U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION August 2011

REGULATORY GUIDE

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY RESEARCH

The NRC issues regulatory guides to describe and make available to the public methods that the NRC staff considers acceptable 

for use in implementing specific parts of the agency’s regulations, techniques that the staff uses in evaluating specific problems 

or postulated accidents, and data that the staff needs in reviewing applications for permits and licenses. Regulatory guides are not 

substitutes for regulations, and compliance with them is not required. Methods and solutions that differ from those set forth in 

regulatory guides will be deemed acceptable if they provide a basis for the findings required for the issuance or continuance of a 

permit or license by the Commission. 

This guide was issued after consideration of comments received from the public. 

Regulatory guides are issued in 10 broad divisions: 1, Power Reactors; 2, Research and Test Reactors; 3, Fuels and Materials 

Facilities; 4, Environmental and Siting; 5, Materials and Plant Protection; 6, Products; 7, Transportation; 8, Occupational Health; 

9, Antitrust and Financial Review; and 10, General. 

Electronic copies of this guide and other recently issued guides are available through the NRC’s public Web site under the 

Regulatory Guides document collection of the NRC Library at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/ and through the 

NRC’s Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html, 

under Accession No. ML092900004. The regulatory analysis may be found in ADAMS under Accession No. ML112101610. 

REGULATORY GUIDE 1.217 

 (Draft was issued as DG-1176, dated July 2009) 

GUIDANCE FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF 

BEYOND-DESIGN-BASIS AIRCRAFT IMPACTS 

A. INTRODUCTION 

This regulatory guide (RG) describes a method that the staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) considers acceptable for use in satisfying the regulations at Title 10, of the Code of 

Federal Regulations, Part 50, “Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities” 

(10 CFR Part 50) (Ref. 1), regarding the consideration of aircraft impacts for new nuclear power reactors. 

In particular, this RG endorses the methodologies described in the industry guidance document, Nuclear 

Energy Institute (NEI) 07-13, “Methodology for Performing Aircraft Impact Assessments for New Plant 

Designs,” Revision 8, dated April 2011 (Ref. 2). The public version of NEI 07-13 can be found under 

Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML111440006. 

Publicly available documents created or received at the NRC are available electronically at the NRC 

Library on the internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this page, the public can 

enter the ADAMS database, which provides text and image files of the NRC’s public documents. 

Persons who do not have access to ADAMS, or who encounter problems in accessing the documents 

located in ADAMS, may contact the reference staff in the NRC’s Public Document Room by telephone at 

1-899-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at pdr.resource@nrc.gov. Non-public versions of this RG 

and NEI 07-13 contain more specific details about the methodology used in performing aircraft impact 

assessments and will be handled under Safeguards Information (SGI) controls. Because the nonpublic 

guidance documents will contain SGI, the documents will only be made available to those individuals 

who have a need to know and who are otherwise qualified to access SGI. Plant designers (including their 
RG 1.217, Page 2 

employees and agents) who meet the NRC’s requirements for access to SGI will be entitled to use the 

more detailed guidance documents to perform the aircraft impact assessments. 

This regulatory guide contains information collection requirements covered by 10 CFR Part 50 

that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved under OMB control number 3150-0011. 

The NRC may neither conduct nor sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information 

collection request or requirement unless the requesting document displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. This regulatory guide is a rule as designated in the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801–

808). However, the NRC has determined this regulatory guide is not a major rule as designated by the 

Congressional Review Act and has verified this determination with the OMB 

B. DISCUSSION 

Background 

In 2009, the NRC amended its regulations to require applicants for new nuclear power reactors 

to perform a design-specific assessment of the effects of the impact of a large, commercial aircraft on the 

facility (74 FR 28111; June 12, 2009) (Ref. 3). The requirements affected or adopted by this rulemaking 

include 10 CFR 50.8, “Information Collection Requirements: OMB Approval”; 10 CFR 50.34, “Contents 

of Applications; Technical Information”; 10 CFR 50.150, “Aircraft Impact Assessment”; 10 CFR 52.47, 

“Contents of Applications; Technical Information” (Ref. 4); 10 CFR 52.59, “Criteria for Renewal”; 

10 CFR 52.79, “Contents of Applications; Technical Information in Final Safety Analysis Report”; 

10 CFR 52.137, “Contents of Applications; Technical Information”; and 10 CFR 52.157, “Contents of 

Applications; Technical Information in Final Safety Analysis Report.” 

The NRC believes that it is prudent for nuclear power plant designers to take into account the 

potential effects of the impact of a large, commercial aircraft. The NRC has determined that the impact of 

a large, commercial aircraft is a beyond-design-basis event, and that NRC requirements that apply to the 

design, construction, testing, operation, and maintenance of design features and functional capabilities for 

design-basis events will not apply to design features or functional capabilities selected by the applicant 

solely to meet the requirements of the aircraft impact rule. The NRC’s approach to aircraft impacts is 

consistent with its previous approach to beyond-design-basis events. The objective of the aircraft impact 

rule is to require nuclear power plant designers to rigorously assess their designs to identify design 

features and functional capabilities that could provide additional inherent protection to withstand the 

effects of an aircraft impact. The NRC expects this rule to result in new nuclear power reactor facilities 

that are inherently more robust with regard to an aircraft impact than if they were designed in the absence 

of the aircraft impact rule. The rule provides an enhanced level of protection beyond that which is 

provided by the existing adequate protection requirements applicable to currently operating power 

reactors. 

The aircraft impact rule applies to applicants for new construction permits (CPs); new operating 

licenses that reference a new CP; new standard design certifications (DCs); the renewal of any of the four 

existing DCs, if the design has not previously been amended to comply with the final rule; new standard 

design approvals (SDAs); manufacturing licenses that do not reference a standard DC or SDA, or that 

reference a standard DC that was issued before the effective date of the rule and has not been amended to 

comply with the rule; and combined licenses that do not reference a standard DC, SDA, or manufactured 

reactor, or that reference a standard DC issued before the effective date of the rule, which has not been 

amended to comply with the rule. All of these applicants, as a whole, are referred to as “applicants for 

new nuclear power reactors.” The aircraft impact rule requires these applicants to assess the effects on 

the designed facility of the impact of a large, commercial aircraft. Using realistic analyses, applicants 
RG 1.217, Page 3 

must identify and incorporate into the design those design features and functional capabilities to show, 

with reduced use of operator action, that the reactor core remains cooled or that the containment remains 

intact and spent fuel cooling or spent fuel pool integrity is maintained (referred to as “the acceptance 

criteria”). 

The aircraft impact rule does not require applicants to submit the aircraft impact assessment to the 

NRC in their applications. However, the assessment will be subject to inspection by the NRC; therefore, 

it must be maintained by the applicant. Applicants are required to describe, in their preliminary or final 

safety analysis reports, the design features and functional capabilities that show that the facility can 

withstand the effects of the aircraft impact. Applicants must also include a concise description of how 

such design features and functional capabilities meet the acceptance criteria of the rule. Applicants and 

licensees are also subject to requirements for the control of changes to the design features and functional 

capabilities identified as a result of complying with the aircraft impact rule. 

From 2007 to 2010, the NRC staff reviewed and commented on the NEI 07-13 guidance 

document to ensure that the guidance did identify an approach that would be sufficient for applicants or 

licensees to demonstrate compliance with the aircraft impact rule. These reviews resulted in several 

revisions to the guidance document. During 2010 NRC staff conducted both open and closed public 

meetings with external stakeholders to assess the lessons-learned from completed aircraft impact 

assessment evaluations. In addition, the Advisory Committee for Reactor Safeguards reviewed and 

commented upon the guidance documents addressing aircraft impact assessments. In April 2011, the 

Nuclear Energy Institute, NEI, accepted and integrated these staff comments with Revision 08 to NEI 96-

07, which was submitted to the NRC for endorsement as an acceptable method for satisfying the NRC’s 

regulations at 10 CFR 50.150(a). 

The NRC staff has reviewed the NEI guidance document, NEI 07-13, Rev. 8, and determined that 

it describes an acceptable approach for assessing the effects of the impact of a large, commercial aircraft 

on a nuclear power plant. The guidance document discusses the characteristics of the large commercial 

aircraft to be assumed in the required assessment, the locations within the plant to be assessed, the 

damage mechanisms to be considered, and the assessment outcomes considered to be acceptable. The 

guidance document describes acceptable methods to determine the scenarios that need to be considered 

for the aircraft impact, acceptable methodologies to determine structural, shock, fire and component 

damage, and the potential for resulting nuclear fuel damage. The guidance document considers relevant 

redundancies, passive features, and defense-in-depth attributes, including consideration of equipment 

functionality, reliability, and availability. The guidance document also ensures appropriate consideration 

of the actual design, construction, and operational practices of the plant. Appropriate acceptance 

guidelines for evaluating the results of such assessments are also provided. The guidance document also 

describes an acceptable level of documentation that will enable the staff to review the assessment. For 

these reasons, the NRC staff believes that the NEI guidance document, NEI 07-13, Rev. 8, provides an 

acceptable method for use in satisfying the NRC’s regulations at 10 CFR 50.150(a). 

C. REGULATORY POSITION 

1. The NRC staff (staff) considers conformance with the guidance in NEI 07-13, Revision 8, an 

acceptable method for use in satisfying the NRC’s requirements in 10 CFR 50.150(a) regarding 

the assessment of aircraft impacts for new nuclear power reactors. 

2. NEI 07-13 references other documents, but this RG does not endorse any of the referenced 

documents. 
RG 1.217, Page 4 

3. Licensees or applicants may use methods other than those provided in NEI 07-13, Revision 8, to 

meet the requirements of 10 CFR 50.150(a). The staff will review such methods and determine 

their acceptability on a case-by-case basis. 

D. IMPLEMENTATION 

The purpose of this section is to provide information on how applicants and licensees1 may use 

this guide and information regarding the NRC’s plans for using this regulatory guide. In addition, it 

describes how the NRC staff complies with the Backfit Rule (10 CFR 50.109) and any applicable finality 

provisions in 10 CFR Part 52. 

Use by Applicants and Licensees 

Applicants and licensees may voluntarily2

 use the guidance in this document to demonstrate 

compliance with the underlying NRC regulations. Methods or solutions that differ from those described 

in this regulatory guide may be deemed acceptable if they provide sufficient basis and information for the 

NRC staff to verify that the proposed alternative demonstrates compliance with the appropriate NRC 

regulations. Current licensees may continue to use guidance the NRC found acceptable for complying 

with the identified regulations as long as their current licensing basis remains unchanged. 

Licensees may use the information in this regulatory guide for actions which do not require NRC 

review and approval such as changes to a facility design under 10 CFR 50.59. Licensees may use the 

information in this regulatory guide or applicable parts to resolve regulatory or inspection issues. 

Use by NRC Staff 

 During regulatory discussions on plant specific operational issues, the staff may discuss with 

licensees, various actions consistent with staff positions in this regulatory guide, as one acceptable means 

of meeting the underlying NRC regulatory requirement. Such discussions would not ordinarily be 

considered backfitting even if prior versions of this regulatory guide are part of the licensing basis of the 

facility. However, unless this regulatory guide is part of the licensing basis for a facility, the staff may 

not represent to the licensee that the licensee’s failure to comply with the positions in this regulatory 

guide constitutes a violation. 

If an existing licensee voluntarily seeks a license amendment or change and (1) the NRC staff’s 

consideration of the request involves a regulatory issue directly relevant to this new or revised regulatory 

guide and (2) the specific subject matter of this regulatory guide is an essential consideration in the staff’s 

determination of the acceptability of the licensee’s request, then the staff may request that the licensee 

either follow the guidance in this regulatory guide or provide an equivalent alternative process that 

demonstrates compliance with the underlying NRC regulatory requirements. This is not considered 

backfitting as defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1) or a violation of any of the issue finality provisions in 10 

CFR Part 52. 

 

1

 In this section, “licensees” refers to licensees of nuclear power plants under 10 CFR Parts 50 and 52; and the term 

“applicants,” refers to applicants for licenses and permits for (or relating to) nuclear power plants under 10 CFR Parts 

50 and 52, and applicants for standard design approvals and standard design certifications under 10 CFR Part 52. 

2

 In this section, “voluntary” and “voluntarily” means that the licensee is seeking the action of its own accord, without 

the force of a legally binding requirement or an NRC representation of further licensing or enforcement action. 
RG 1.217, Page 5 

The NRC staff does not intend or approve any imposition or backfitting of the guidance in this 

regulatory guide. The NRC staff does not expect any existing licensee to use or commit to using the 

guidance in this regulatory guide, unless the licensee makes a change to its licensing basis. The NRC 

staff does not expect or plan to request licensees to voluntarily adopt this regulatory guide to resolve a 

generic regulatory issue. The NRC staff does not expect or plan to initiate NRC regulatory action which 

would require the use of this regulatory guide. Examples of such unplanned NRC regulatory actions 

include issuance of an order requiring the use of the regulatory guide, requests for information under 

10 CFR 50.54(f) as to whether a licensee intends to commit to use of this regulatory guide, generic 

communication, or promulgation of a rule requiring the use of this regulatory guide without further 

backfit consideration. 

Additionally, an existing applicant may be required to adhere to new rules, orders, or guidance if 

10 CFR 50.109(a)(3) applies. 

Conclusion 

This regulatory guide is not being imposed upon current licensees and may be voluntarily used by 

existing licensees. In addition, this regulatory guide is issued in conformance with all applicable internal 

NRC policies and procedures governing backfitting. Accordingly, the NRC staff issuance of this 

regulatory guide is not considered backfitting, as defined in 10 CFR 50.109(a)(1), nor is it deemed to be 

in conflict with any of the issue finality provisions in 10 CFR Part 52. 

If a licensee believes that the NRC is either using this regulatory guide or requesting or requiring 

the licensee to implement the methods or processes in this regulatory guide in a manner inconsistent with 

the discussion in this Implementation section, then the licensee may file a backfit appeal with the NRC in 

accordance with the guidance in NUREG-1409 and NRC Management Directive 8.4. 
RG 1.217, Page 6 

REFERENCES3

1. 10 CFR Part 50, “Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,” U.S. Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC. 

2. NEI 07-13, “Methodology for Performing Aircraft Impact Assessments for New Plant Designs,” 

Revision 8, Nuclear Energy Institute, Washington, DC, April 2011, ADAMS Accession No. 

ML111440006.4

3. 74 FR 28111, “Consideration of Aircraft Impacts for New Nuclear Power Reactors; Final Rule,” 

Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 112, pp. 28111 and 28143, Washington, DC, 

June 12, 2009. 

4. 10 CFR Part 52, “Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,” 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC. 

 

3

 Publicly available NRC published documents such as Regulations, Regulatory Guides, NUREGs, and Generic Letters 

listed herein are available electronically through the NRC Library on the NRC’s public Web site at: 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/. Copies are also available for inspection or copying for a fee from the 

NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR) at 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD; the mailing address is USNRC PDR, 

Washington, DC 20555; telephone 301-415-4737 or (800) 397-4209; fax (301) 415-3548; and e-mail 

PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. 

4

 Copies of the non-NRC documents included in these references may be obtained directly from the publishing 

organization.