5148 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 16 / Thursday, January 24, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

inoperative could be allowed under an 

approved minimum equipment list 

(MEL) that would require flight manual 

instructions to indicate reduced 

maximum operating speeds, as 

described in paragraph (4). In addition, 

the flightdeck display of the reduced 

operating speeds, as well as the 

overspeed warning for exceeding those 

speeds, must be equivalent to that of the 

normal airplane with the high-speed 

protection system operative. Also, it 

must be shown that no additional 

hazards are introduced with the highspeed protection system inoperative. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on 

December 10, 2012. 

Michael Kaszycki, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–01457 Filed 1–23–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–1332; Notice No. 25– 

12–19–SC] 

Special Conditions: Embraer S.A., 

Model EMB–550 Airplanes; Flight 

Envelope Protection: General Limiting 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed special 

conditions. 

SUMMARY: This action proposes special 

conditions for the Embraer S.A. Model 

EMB–550 airplane. This airplane will 

have a novel or unusual design 

feature(s), specifically new control 

architecture and a full digital flight 

control system which provides flight 

envelope protections. 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: Send your comments on or 

before March 11, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2012–1332 

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 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: Joe 

Jacobsen, FAA, Airplane and Flight 

Crew Interface Branch, ANM–111, 

Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service, 1601 Lind Avenue 

SW., Renton, Washington 98057–3356; 

telephone 425–227–2011; facsimile 

425–227–1149. 

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 will consider all comments we 

receive on or before the closing date for 

comments. We may change these special 

conditions based on the comments we 

receive. 

Background 

On May 14, 2009, Embraer S.A. 

applied for a type certificate for their 

new Model EMB–550 airplane. The 

Model EMB–550 airplane is the first of 

a new family of jet airplanes designed 

for corporate flight, fractional, charter, 

and private owner operations. The 

aircraft has a conventional configuration 

with low wing and T-tail empennage. 

The primary structure is metal with 

composite empennage and control 

surfaces. The Model EMB–550 airplane 

is designed for 8 passengers, with a 

maximum of 12 passengers. It is 

equipped with two Honeywell 

HTF7500–E medium bypass ratio 

turbofan engines mounted on aft 

fuselage pylons. Each engine produces 

approximately 6,540 pounds of thrust 

for normal takeoff. The primary flight 

controls consist of hydraulically 

powered fly-by-wire elevators, aileron 

and rudder, controlled by the pilot or 

copilot sidestick. 

Embraer S.A. has developed 

comprehensive flight envelope 

protection features integral to the 

electronic flight control system design. 

These flight envelope protection 

features include limitations on angle-ofattack, normal load factor, bank angle, 

pitch angle, and speed. To accomplish 

this flight-envelope-limiting, a 

significant change (or multiple changes) 

occurs in the control laws of the 

electronic flight control system as the 

limit is approached or exceeded. When 

failure states occur in the electronic 

flight control system, flight envelope 

protection features can likewise either 

be modified, or in some cases, 

eliminated. The current regulations 

were not written with these 

comprehensive flight-envelope-limiting 

systems in mind. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under the provisions of Title 14, Code 

of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 21.17, 

Embraer S.A. must show that the Model 

EMB–550 airplane meets the applicable 

provisions of part 25, as amended by 

Amendments 25–1 through 25–127 

thereto. 

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 EMB–550 airplane 

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 

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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 16 / Thursday, January 24, 2013 / Proposed Rules 5149 

include any other model that 

incorporates the same or similar novel 

or unusual design feature, the special 

conditions would also apply to the other 

model under § 21.101. 

In addition to the applicable 

airworthiness regulations and special 

conditions, the Model EMB–550 

airplane 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 EMB–550 airplane will 

incorporate the following novel or 

unusual design features: New control 

architecture and a full digital flight 

control system which provides 

comprehensive flight envelope 

protections. 

Discussion 

The applicable airworthiness 

regulation in this instance is 14 CFR 

25.143. The purpose of § 25.143 is to 

verify that any operational maneuvers 

conducted within the operational 

envelope can be accomplished smoothly 

with average piloting skill and without 

exceeding any structural limits. The 

pilot should be able to predict the 

airplane response to any control input. 

During the course of the flight test 

program, the pilot determines 

compliance with § 25.143 through 

primarily qualitative methods. During 

flight test, the pilot should evaluate all 

of the following: 

• The interface between each 

protection function, 

• Transitions from one mode to 

another, 

• The aircraft response to intentional 

dynamic maneuvering, whenever 

applicable, through dedicated 

maneuvers, 

• General controllability assessment, 

• High speed characteristics, and 

• High angle-of-attack. 

Section § 25.143, however, does not 

adequately ensure that the novel or 

unusual features of the Model EMB–550 

airplane will have a level of safety 

equivalent to that of existing standards. 

This special condition is therefore 

required to accommodate the the flightenvelope- limiting systems in the Model 

EMB–550 airplane. The additional 

safety standards in this special 

condition will ensure a level of safety 

equivalent to that of existing standards. 

Applicability 

As discussed above, these special 

conditions are applicable to the Model 

EMB–550 airplane. Should Embraer 

S.A. apply at a later date for a change 

to the type certificate to include another 

model incorporating the same novel or 

unusual design feature, the special 

conditions would apply to that model as 

well. 

Conclusion 

This action affects only certain novel 

or unusual design features on one model 

of airplanes. 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 Embraer 

S.A. Model EMB–550 airplanes. 

1. General Limiting Requirements: 

a. Onset characteristics of each 

envelope protection feature must be 

smooth, appropriate to the phase of 

flight and type of maneuver, and not in 

conflict with the ability of the pilot to 

satisfactorily change airplane flight 

path, speed, or attitude as needed. 

b. Limit values of protected flight 

parameters (and if applicable, associated 

warning thresholds) must be compatible 

with the following: 

i. Airplane structural limits, 

ii. Required safe and controllable 

maneuvering of the airplane, and 

iii. Margins to critical conditions. 

Unsafe flight characteristics/conditions 

must not result if dynamic 

maneuvering, airframe and system 

tolerances (both manufacturing and inservice), and non-steady atmospheric 

conditions, in any appropriate 

combination and phase of flight, can 

produce a limited flight parameter 

beyond the nominal design limit value. 

c. The airplane must be responsive to 

intentional dynamic maneuvering to 

within a suitable range of the parameter 

limit. Dynamic characteristics such as 

damping and overshoot must also be 

appropriate for the flight maneuver and 

limit parameter in question. 

d. When simultaneous envelope 

limiting is engaged, adverse coupling or 

adverse priority must not result. 

2. Failure States: Electronic flight 

control system failures (including 

sensor) must not result in a condition 

where a parameter is limited to such a 

reduced value that safe and controllable 

maneuvering is no longer available. The 

crew must be alerted by suitable means 

if any change in envelope limiting or 

maneuverability is produced by single 

or multiple failures of the electronic 

flight control system not shown to be 

extremely improbable. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on 

December 19, 2012. 

K.C. Yanamura, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–01379 Filed 1–23–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 71 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0609; Airspace 

Docket No. 12–AEA–10] 

Proposed Amendment of Class D and 

Class E Airspace; Caldwell, NJ 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: This action proposes to 

amend Class D and Class E Airspace at 

Caldwell, NJ, as the Paterson NonDirectional Radio Beacon (NDB) has 

been decommissioned and new 

Standard Instrument Approach 

Procedures have been developed at 

Essex County Airport. This action 

would enhance the safety and airspace 

management of Instrument Flight Rules 

(IFR) operations at the airport. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 11, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments on this rule 

to: U.S. Department of Transportation, 

Docket Operations, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey SE., Washington, DC 20590– 

0001; Telephone: 1–800–647–5527; Fax: 

202–493–2251. You must identify the 

Docket Number FAA–2012–0609; 

Airspace Docket No. 12–AEA–10, at the 

beginning of your comments. You may 

also submit and review received 

comments through the Internet at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Fornito, Operations Support Group, 

Eastern Service Center, Federal Aviation 

Administration, P.O. Box 20636, 

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