conditions. 

SUMMARY: This action proposes special 

conditions for the Gulfstream GVI 

airplane. This airplane will have a novel 

or unusual design feature(s) associated 

with single-occupant side-facing seats. 

The applicable airworthiness 

regulations do not contain adequate or 

appropriate safety standards for this 

design feature. These proposed 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: We must receive your comments 

by February 18, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You must mail two copies 

of your comments to: Federal Aviation 

Administration, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Attn: Rules Docket (ANM– 

113), Docket No. NM439, 1601 Lind 

Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 

98057–3356. You may deliver two 

copies to the Transport Airplane 

Directorate at the above address. You 

must mark your comments: Docket No. 

NM439. You can inspect comments in 

the Rules Docket weekdays, except 

Federal holidays, between 7:30 a.m. and 

4 p.m. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Daniel Jacquet, FAA, Airframe/Cabin 

Safety Branch, ANM–115, Transport 

Standards Staff, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification 

Service, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., 

Renton, Washington 98057–3356; 

telephone (425) 227–2676; facsimile 

(425) 227–1320. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

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 ask that you send 

us two copies of written comments. 

We will file in the docket all 

comments we receive, as well as a 

report summarizing each substantive 

public contact with FAA personnel 

concerning these special conditions. 

You can inspect the docket before and 

after the comment closing date. If you 

wish to review the docket in person, go 

to the address in the ADDRESSES section 

of this preamble between 7:30 a.m. and 

4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

We will consider all comments we 

receive on or before the closing date for 

comments. We will consider comments 

filed late if it is possible to do so 

without incurring expense or delay. We 

may change these special conditions 

based on the comments we receive. 

If you want us to acknowledge receipt 

of your comments on this proposal, 

include with your comments a selfaddressed, stamped postcard on which 

you have written the docket number. 

We will stamp the date on the postcard 

and mail it back to you. 

Background 

On September 28, 2006, Gulfstream 

Aerospace Corporation (hereafter 

referred to as ‘‘Gulfstream’’) applied for 

an FAA type certificate for its new 

Gulfstream Model GVI passenger 

airplane. The Gulfstream Model GVI 

airplane will be an all-new, two-engine 

jet transport airplane with an executive 

cabin interior. The maximum takeoff 

weight will be 99,600 pounds, with a 

maximum passenger count of 19 

passengers. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under provisions of Title 14, Code of 

Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 21.17, 

Gulfstream must show that the 

Gulfstream Model GVI airplane 

(hereafter referred to as ‘‘the GVI’’) meets 

the applicable provisions of 14 CFR part 

25, as amended by Amendments 25–1 

through 25–119 and 25–122. 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 GVI 

because of a novel or unusual design 

feature, special conditions are 

prescribed under the provisions of 

§ 21.16. 

In addition to complying with the 

applicable airworthiness regulations 

and special conditions, the GVI 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 must also issue a finding of 

regulatory adequacy pursuant to section 

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). 

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 features, the special conditions 

would also apply to the other model 

under provisions of § 21.101. 

Novel or Unusual Design Features 

The GVI offers interior arrangements, 

which include single-occupant sidefacing seat installations. Dynamic 

testing of all seats approved for 

occupancy during takeoff and landing is 

required by § 25.562. The pass/fail 

criteria for the testing developed in 

Amendment 25–64 to § 25.562 focused 

primarily on fore/aft facing seats. Sidefacing seat installations were not 

adequately addressed for transport 

category airplanes in this amendment. 

Discussion of Proposed Special 

Conditions 

Section 25.785(b), ‘‘Seats, berths, 

safety belts, and harnesses,’’ requires 

that ‘‘each seat * * * at each station’’ 

designated as occupiable during takeoff 

and landing must be designed so that a 

person making proper use of these 

facilities ‘‘will not suffer serious injury 

in an emergency landing as a result of 

the inertia forces specified in §§ 25.561 

and 25.562.’’ Additionally, § 25.562, 

‘‘Emergency landing dynamic 

conditions,’’ requires dynamic testing of 

all seats occupied during takeoff and 

landing. The relative forces and injury 

mechanisms affecting the occupants of 

side-facing seats during an emergency 

landing are different from those of 

standard forward- or aft-facing seats, or 

seats equipped with conventional 

restraint systems. 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with PROPOSALS_PART 1
292 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 2 / Tuesday, January 4, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

Although § 25.562 was written with 

forward- and aft-facing seats in mind, 

the orientation of the seat does not 

change the relevant test conditions, and 

the rule applies to all seats regardless of 

orientation. 

The dynamic test conditions included 

in § 25.562 are directly applicable to 

side-facing seats. However, for injury 

pass/fail criteria, the orientation of the 

seat may be significant. For forward-, 

aft-, and side-facing seats the injury 

criteria are currently limited to head, 

spine, and femur loads. The head and 

lumbar loads are critical but the femur 

load is not critical. For a side-facing 

seat, additional injury parameters may 

be identified and evaluation of those 

parameters would be necessary to 

provide an acceptable level of safety. 

When evaluating side-facing seats the 

following should be taken into 

consideration: 

1. The isolation of one occupant from 

another. Occupants should not rely on 

impact with other occupants to provide 

energy absorption; body-to-body 

impacts are unacceptable. 

2. The restraint system and the 

retention of occupants in the seat. 

Addressing this concern may necessitate 

providing a means of restraint for the 

lower limbs as well as the torso. Failure 

to limit the forward (in the airplane’s 

coordinate system) travel of the lower 

limbs may cause the occupant to come 

out of the restraint system or produce 

severe injuries due to the resulting 

position of the restraint system and/or 

twisting (torsional load) of the lower 

lumbar spinal column. 

3. The load limit in the torso in the 

lateral direction. Human tolerance for 

side-facing seats differs from that for 

forward- or aft-facing seats. 

The automotive industry has 

developed test procedures and occupant 

injury criteria appropriate for side 

impact conditions. The criteria include 

limiting lateral pelvic accelerations and 

using the ‘‘Thoracic Trauma Index,’’ 

which is defined in 49 CFR 571.214. 

Use of the side impact dummy (SID) 

identified in 49 CFR part 572, subpart 

F, rather than the Hybrid II dummy 

identified in 49 CFR part 572, subpart 

B, is required to evaluate these 

parameters. The Hybrid II dummy is 

used in the current § 25.562 test. Testing 

with a SID is the best means available 

to assess the injury potential of a 

sideward impact condition. Such an 

evaluation is considered necessary to 

provide an acceptable level of safety for 

side-facing seats. 

The side-facing seat proposed special 

conditions have been determined to 

result in a level of safety equivalent to 

that provided by the injury pass/fail 

criteria in § 25.562 for forward- or aftfacing seats. 

Applicability 

As discussed above, this proposed 

special condition is applicable to the 

GVI. Should Gulfstream apply at a later 

date for a change to the type certificate 

to include another model incorporating 

the same novel or unusual design 

features, this proposed special condition 

would apply to that model as well. 

Conclusion 

This action affects only certain novel 

or unusual design features of the GVI. It 

is not a rule of general applicability. 

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25 

Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

The authority citation for these 

special conditions is as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 44701, 

44702, 44704. 

The Proposed Special Conditions 

Accordingly, the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) proposes the 

following special conditions as part of 

the type certification basis for the GVI 

airplanes. 

In addition to the airworthiness 

standards in §§ 25.562 and 25.785, the 

following proposed special conditions 

provide injury criteria and installation/ 

testing guidelines that represent the 

minimum acceptable airworthiness 

standard for single-place side-facing 

seats: 

A. The Proposed Injury Criteria 

1. Existing Criteria: All injury 

protection criteria of § 25.562(c)(1) 

through (c)(6) apply to the occupant of 

a side-facing seat. Head injury criterion 

(HIC) assessments are only required for 

head contact with the seat and/or 

adjacent structures. 

2. Body-to-Wall/Furnishing Contact: 

The seat must be installed aft of a 

structure such as an interior wall or 

furnishing that will support the pelvis, 

upper arm, chest, and head of an 

occupant seated next to the structure. A 

conservative representation of the 

structure and its stiffness must be 

included in the tests. It is 

recommended, but not required, that the 

contact surface of this structure be 

covered with at least two inches of 

energy absorbing protective padding 

(foam or equivalent), such as Ensolite. 

3. Thoracic Trauma: Thoracic trauma 

index (TTI) injury criterion must be 

substantiated by dynamic test or by 

rational analysis based on previous 

test(s) of a similar seat installation. 

Testing must be conducted with a side 

impact dummy (SID), as defined by 

Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations 

(49 CFR) part 572, Subpart F, or its 

equivalent. TTI must be less than 85, as 

defined in 49 CFR part 572, subpart F. 

SID TTI data must be processed as 

defined in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 

Standard (FMVSS) part 571.214, section 

S6.13.5. 

4. Pelvis: Pelvic lateral acceleration 

must be shown by dynamic test or by 

rational analysis based on previous 

test(s) of a similar seat installation not 

to exceed 130g. Pelvic acceleration data 

must be processed as defined in FMVSS 

part 571.214, section S6.13.5. 

5. Shoulder Strap Loads: Where upper 

torso straps (shoulder straps) are used 

for occupants, tension loads in 

individual straps must not exceed 1,750 

pounds. If dual straps are used for 

restraining the upper torso, the total 

strap tension loads must not exceed 

2,000 pounds. 

B. General Test Guidelines 

1. One longitudinal test with the SID 

or its equivalent, undeformed floor, no 

yaw, and with all lateral structural 

supports (armrests/walls). 

Pass/fail injury assessments: TTI and 

pelvic acceleration. 

2. One longitudinal test with the 

Hybrid II anthropomorphic test dummy 

(ATD), deformed floor, with 10 degrees 

yaw, and with all lateral structural 

support (armrests/walls). 

Pass/fail injury assessments: HIC; and 

upper torso restrain load, restraint 

system retention and pelvic 

acceleration. 

3. Vertical (14g) test is to be 

conducted with modified Hybrid II 

ATDs with existing pass/fail criteria. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on 

December 22, 2010. 

Jeffrey E. Duven, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–33221 Filed 1–3–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2006–24145; Directorate 

Identifier 2006–NE–06–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; General 

Electric Company CF6–45 and CF6–50 

Series Turbofan Engines 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with PROPOSALS_PART 1