Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 14, 2000 / Notices 37449

listed under the heading FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT.

If you are in need of assistance or

require a reasonable accommodation for

the meeting or meeting documents,

please contact the person listed under

the heading FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. Sign and oral interpretation, as

well as a listening device, can be made

available if requested 10 calendar days

before the meeting.

Issued in Washington, DC on June 8, 2000.

Florence L. Hamn,

Acting Director, Office of Rulemaking.

[FR Doc. 00–14912 Filed 6–13–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

Aviation Rulemaking Advisory

Committee Meeting on Transport

Airplane and Engine Issues

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice announces a

public meeting of the FAA’s Aviation

Rulemaking Advisory Committee

(ARAC) to discuss transport airplane

and engine (TAE) issues.

DATES: The meeting is scheduled for

June 27–28, 2000, beginning at 8:30 a.m.

on June 27. Arrange for oral

presentations by June 22.

ADDRESSES: Boeing Commercial

Airplane Group, 535 Garden Avenue,

N., Building 10–16, Renton, WA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Effie

M. Upshaw, Office of Rulemaking,

ARM–209, FAA, 800 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591,

Telephone (202) 267–7626, FAX (202)

267–5075, or e-mail at

effie.upshaw@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant

to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–

463; 5 U.S.C. app. III), notice is given of

an ARAC meeting to be held June 27–

28, in Renton, WA.

The agenda will include:

June 27

• Opening Remarks

• FAA Report

• Joint Aviation Authorities Report

• Transport Canada Report

• Executive Committee Meeting

Report

• Harmonization Management Team

Report

• Engine Harmonization Working

Group (HWG) Report

• Avionics Systems HWG Report and

Vote

• Flight Guidance System HWG

Report and Vote

• Systems Design and Analysis HWG

Report

• Ice Protection HWG Report

• Powerplant Installation HWG

Report and Vote

• Seat Test HWG Report

• Design for Security HWG Report

and Vote

June 28

• Braking System HWG Report and

vote

• General Structures HWG Report and

Vote

• Airworthiness Assurance HWG

Report

• Flight Test HWG Report and Vote

• Electromagnetic Effects HWG

Report

• Loads & Dynamics HWG Report and

Vote

• Flight Controls HWG Report and

Vote

• Mechanical Systems HWG Report

and Vote

• Electrical Systems HWG Report and

Vote

Nine HWGs-Avionics Systems, Flight

Guidance System, Powerplant

Installation, General Structures, Flight

Test, Loads & Dynamics, Flight

Controls, Mechanical Systems, and

Electrical Systems—plan to request

approval of technical reports drafted

under the Fast Track process. The

Design for Security HWG plans to seek

approval of its phase 1 report.

The Braking Systems HWG plans to

request a vote to submit a proposed

disposition of comments to the FAA.

The disposition of comments relate to a

proposed rule on brakes and braking

systems certification tests and analysis

that was published in the Federal

Register on August 10, 1999; the

comment period closed November 8,

1999 (64 FR 43570).

Attendance is open to the public, but

will be limited to the space available.

Visitor badges are required to gain

entrance to the building in which the

meeting is being held. Please confirm

your attendance with Norm Turner,

(425) 234–3312, or by e-mail,

norman.g.turner@Boeing.com. Please

provide the following information: full

legal name, country of citizenship, and

name of your company, if applicable.

The public must make arrangements

by June 22 to present oral statements at

the meeting. Written statements may be

presented to the committee at any time

by providing 25 copies to the Assistant

Executive Director for Transport

Airplane and Engine issues or by

providing copies at the meeting. Copies

of the documents to be voted upon may

be made available by contacting the

person listed under the heading FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

If you are in need of assistance or

require a reasonable accommodation for

the meeting or meeting documents,

please contact the person listed under

the heading FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. Sign and oral interpretational,

as well as a listening device, can be

made available if requested 10 calendar

days before the meeting.

Issued in Washington, DC on June 8, 2000.

Florence L. Hamn,

Acting Director, Office of Rulemaking.

[FR Doc. 00–14913 Filed 6–13–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

[Policy Statement Number ACE–00–

23.561.01]

Proposed Issuance of Policy

Memorandum, Methods of Approval of

Retrofit Shoulder Harness Installations

in Small Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of policy statement,

request for comments.

SUMMARY: This document announces an

FAA proposed general statement of

policy applicable to the modification of

small airplanes. This document advises

the public, in particular, small airplane

owners and modifiers, of additional

information related to acceptable

methods of approval of retrofit shoulder

harness installations. This notice is

necessary to advise the public of FAA

policy and give all interested persons an

opportunity to present their views on

the policy statement.

DATES: Comments submitted must be

received no later than July 14, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send all comments on this

policy statement to the individual

identified under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT at Federal

Aviation Administration Small Airplane

Directorate, ACE–111, Room 301, 901

Locust, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Reyer, Federal Aviation

Administration, Small Airplane

Directorate, ACE–111, Room 301, 901

Locust, Kansas City, Missouri 64106,

telephone (816) 329–4131; fax 816–329–

4090; e-mail; michael.reyer@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

37450 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 14, 2000 / Notices

Comments Invited

Interested persons are invited to

comment on this proposed policy

statement, ACE–00–23–561–01, by

submitting such written data, views, or

arguments as they desire. Comments

should be marked, ‘‘Comments to policy

statement ACE–00–23.561–01,’’ and be

submitted in duplicate to the above

address. The Manager, Small Airplane

Directorate, will consider all

communications received on or before

the closing date for comments.

Background

This notice announces the availability

of the following proposed policy

memorandum, ACE–00–23.561–01, for

review and comment. The purpose of

this memorandum is to address methods

of approval for retrofit shoulder harness

installations in small airplanes.

Effect of General Statement of Policy

The FAA is presenting this

information as a set of guidelines

appropriate for use. However, this

document is not intended to establish a

binding norm, it does not constitute a

new regulation and the FAA would not

apply or rely upon it as a regulation.

The FAA aircraft Certification Offices

(ACO’s) and Flight Standards District

Offices (FSDO’s) that certify changes in

type design and approve modifications

in normal, utility, and acrobatic

category airplanes should generally

attempt to follow this policy when

appropriate. Applicants should expect

that the certificating officials would

consider this information when making

findings of compliance relevant to

retrofit shoulder harness installations.

Also, as with all advisory material,

this statement of policy identifies one

means, but not the only means, of

compliance.

Because this proposed general

statement of policy only announces

what the FAA seeks to establish as

policy, the FAA considers it to be an

issue for which public comment is

appropriate. Therefore, the FAA

requests comment on the following

proposed general statement of policy

relevant to compliance with 14 CFR Part

23, § 23.561, and other related

regulations.

General Statement of Policy

Summary

Retrofit shoulder harness installations

may be approved by Supplemental Type

Certificate (STC), Field Approval, or

minor change. An STC is the most

rigorous approval and it offers the

highest assurance that all of the

airworthiness regulations have been

met. Field Approvals are granted for an

individual airplane for an alteration that

involves little or no engineering. Some

shoulder harness installations have been

made as a minor change. In this case,

the FAA certificated mechanic who

installs it makes an entry in the

airplane’s maintenance log.

We do not encourage retrofit shoulder

harness installation by minor change.

However, the FAA should not prohibit

the airplane owner to have such

installations made by minor change,

even though they may not provide the

9.0 g forward occupant protection

required by regulation [Civil Air

Regulation (CAR) 3.386 or 14 CFR Part

23, § 23.561]. While the preferred

method of approval of such installations

is by STC of Field Approval, shoulder

harnesses could be installed by minor

change in:

(1) The front seats of those small

airplanes manufactured before July 19,

1978, and

(2) In other seats of those small

airplanes manufactured before

December 13, 1986.

This may be performed as a minor

change only if the installation requires

no modification of the structure (such as

welding or drilling holes). Also, the

airplane’s certification basis must be

CAR 3 or predecessor regulations, or

Part 23 prior to Amendment 23–20. Any

retrofit shoulder harness installation,

even those approved as a minor change,

is a safety improvement over occupant

restraint by seat belt alone.

Introduction

In January 1997, the Anchorage

Aircraft Certification Office (ACO)

Manager requested the Small Airplane

Directorate to study the issue of retrofit

shoulder harness installations in small

airplanes. The Anchorage ACO

specifically requested guidance for a

Supplemental Type Certificate (STC)

project to install shoulder harnesses in

Piper PA–18 series airplanes. This

proposed policy presents the results of

our study for public comment. Approval

of the harness installation only is

addressed. Approval of the harness is

made to Technical Standard Order

(TSO)–C114, Torso Restraint Systems.

During 1998, our office participated in

an Aviation Safety Program to increase

the use and effectiveness of occupant

restraint systems in general aviation

airplanes. This program is in support of

the occupant survivability element of

the Administrator’s Safety Agenda for

general aviation, which has a goal of

significantly reducing the number of

fatal accidents over a ten-year period.

Most of the content of this proposed

policy was presented in a paper at the

August 19, 1998, meeting of this

Aviation Safety Program.

The Manager of the Continuing

Airworthiness Maintenance Division of

Flight Standards, AFS–300, has

reviewed this proposed policy and

concurs with it.

References

1. Advisory Circular (AC) 21–34,

Shoulder Harness—Safety Belt

Installations, June 4, 1993.

2. AC 23–4, Static Strength

Substantiation of Attachment Points for

Occupant Restraint System Installations,

June 20, 1986.

3. AC 43.13–2A, Acceptable Methods,

Techniques, and Practices—Aircraft

Alterations, Revised 1977.

4. Order 8300.10, Airworthiness

Inspectors Handbook, Volume 2, Change

10, October 30, 1995.

5. Technical Standard Order (TSO)–

C114, Torso Restraint Systems, March

27, 1987.

Discussion

Requirements

1. Front seat shoulder harnesses

required. 14 CFR Part 23, § 23.785, as

amended by Amendment 23–19,

effective July 18, 1977, required all

normal, utility, and acrobatic category

airplanes for which application for

types certificate was made on or after

July 18, 1977, to have an approved

shoulder harness for each front seat.

Section 91.205(b)(14) requires all small

civil airplanes manufactured after July

18, 1978, to have an approved shoulder

harness for each front seat. The shoulder

harness must be designed to protect the

occupant from serious head injury when

the occupant experiences the ultimate

inertia forces specified in § 23.561(b)(2).

The inertia force requirements are

discussed in paragraph 3 below.

2. Shoulder harnesses required at all

seats. Section 91.205(b)(16) requires all

normal, utility, and acrobatic category

airplanes with a seating configuration of

9 or less, excluding pilot seats,

manufactured after December 12, 1986,

to have a shoulder harness, for forwardfacing and aft-facing seats, that meets

the requirements of § 23.785(g) [which

requires that the occupant be protected

from the ultimate inertia forces

specified in § 23.56(b)(12)]. Section

23.78(g) also provides: ‘‘For other seat

orientations, the seat and restraint

means must be designed to provide a

level of occupant protection equivalent

to that provided for forward and aftfacing seats with safety belts and

shoulder harnesses installed.’’ The

above Part 91 operating rule stems from

§ 23.2, Special retroactive requirements,

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 14, 2000 / Notices 37451

Amendment 23–32, effective December

12, 1985.

3. Civil Air Regulation (CAR) 3.386

and Part 23, § 23.561, Amendments 23–

0 through 23–34, effective February 17,

1987, require occupant protection from

serious injury during a minor crash

landing when ‘‘proper use is made of

belts or harnesses provided for in the

design,’’ when the occupants are

subjected to the following ultimate

inertia forces:

Normal

and utility

category

Acrobatic

category

Forward ................... 9.0 g ....... 9.0 g

Sideward .................. 1.5 g ....... 1.5 g

Upward .................... 3.0 g ....... 4.5 g

At Amendment 23–36, effective

September 14, 1988, the above words in

quotes were changed in § 23.561 to read:

‘‘proper use is made of seats, safety

belts, and shoulder harnesses provided

for in the design.’’ The ultimate inertia

forces remain the same through the

current amendment.

For inertia force requirements for

occupant protection preceding CAR 3,

refer to Table 1 in AC 21–34, which lists

the requirements for the regulations

dating from Bulletin 7–A to the original

Part 23.

Methods of Approval of Retrofit

Shoulder Harness Installations

1. Supplemental Type Certificate

(STC): An STC is the most desirable and

most rigorous approval, and it offers the

highest assurance that all of the

airworthiness regulations have been

met. The STC approvals are issued by

the FAA Aircraft Certification Offices

(ACO’s). Supplemental Type Certificate

approvals are usually obtained by a

shoulder harness installation kit

supplier for multiple airplane

installations in a particular airplane

model or model series.

Advisory Circular 21–34 and 23–4

(References 1 and 2) provide guidance

and acceptable means of compliance for

shoulder harness and seat belt

installations. Advisory Circular 23–4

specifically addresses Part 23

installations. These AC’s would also be

applicable to installations in airplanes

having a certification basis of

predecessor regulations (CAR 3, etc).

The applicant for an STC will often

use a salvaged airplane fuselage to

perform the pull test to apply the

prescribed ultimate inertia loads

because the 9.0 g forward load, in

particular, may cause structural failure

or permanent set. It may be a problem

that the available test airframe may be

stronger than the lowest strength

production airframe. This may

particularly be a problem in steel tube

airframes. During the production of

such airframes over the course of many

years, even decades, various

specification materials may be used. For

example, many CAR 3 (and predecessor

regulations) airplanes were originally

produced from 1025 steel tubing and

later constructed from higher strength

4130 steel. In the case studied, two

different specification 1025 steel tubings

were used that may have an ultimate

tensile strength (UTS) ranging from

55,000 to 79,000 psi. The UTS of 4130

steel is 90,000 to 95,000 psi.

The test article should be

representative of the lowest strength

production airframe. This may be

accomplished by a conformity

inspection using the production

drawings. The strength of materials of

parts affected by the modification needs

to be verified by the airframe

manufacturer’s process and production

records. The serial number of the test

article needs to be verified. An

alternative course of action would be to

determine, by appropriate tests (e.g.,

chemical analysis, hardness tests,

strength tests), the strength of the parts

of the test article affected by the

modification, and test to a

conservatively higher load that accounts

for the difference in strengths of the test

article and the lowest strength

production article. Determination of the

higher applied test load should take into

account any uncertainty in the test(s)

used to determine the strength of the

material.

Advisory Circular 23–4 provides an

acceptable means of compliance for

static strength substantiation of

attachment points for occupant restraint

system installations. A test block is

described to apply the 9.0 g forward

inertia load. The safety belt installation

alone is tested to 100 percent of the

load. The shoulder and safety belt

combined load is distributed 40 percent

to the shoulder harness and 60 percent

to the seat belt.

In airplanes having side-by-side seats,

the pull test may need to be applied

simultaneously to the harness fittings

for both seats, depending on the type of

harness and where the upper ends are

anchored. Normally, this would not be

necessary for a single diagonal belt

shoulder harness attached to the

outboard fuselage side or wing spar root

end.

In the case of a pull test for a retrofit

shoulder harness installation in the

tandem-seat tubular steel PA–18

fuselage, the forward inertia load was

applied simultaneously for both

harnesses. This was done for

convenience in applying and reacting

the loads. It was found that due to the

tube geometry, the load at the aft

harness attachment caused a tension in

the rear spar carrythrough tube, to

which the front seat shoulder harness

upper end was attached. This enabled

the front seat harness attachment to test

to a higher load than if the pull test was

applied to each harness individually. In

such a case, the test loads for each

harness should be performed

individually.

Part 21, § 21.50(b), requires the holder

of an STC to furnish Instructions for

Continued Airworthiness, prepared in

accordance with § 23.1529.

An STC cannot be used to modify an

aircraft without the permission of the

STC holder. Federal Aviation

Administration Notice 8110.69 dated

June 30, 1997, requires the STC holder

to provide the customer (installer or

airplane owner) with a signed

permission statement that includes the

following:

(a) Product (aircraft, engine, propeller,

or appliance) to be altered, inducing

serial number of the product;

(b) The STC number; and

(c) The person(s) who is being given

consent to use the STC.

The permission statement needs to be

maintained as part of the aircraft

records. The requirement for this

permission statement originated in the

Federal Aviation Authorization Act of

1996 (Public Law 104–264). This

provision was put into law to try to stop

the ‘‘pirating’’ of STC’s.

2. Field Approval. Shoulder harnesses

may be installed by a Field Approval

(FAA Form 337), given by a Flight

Standards Aviation Safety Inspector.

Field Approvals are granted for an

individual airplane for an alteration that

involves little or no engineering. If the

installation requires structural

modification, an engineering approval

will need to be completed by an ACO.

An installation by Field Approval

would normally be performed when an

STC is not available. A Field Approval

constitutes a change to type design and

must meet the same regulatory

requirements as a STC.

Advisory Circular 43.13–2A

(Reference 3) contains methods,

techniques, and practices acceptable to

the Administrator for use in altering

civil aircraft. Chapter 9 covers shoulder

harness installations. Section 3 covers

attachment methods. Shoulder

harnesses installed by Field Approval

must meet the same regulatory

requirements as an STC. Therefore, the

applicant should demonstrate by test

9.0 g forward load capability. The test

load should be 814 pounds for Normal

37452 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 115 / Wednesday, June 14, 2000 / Notices

Category or 910 pounds for Utility or

Acrobatic Category, in accordance with

AC 23–4.

Reference 4, Chapter 1, Perform Field

Approval of Major Repairs and Major

Alterations, Section 1, paragraph 5. D(2)

states: ‘‘Acceptable data that may be

used on an individual basis to obtain

approval are:

• AC’s 43.13–1A and 43.13–2A, as

amended: *

• Manufacturer’s technical

information (e.g., manuals, bulletins,

kits, etc.)

• FAA Field Approvals’’

Note: Advisory Circular (AC) 43.13–1A has

been superseded by AC 43.13–1B, dated

September 8, 1998.

When using a previous Field

Approval as acceptable data, the pull

test need not be performed if it can be

determined that a previous pull test

applied 814 pounds for Normal

Category or 910 pounds for Utility or

Acrobatic Category. Field Approvals for

shoulder harness installations should

not be done by referring a previous

Field Approval and deleting the pull

test, unless the attachment parts have a

Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA), or

other FAA approval. If the attachment

parts have no FAA approval, the

strength is not known or assured, since

they have not been manufactured to an

FAA approved quality control system.

Shoulder harness installations

attaching to the center of an

unsupported wing carrythrough tube, or

other unsupported member, should not

be given a Field Approval without a

design approval by an Aircraft

Certification Office. Applying the test

load in such cases may cause damage or

permanent set to the affected structure.

Figure 9–16 in AC 43.13–2A shows

typical shoulder harness attachments to

tubular members. These are all at tube

intersections and not at the center of

unsupported tubes. Figure 9–12 shows a

typical wing carrythrough member

installation. This appears to be in the

center of the carrythrough member,

which is a hat section as found in

mental skinned airplanes. Part of this

figure shows that the hat section is

reverted to sheet metal skin (which

would provide longitudinal support).

Personnel performing the Field

Approval must ensure that both the

harness and belt are compatable and

have a TSO approval.

Flight Standards Information Bulletin

for Airworthiness (FSAW) 98–03, dated

January 30, 1998, (in Order 8300.1)

requires that a Field Approval include

Instructions for Continued

Airworthiness prepared (in the case of

Part 23 airplanes) in accordance with

§ 23.1529. The instructions will be

documented on FAA Form 337 and

become a part of either the aircraft’s

inspection or maintenance program, or

both.

3. Minor change. 14 CFR Part 21,

§ 21.93(a), Classification of changes in

type design states. ‘‘A minor change is

one that has no appreciable effect on the

weight, balance, structural strength,

reliability, operational characteristics, or

other characteristics affecting the

airworthiness of the product.’’

Information provided to us by the

Anchorage ACO indicates that some

shoulder harness installations that

provide known safety improvements

have been made as a minor change. In

these situations, the FAA certificated

mechanic who installs it makes an entry

in the airplane’s maintenance log.

One shoulder harness installation kit

supplier uses this process (no FAA

approvals) to install shoulder harnesses

in PA–18 airplanes. The installation

does not require modification of the

airframe. The front seat harness attaches

to the center of the rear wing spar

carrythrough tube. However, it may not

meet the 9.0 g forward inertia load

required by CAR 3.386. The kit supplier

stated that some airplane owners that

had accidents reported that the harness

installation had saved their lives. Again,

shoulder harness installations should

not attach to the center of an

unsupported wing carrythrough tube or

other unsupported member, since this

type of attachment may pose a risk to

the structural integrity of the airplane.

Some shoulder harnesses that have

been installed by minor change do not

have a TSO approval. Technical

Standard Order C114, Torso Restraint

Systems, was issued March 27, 1987,

Torso restraint systems manufactured

before that date did not have to meet the

prescribed Society of Automotive

Engineers standard, Aerospace Standard

8043, Aircraft Torso Restraint System,

dated March 1986.

We have studied the circumstances

and legality of shoulder harnesses

installations approved by minor change.

An airplane owner may wish to install

shoulder harnesses, but an STC or prior

Field Approval is not available for his

airplane. In this case, it is not likely that

an individual airplane owner would

apply for an STC or a Field Approval

because of the costs involved in hiring

an engineering consultant to perform

the structural test and any associated

structural analysis. Also, there is a

possibility that the airframe may be

damaged during the pull test. In such

installations, a pull test would not be

performed and there is no assurance

that the installation will provide

occupant protection to the ultimate

inertia force requirements (particularly

the 9.0 g forward force) of § 23.561 or

CAR 3.386.

Concerning the legality of shoulder

harness installation by minor change,

we conclude the following: Since CAR

3.386 and § 23.561(b)(1) prior to

Amendment 23–26 (which became

effective September 14, 1988) state that

‘‘proper use is made of belts or

harnesses provided in the design,’’ the

previously approved seat belt

installation alone must meet the

prescribed ultimate inertia forces.

Civil Air Regulation 3.652, Functional

and installational requirements, states:

‘‘Each item of equipment which is

essential to the safe operation of the

airplane shall be found by the

Administrator to perform adequately the

functions for which it is to be used,

shall function properly when installed

and shall be adequately labeled as to its

identification, function, operational

limitations, or any combination of these,

whichever is applicable.’’ Prior to

Amendment 23–20 (which became

effective September 1, 1977), § 23.1301

contained essentially the same

requirement as CAR 3.652. Amendment

23–20 deleted the words ‘‘essential to

safe operation’’ and made the provisions

of § 23.1301 applicable to ‘‘each item of

installed equipment.’’ Regarding these

rules, we conclude that if a shoulder

harness is not required equipment, it is

not essential to the safe operation of the

airplane. Therefore, CAR 3.652 and

§ 23.1301, prior to Amendment 23–20,

should not be used as a basis to prohibit

shoulder harness installation by minor

change. These rules should be applied

to shoulder harness installations made

by STC, Field Approval, and minor

change, but there is no way of enforcing

this in the case of installation by minor

change.

The mechanic making such

installations should consult AC 43.13–

2A, Chapter 9, for information on

restraint systems, effective restraint

angles, attachment methods, and other

details of installation. Only harnesses

with TSO–C114 approval should be

installed.

Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on May

31, 2000.

Michael Gallagher,

Manager, Small Airplane Directorate, Aircraft

Certification Service.

[FR Doc. 00–14910 Filed 6–13–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M