This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

24225 

Vol. 80, No. 83 

Thursday, April 30, 2015 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2015–0758; Notice No. 25– 

15–05–SC] 

Special Conditions: L–3 

Communications Integrated Systems, 

Boeing Model 747–8 Series Airplanes; 

Therapeutic Oxygen for Medical Use 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed special 

conditions. 

SUMMARY: This action proposes special 

conditions for the Boeing Model 747–8 

series airplanes. This airplane, as 

modified by L–3 Communications 

Integrated Systems (L–3), will have a 

novel or unusual design feature when 

compared to the state of technology 

envisioned in the airworthiness 

standards for transport-category 

airplanes. This design feature is 

therapeutic oxygen for medical use 

installed in an executive-interior 

airplane. 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 May 20, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2015–0758 

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 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: 

Robert Hettman, FAA, Propulsion and 

Mechanical Systems, ANM–112, 

Transport Airplane Directorate, Aircraft 

Certification Service, 1601 Lind Avenue 

SW., Renton, Washington, 98057–3356; 

telephone 425–227–2683; 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 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 May 10, 2011, L–3 applied for a 

supplemental type certificate (STC) for 

therapeutic oxygen for medical use in 

the Boeing Model 747–8 series airplanes 

equipped with executive interiors. The 

Boeing Model 747–8 series airplane, 

which is a derivative of the Boeing 

Model 747–400 airplane currently 

approved under Type Certificate No. 

A20WE, is a four-engine jet-transport 

airplane that will have a maximum 

takeoff weight of 970,000 lbs. The 

Model 747–8 airplane will have 153 

seats approved for taxi, takeoff, and 

landing (19 crewmembers and 134 

passengers). 

Section 25.1445 includes standards 

for oxygen-distribution systems when 

oxygen is supplied to flightcrew and 

passengers. If a common source of 

supply is used, § 25.1445(a)(2) requires 

a means to separately reserve the 

minimum supply required by the 

flightcrew. This requirement was 

included in § 25.1445 when the 

regulations were codified, and was 

originally added to Civil Air Regulations 

4b.831 at Amendment 4b–13, effective 

September 21, 1949. 

It is apparent that the regulation is 

intended to protect the flightcrew by 

ensuring that an adequate supply of 

oxygen is available to complete a 

descent and landing following a loss of 

cabin pressure. When the regulation was 

written, the only passenger-oxygen 

system designs were supplementaloxygen systems intended to protect 

passengers from hypoxia in the event of 

a decompression. Existing passengeroxygen systems did not include design 

features that would allow the flightcrew 

to control oxygen to passengers during 

flight. There are no similar requirements 

when oxygen is supplied from the same 

source to passengers for use during a 

decompression and for discretionary/

first-aid use any time during the flight. 

In the proposed design, the passenger 

and therapeutic-oxygen systems use the 

same source of oxygen. The flightcrewoxygen emergency system uses a 

dedicated source of oxygen independent 

from the passenger-oxygen system. An 

oxygen-duration chart and operation 

procedures will be incorporated into the 

‘‘Flight Crew Operating Manual’’ and 

‘‘Flight Manual Supplement,’’ as part of 

the STC, to provide information to the 

flightcrew to determine when to cease 

operation of the therapeutic system as a 


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24226 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 83 / Thursday, April 30, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

means by which to reserve the 

minimum supply of supplemental 

passenger oxygen. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under the provisions of § 21.101, L– 

3 must show that the Boeing Model 

747–8 series airplane, as changed, 

continues to meet the applicable 

provisions of the regulations listed in 

Type Certificate No. A20WE, or the 

applicable regulations in effect on the 

date of application for the change, 

except for earlier amendments as agreed 

upon by the FAA. 

If the Administrator finds that the 

applicable airworthiness regulations 

(i.e., Title 14, Code of Federal 

Regulations (14 CFR) part 25) do not 

contain adequate or appropriate safety 

standards for the Boeing Model 747–8 

series 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 applicant apply 

for an STC to modify any other model 

included on the same type certificate to 

incorporate the same novel or unusual 

design feature, these special conditions 

would also apply to the other model 

under § 21.101. 

In addition to the applicable 

airworthiness regulations and special 

conditions, the Boeing Model 747–8 

series 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 

L–3 is seeking certification of an 

interior modification to Boeing Model 

747–8 series airplanes to include 

executive and medical-patient transport. 

As a part of the executive-interior 

installation, the airplane will be 

outfitted with a therapeutic-oxygen 

system. The therapeutic-oxygen system 

shares the same supply of oxygen with 

the existing passenger-oxygen system 

and consists of multiple constant-flow 

oxygen outlets located throughout the 

cabin. The flightcrew can turn the 

therapeutic-oxygen system on and off 

from the flight deck to allow use at any 

point during the flight, and to preserve 

a sufficient remaining oxygen reserve, in 

the event therapeutic oxygen is used for 

medical purposes, to accommodate the 

passengers in the event of an 

emergency-oxygen situation. 

The gaseous passenger-oxygen system 

will be modified to accommodate 

additional supply cylinders and several 

therapeutic-oxygen outlets located 

throughout the cabin. Each therapeutic 

outlet will provide a constant flow of 

oxygen at either 2 or 4 liters per minute. 

The flightcrew will be able to control 

the flow of therapeutic oxygen at any 

time during flight. Therapeutic-oxygen 

systems previously have been certified, 

and were generally considered an 

extension of the passenger-oxygen 

system for the purpose of defining the 

applicable regulations. As a result, the 

applicable regulations included those 

that applied to oxygen systems in 

general, or supplemental-oxygen 

systems. 

Discussion 

No specific regulations address the 

design and installation of oxygen 

systems used specifically for therapeutic 

applications. Existing requirements, 

such as §§ 25.1309, 25.1441(b) and (c), 

25.1451, and 24.1453, in the Boeing 

Model 747–8 airplane certification basis 

applicable to this STC project, provide 

some design standards appropriate for 

oxygen-system installations. However, 

additional design standards for systems 

supplementing the existing oxygen 

system are needed to complement the 

existing applicable requirements. The 

addition of equipment involved in this 

installation, and the unsafe conditions 

that can exist when the oxygen content 

of an enclosed area becomes too high 

because of system leaks, malfunction, or 

damage from external sources, make it 

necessary to ensure that adequate safety 

standards are applied to the design and 

installation of the oxygen system in 

Boeing Model 747–8 series airplanes. 

These potential hazards also necessitate 

development and application of 

appropriate additional design and 

installation standards. 

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. 

Applicability 

As discussed above, these proposed 

special conditions are applicable to the 

Boeing Model 747–8 series airplanes. 

Should L–3 apply at a later date for a 

supplemental type certificate to modify 

any other model included on Type 

Certificate No. A20WE to incorporate 

the same novel or unusual design 

feature, these special conditions would 

apply to that model as well. 

Certification of these Boeing Model 

747–8 series airplanes is currently 

scheduled for June 2015. Therefore, 

because a delay would significantly 

affect the applicant’s installation of the 

system and the certification of the 

airplane, we are shortening the publiccomment period to 20 days. 

Conclusion 

This action affects only certain novel 

or unusual design features on one model 

series of airplanes. It is not a rule of 

general applicability, and affects only 

the applicant who applied to the FAA 

for approval of these features on the 

airplane. 

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 Boeing 

Model 747–8 series airplanes as 

modified by L–3 Communications 

Integrated Systems. 

The distribution system for the 

therapeutic-oxygen system must be 

designed and installed as follows: 

When oxygen is supplied to 

passengers for both supplemental and 

therapeutic purposes, the distribution 

system must be designed for either— 

1. A source of supplemental supply 

for protection from hypoxia following a 

loss of cabin pressure, and a separate 

source for therapeutic purposes, or 

2. A common source of supply, with 

means to separately reserve the 

minimum supply required by the 

passengers for supplemental use 

following a loss of cabin pressure. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on April 17, 

2015. 

Victor Wicklund, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–10103 Filed 4–29–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

28 CFR Part 16 

[CPCLO Order No. 005–2015] 

Privacy Act of 1974; Implementation; 

Correction 

AGENCY: Department of Justice. 


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