UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION RENTON, WASHINGTON 98057-3356

In the matter ofthe petition of Exemption No. 11162

Bombardier Aerospace Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2014-0932 for an exemption from§ 25.809(a) of Title 14, Code ofFederal Regulations

GRANT OF EXEMPTION By letter dated October 30, 2014, Mr. Tim Bilic, Airworthiness Section Chief-Global 7000/8000, Bombardier Aerospace, 400 Cote-Vertu Road West, Dorval, Quebec, Canada, H4S 1 Y9, petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for an exemption from the requirements of § 25.809(a) ofTitle 14, Code ofFederal Regulations (14 CFR). This exemption, ifgranted would permit partial relieffrom the outside-viewing requirements for overwing emergency exits onBombardier Global 7000/8000 Model BD-700-2A12 and BD-700-2A13 airplanes. The petitioner requests relieffrom the following regulation(s): Section 25.809(a), at Amendment 25-116, requires, in pertinentpart, that each emergency exit be provided with a means to permit viewing ofthe likely areas ofevacuee ground contactpriorto opening the exit during all lighting conditions with the landing gear extended as well as in all conditions oflanding gear collapse. The petitioner supports its request with the following information: This section quotes the relevant information from the petitioner's request, with minor edits for clarity. The complete petition is available at the Department ofTransportation's Federal Docket Management System, onthe Internet at http://regulations.gov, in DocketNo. FAA-2014-0932. The Extent ofReliefWe Seek Bombardierrequests an exemption from compliance with 14 CFR § 25.809(a) with respect to the requirement to view the ground contact area under all lighting and landing gear conditions for over-wing passenger exits. This request is identical in all materialrespects to previously granted exemptions and does not set a precedent (see FAA ExemptionNo. 10840 for Bombardier CSeries, and FAA ExemptionNo. 10757 for EmbraerEMB-550). The Reason We SeekRelief The Global 7000/8000 emergency exits will be subjectto the standards of 14 CFR § 25.809(a) which require a means to view the area ofoccupant ground contact from each emergency exit priorto opening the door. The evacuation means from the Global 7000/8000 over-wing emergency exit (OWEE) is to slide orjump offthe trailing edge of the wing and, while the OWEE window allows for outside viewing to assess the conditions priorto opening the exit, the likely area ofevacuee ground contact is obstructed by the wing and is not viewable from the OWEE. How OurRequest Would Benefit the Public as a Whole Granting this petition is in the public interest because it: a) Avoids expenditure ofresources to meet some aspects ofthe present regulation which will be changed in the future due to recognized implementation difficulties. b) Allows the Global 7000/8000 airplane models BD-700-2A12 and BD-700-2Al3 to meet EASA, FAA, and TCCA anticipated future harmonized regulation preventing competitive disadvantage due to additional design/manufacturing complexity and increased weight. c) Avoids additional airline operation costs associated with:

• The maintenance/spare parts for a more complex viewing system, and

• The fuel consumption/emissions produced by additional weight ofsuch system. Reasons Why the Exemption Would Not Adversely Affect Safety Granting this petition does not affect safety because: a) As stated under the section titled Summary and Backgroundofthe 14 CFRfinal rule publication, the objective ofthe changes was not to address a known safety issue, but to update the regulation to catch-up with industry state-of-the-art and design practices (Code ofFederal Regulations Final Rule, DocketNo. FAA-2004- 19412, titled "Miscellaneous Cabin Safety Changes," issued on 2004-10-15). b) The design ofthe Global 7000/8000 airplane models BD-700-2A12 and BD-700- 2A13 is consistent with industry present state-of-the-art and design practice.

2c) The Global 7000/8000 airplane models BD-700-2A12 and BD-700-2Al3 will comply with all other aspects ofAWM 525-809(a). Exemption Request Summary The Bombardier Global 7000 and Global 8000 are ultra-long-range, executive interior businessjets, with maximum certified passenger capacity of 19. The exit configuration in these aircraft consists ofa Type 1main passenger door onthe left side ofthe fuselage and a Type 3 emergency exit located over the right wing. Bombardier Inc., has encountered difficulties complying with the requirement of 14 CFR § 25.809(a) for the Global 7000/8000 airplane models BD-700-2A12 and BD-700-2Al3, with respect to the viewing ofthe ground contact area under all lighting and landing gear conditions for the overwing exit. As is the case with similar, low-wing aircraft, the view ofthe likely area of evacuee ground contact is obstructed by the wing when 

### in position to open the exit, and, therefore, compliance with the requirement for viewing ofthe ground contact area under all lighting and landing gear conditions is not possible. Bombardierrequests an exemption from compliance with 14 CFR § 25.809(a) with respect to the requirement to view the ground contact area under all lighting and landing gear conditions for over-wingpassenger exits. This request is identical in all material respects to previously granted exemptions and, as concluded by the FAA in reference to the exemption granted to the Bombardier CSeries airplane with respectto 14 CFR 25.809(a), there is no adverse impact on safety ifan occupant cannot simultaneously see conditions immediately outside the exit door and the ground-contact pointunder all lighting and landing-gear conditions

. The Global 7000/8000 airplane models BD-700-2Al2 and BD-700-2A13 will nonetheless comply with anticipated, harmonized requirements now incorporated in EASA CS 25.809(a) at Amendment 25/12. Federal Register publication The FAA has determined that good cause exists for waiving the requirement for FederalRegister publication for public comment because the request is identical in all material respects to previously granted exemptions; the exemption, ifgranted, would not set a precedent; and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to Bombardier Aerospace. The FAA's Analysis The FAA has determined that there is not an adverse impact on safety ifan occupant cannot simultaneously see conditions immediately outside the exit door and the ground-contact point under all lighting and landing gear conditions

. The impact ofthe regulation, as codified, went beyond what was envisioned in the rulemaking process for the overwing exits on some airplanes. On many overwing exits, the location where the evacuee makes first contact onthe ground is a considerable distance from the point from which they exit the passenger cabin

. The distance the 3evacuee moves either forward or aft on the upper wing surface, and then down to the ground either by escape slide, or byjumping offthe wing, or sliding down the leading ortrailing edge of the wing, makes it impossible to see the ground contactpoint from inside the airplane because of the distance orthe wing itselfblockingthe view. Some commenters to the notice ofproposed rulemaking (Notice No. 96-9) made this point, and the FAAresponse was: Withrespect to the potential for the exitto be somewhatremote from the point where the evacuees would contact the ground, the FAA agrees thatthis maybe the case. The intent ofthe requirement is to enable a personto ascertain whetherto open an exit, and whether it is safe to evacuate through the exit, based on an assessment ofthe outside conditions. To the extentthatthe means used for determination ofthe former does not also allow an assessment ofthe ground, the FAA agrees that an additional viewing means may be necessary, and thatthe additional means may be somewhatremote from the exit. We have therefore reworded the amendment to allowfor the dual purpose ofthe viewing means, and to distinguish the required locations ofthetwo. Our intent inthis rule was that it is not necessary for a person to be able to view the ground contactpoint while in position to open an overwing exit. The rule itselfrefers to the groundcontact view separately from the view ofconditions outside the exit, butthe intent ofthe rule was not clearly expressed in the rule language. The FAA worked with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to improve the rule language based on our experience applying this rule. EASA incorporated the improved language intheir certification specifications (CS) at amendment 25/12, dated July 13, 2012. CS 25.809(a)(3) states: For non-over-wingpassengeremergency exits, a means must also be provided to permit viewing ofthe likely areas ofevacuee ground contact when the exit is closed with the landing gears extended orin any condition ofcollapse. Furthermore, the likely areas of evacuee ground contact must be viewable with the exit closed during all ambient lighting conditions when all landing gears are extended. The FAA is considering rulemakingto harmonize this requirement with EASA. The proposed configuration provides a level ofsafety consistent withthe intent ofthe rule. The window does allow for outside viewing to assess the outside conditions priorto opening the exit. The evacuee can then open the exit and step out onto the wing and move along the wing to assess the conditions where they would make first contact withthe ground. At that point, ifthe conditions were not acceptable, evacuees would search for another location from which to exit offofthe wing. To enforce literal compliance that is more stringentthan ouroriginal intent for the rule wouldresult in an unnecessary burden onthe petitioner. The 

### FAA's decision In consideration ofthe foregoing, I find that a grant ofexemption is in the public interest. Therefore, pursuantto the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 40113 and 44701 delegated to me 4by the Administrator, I grant Bombardier Aerospace an exemption from 14 CFR 

### § 25.809(a) at amendment 25-116. The exemption is granted to the extent necessary to allow Bombardier Aerospace to partially comply withthe outside-viewingrequirements for the overwing exits. Specifically, the exemptionprovides relieffrom the requirement that overwing exits permit viewing ofthe likely areas ofevacuee ground contact when the exits are closed. This exemption allows viewing the first point ofcontact with the ground after the exit has been opened and the evacuee is on the upper surface ofthe wing, under all lighting and landing-gear conditions, onthe Bombardier Global 7000/8000 Model BD-700-2A12 and BD-700-2A13 airplanes. Bombardier Aerospace must demonstrate compliance with all other requirements of 14 CFR25.809(a) at amendment 25-116 for these airplanes.

Issued in Renton, Washington, on 

### JAN 

## · 302015



# -fl-rc!'.~

**·** Jeffrey E. Duven Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate Aircraft Certification Service



### 5