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

57429 

Vol. 79, No. 186 

Thursday, September 25, 2014 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2014–0667; Special 

Conditions No. 25–569–SC] 

Special Conditions: Boeing Model 777– 

300ER, Single-Occupant, Oblique 

(Side-Facing) Seats With Inflatable 

Lapbelts 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final special condition; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: These special conditions are 

issued for Boeing Model 777–300ER 

airplanes with single-occupant, oblique 

(side-facing) seats equipped with 

inflatable lapbelts. This installation is 

novel or unusual, and the applicable 

airworthiness regulations do not contain 

adequate or appropriate safety standards 

for occupants of seats installed at an 

oblique angle of 30 degrees to the 

centerline of the airplane or for 

inflatable restraint systems. 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 September 25, 

2014. We must receive your comments 

by November 10, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2014–0667 

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 9 

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: John 

Shelden, Airframe and Cabin Safety, 

ANM–115, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification 

Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., 

Renton, Washington 98057–3356; 

telephone 425–227–2785; facsimile 

425–227–1232; email john.shelden@

faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA 

has determined that notice of, and 

opportunity for prior public comment 

on, these special conditions are 

impracticable because such procedures 

would significantly delay issuance of 

the design approval and thus the 

delivery of the affected airplane, and 

such impracticability was not of the 

applicant’s creation. The FAA therefore 

finds that good cause exists for making 

these special conditions effective upon 

publication in the Federal Register. 

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 July 18, 2014, Boeing Commercial 

Airplanes, P.O. Box 3707, Seattle, 

Washington 98124, applied for a type 

certificate design change to type 

certificate no. T00001SE to install 

single-occupant seats installed at an 

oblique angle to the centerline of the 

airplane, and which are equipped with 

inflatable lapbelts, in Boeing Model 

777–300ER airplanes. The Model 777 

series airplane is a swept-wing, 

conventional-tail, twin-engine, turbofanpowered, transport-category airplane. 

Amendment 25–15 to part 25, dated 

October 24, 1967, introduced the subject 

of side-facing seats and a requirement 

that each occupant in a side-facing seat 

must be protected from head injury by 

a safety belt and a cushioned rest that 

will support the arms, shoulders, head, 

and spine. 

Subsequently, Amendment 25–20, 

dated April 23, 1969, clarified the 

definition of sideward-facing seats to 

require that each occupant of a seat that 

is positioned at more than an 18-degree 

angle to the vertical plane containing 

the airplane centerline must be 

protected from head injury by a safety 

belt and an energy-absorbing rest that 

supports the arms, shoulders, head, and 

spine; or by a safety belt and shoulder 

harness that prevents the head from 

contacting injurious objects. The FAA 

concluded that a maximum 18-degree 

angle would provide an adequate level 

of safety based on tests that were 

performed at that time, and thus 

adopted that standard. 

Part 25 was amended June 16, 1988, 

by Amendment 25–64, to revise the 

emergency-landing conditions that must 

be considered in the design of the 

airplane. Amendment 25–64 revised the 

static-load conditions in § 25.561, and 

added a new § 25.562 that required 


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57430 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 186 / Thursday, September 25, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

dynamic testing for all seats approved 

for occupancy during takeoff and 

landing. The intent of Amendment 25– 

64 is to provide an improved level of 

safety for occupants on transportcategory airplanes. Because most seating 

is forward-facing on transport-category 

airplanes, the pass/fail criteria 

developed in Amendment 25–64 

focused primarily on these seats. As a 

result, the FAA issued Policy 

Memorandums ANM–03–115–30 and 

PS–ANM–100–2000–00123 to provide 

additional guidance to demonstrate the 

level of safety required by the 

regulations for side-facing seats. 

To address more recent research 

findings, the FAA developed a 

methodology to address all fully sidefacing seats (i.e, seats oriented in the 

airplane with the occupant facing 90 

degrees to the direction of airplane 

travel) and has documented those 

requirements in a set of proposed new 

special conditions. In this regard, the 

FAA has issued Policy Statement PS– 

ANM–25–03–R1, which conveys revised 

injury criteria associated with neck and 

leg injuries. 

The Model 777–300ER China Airlines 

business-class seat installation is novel 

or unusual in that the current 

airworthiness standards, and the current 

Model 777 side-facing-seat special 

conditions, do not contain adequate or 

appropriate safety standards, regarding 

occupants’ neck and spine, for oblique 

(side-facing) seat installation that 

restricts the occupant’s knees/legs from 

aligning with both the upper torso and 

the impact vector during a forward 

event. As such, the Boeing Company 

proposes a revised seating configuration 

that requires new special conditions. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under the provisions of 14 CFR 

21.101, Boeing must show that the 777– 

300ER meets the applicable provisions 

of 14 CFR part 25, as amended by 

Amendments 25–128, except for earlier 

amendments as agreed upon by the 

FAA. These regulations will be 

incorporated into type certificate no. 

T00001SE after type certification 

approval of the 777–300ER. The 

regulations incorporated by reference in 

T00001SE are as follows: 

The type-certification basis for the 

Model 777–300ER airplane is 14 CFR 

part 25, effective February 1, 1965, as 

amended by Amendments 25–1 through 

25–98, including special conditions 25– 

295–SC and 25–187A–SC. In addition, 

the certification basis includes certain 

special conditions, exemptions, or later 

amended sections of the applicable part 

that are not relevant to these proposed 

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 Boeing Model 777–300ER 

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 

include any other model that 

incorporates the same novel or unusual 

design feature, or should any other 

model already included on the same 

type certificate be modified to 

incorporate 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 Boeing Model 777– 

300ER 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. 

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 

§ 21.101. 

Novel or Unusual Design Features 

The Boeing Model 777–300ER 

airplane will incorporate the following 

novel or unusual design features: 

The seating configuration proposed by 

Boeing in Certification Plan No. 13668, 

‘‘Installation of B/E Aerospace Business 

Class Seats on China Airlines (CHI) 

WE501,’’ which consists of Super 

Diamond model, oblique (side-facing), 

business-class passenger seats, 

manufactured by B/E Aerospace, in a 

Boeing Model 777–300ER airplane. 

These seats will also incorporate 

inflatable restraints. 

The applicable airworthiness 

regulations do not contain adequate or 

appropriate safety standards for 

occupants of seats installed in the 

proposed configuration. To provide a 

level of safety equivalent to that 

afforded to occupants of forward- and 

aft-facing seats, additional airworthiness 

standards, in the form of special 

conditions, are necessary. 

Although special conditions 25–295– 

SC and 25–187A–SC already apply to 

the 777–300ER, these do not directly 

address the complex occupant-loading 

conditions introduced by this oblique 

(side-facing) seat configuration. In 

addition, this seat-angle configuration is 

not specifically addressed in Policy 

Statement PS–ANM–25–03–R1, which 

is intended to address fully side-facing 

seats, i.e., 90-degree installation angle. 

Discussion 

Boeing’s proposed seating 

configuration could introduce complex 

loading of the occupant. In conjunction 

with the 30-degree oblique (side-facing) 

orientation of the seats, surrounding 

structure restricts the occupant’s knees 

and legs, in a forward event, from 

aligning with both the upper torso and 

the impact vector. In addition, the 

inflatable lapbelt design, intended to 

provide occupant restraint and injury 

prevention, introduces a significant 

rebound flail of the head and neck. 

The level of safety intended by 

current rules is that aircraft seating 

configurations protect the occupant 

from serious injury. Development 

testing of the proposed seating 

configuration has shown that the 

inflatable restraint contributes to 

loading of the head and neck in the fore 

and aft directions, and has also 

produced significant head twisting. 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration (NHTSA) regulations 

specify neck injury criteria for the 50th 

percentile male as part of the FMVSS 

No. 208 alternative test, S13.2. 

Therefore, we find that it is appropriate 

to adopt the same neck-injury criteria 

used in the FMVSS 571.208, and 

measure it using the FAA Hybrid III 

anthropomorphic test dummy (ATD). 

The neck injury criteria, called ‘‘Nij’’, 

imposes critical limits for all four 

possible modes of neck loading; tension 

or compression combined with either 

flexion (forward) or extension 

(rearward) bending moment. The Nij is 

defined as the sum of the normalized 

loads and moments of the neck load 

cells installed in the ATD. We will also 

limit the head rotation based on existing 

relevant research literature. Impact of 

the neck with any surface could cause 

serious neck injury from concentrated 

loading; therefore these special 

conditions do not allow such contact. 

Preliminary results from FAAsponsored oblique-seat research indicate 

that unrestricted flailing of the upper 

torso during forward impacts can 

produce significant injuries. Although 

specific injury criteria to predict these 

injuries is not yet available, limiting the 

amount of forward flailing has been 

observed to reduce the magnitude and 

duration of spinal loading. Therefore, 

these special conditions require that 

seat designs limit the forward flail of the 

upper body to reduce the risk of these 

injuries. 

These special conditions contain the 

additional safety standards that the 

Administrator considers necessary to 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 186 / Thursday, September 25, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 57431 

establish a level of safety equivalent to 

that established by the existing 

airworthiness standards. 

Applicability 

As discussed above, these special 

conditions are applicable to the Boeing 

Model 777–300ER airplane. Should 

Boeing 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 airplane. It is not a rule of general 

applicability. 

Under standard practice, the effective 

date of final special conditions would 

be 30 days after the date of publication 

in the Federal Register; however, as the 

certification date for the Boeing Model 

777–300ER airplane is imminent, the 

FAA finds that good cause exists to 

make these special conditions effective 

upon publication in the Federal 

Register. 

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 Special Conditions 

Accordingly, pursuant to the 

authority delegated to me by the 

Administrator, the following special 

conditions are issued as part of the typecertification basis for Boeing Model 

777–300ER airplanes. 

Inflatable Lapbelt Special Conditions 

The inflatable lapbelts must meet the 

criteria of Special Conditions 25–187A– 

SC. 

Single-Occupant, Oblique (side-facing) 

Seats Special Conditions 

1. Longitudinal (16g) occupant injury 

test(s), must be performed with the FAA 

Hybrid III ATD, undeformed floor, most 

critical yaw case(s) for injury, and with 

all lateral structural supports (armrests/ 

walls). The criteria for the pass/fail 

injury assessments are listed in special 

conditions 2 through 5 in this section. 

2. Existing Criteria: All injury 

protection criteria of § 25.562(c)(1) 

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

an oblique (side-facing) seat. Head 

injury criterion (HIC) assessments are 

only required for head contact with the 

seat and/or adjacent structures. If there 

is no apparent contact with seat/

structure but there is contact with an 

inflatable restraint, the HIC15 score for 

that contact must be less than 700. 

3. Body-to-Wall/Furnishing Contact 

Criteria: If an oblique (side-facing) seat 

is installed aft of structure (e.g., an 

interior wall or furnishing) that does not 

provide a homogenous contact surface 

for the expected range of occupants and 

yaw angles, then additional analysis 

and/or test(s) may be required to 

demonstrate that the injury criteria are 

met for the area which an occupant 

could contact. For example, if difference 

yaw angles could result in different 

inflatable restraint performance then 

additional analysis or separate test(s) 

may be necessary to evaluate. 

4. Neck-Injury Criteria: 

a. In demonstrating that the design 

meets the criteria of FMVSS 571.208, 

the applicant must show the Nij to be 

below 1.0, where Nij =Fz/Fzc + My/Myc, 

and Nij intercepts limited to: 

i. Fzc = 1530 lb for tension 

ii. Fzc = 1385 lb for compression 

iii. Myc = 229 lb-ft in flexion 

iv. Myc = 100 lb-ft in extension 

b. In addition, peak Fz must be below 

937 lb in tension and 899 lb in 

compression. 

c. Rotation of the head about its 

vertical axis relative to the torso is 

limited to 105 degrees in either 

direction from forward-facing. 

d. The neck must not impact any 

surface. 

5. Spine and Torso Injury Criteria: 

a. The shoulders must remain aligned 

with the hips throughout the impact 

sequence, or support for the upper torso 

must be provided to prevent forward or 

lateral flailing beyond 45 degrees from 

the vertical during significant spinal 

loading. 

b. Occupant must not interact with 

the armrest or other seat components in 

any manner significantly different than 

would be expected for a forward-facing 

seat installation. 

6. One longitudinal (16g) structural 

test must be performed with the Hybrid 

II ATD or FAA Hybrid III, deformed 

floor, with 10 degrees yaw, and with all 

lateral structural supports (armrests/

walls). Use existing structural pass/fail 

criteria from § 25.562. 

7. One vertical (14g) test must be 

conducted with Hybrid II ATDs or FAA 

Hybrid III. Use existing pass/fail 

structural and injury criteria from 

§ 25.562. 

Note: The applicant must demonstrate that 

the installation of seats via plinths or pallets 

meets all applicable requirements. 

Compliance with the guidance contained in 

FAA Policy Memorandum PS–ANM–100– 

2000–00123, dated February 2, 2000, titled 

‘‘Guidance for Demonstrating Compliance 

with Seat Dynamic Testing for Plinths and 

Pallets,’’ is acceptable to the FAA. 

Issued in Renton, Washington September 

19, 2014. 

Michael Kaszycki, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–22781 Filed 9–24–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 91 

[Docket No.: FAA–2014–0458; Amendment 

No. 91–333] 

RIN 2120–AA66 

Airports/Locations: Special Operating 

Restrictions 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule; technical 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: This action amends the 

Appendix listing airports/locations with 

special operating restrictions in FAA’s 

general operating and flight rules. 

Specifically, this action adds an 

additional entry for Houston, TX 

(William P. Hobby Airport), and San 

Diego, CA (Marine Corps Air Station 

Miramar), to the Appendix, which lists 

the airports where aircraft operating 

within 30 nautical miles (NM) of the 

listed airports, from the surface upward 

to 10,000 feet mean sea level (MSL) 

must be equipped with an altitude 

encoding transponder. The FAA is 

taking this action to correctly identify 

applicable airports under the 

appropriate sections in the Appendix. 

DATES: Effective Date: November 13, 

2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Colby Abbott, Airspace Policy and 

Regulations Group, AJV–113, Federal 

Aviation Administration, 800 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 

267–8783, email colby.abbott@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Title 14 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations, part 91, appendix D, 

section 1, lists the airports where 

special operating restrictions apply. 

Specifically, this section lists the 

locations at which aircraft operating 

within 30 NM of the listed airports, 


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