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

45589

Vol. 62, No. 167

Thursday, August 28, 1997

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. NM–25; Notice No. SC–97–4–

NM]

Special Conditions: Boeing Model 747

Series Airplanes; Overhead Crew Rest

Area

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed special

conditions.

SUMMARY: This notice proposes to

amend special conditions issued to the

Boeing Commercial Airplane Company

for the Model 747 series airplanes. This

airplane has a novel or unusual design

feature associated with the overhead

crew rest area. Special Conditions No.

25–ANM–16 were issued on November

13, 1987, addressing this installation.

On January 23, 1997, Boeing applied for

a type design change which proposes to

add an additional feature; the

installation of curtains or partitions in

the crew rest area. Since the applicable

airworthiness regulations, including

those contained in Special Conditions

No. 25–ANM–16, do not contain

adequate or appropriate safety standards

for this particular design feature, this

notice contains the additional safety

standards which the Administrator

finds necessary to establish a level of

safety equivalent to that established by

the airworthienss standards for

transport category airplanes.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before September 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposal

may be mailed in duplicate to Federal

Aviation Administration, Office of the

Assistant Chief Counsel, Attn: Rules

Docket (ANM–7), Docket No. NM–25,

1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA

98055–4056; or delivered in duplicate to

the Office of the Assistant Chief Counsel

at the above address. Comments must be

marked: Docket No. NM–25. Comments

may be inspected in the Rules Docket

weekdays, except Federal holidays,

between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg

Dunn, FAA, Transport Standards Staff,

Standardization Branch, ANM–113,

1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, WA

98055–4056; telephone (425) 227–2799,

or facsimile (425) 227–1149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

Interested persons are invited to

participate in the making of the

proposed special conditions by

submitting such written data, views, or

arguments as they may desire.

Communications should identify the

regulatory docket or notice number and

be submitted in duplicate to the address

specified above. All communications

received on or before the closing date

for comments will be considered by the

Administrator. The proposal described

in this notice may be changed in light

of the comments received. All

comments received will be available in

the rules docket for examination by

interested persons, both before and after

the closing date for comments. A report

summarizing each substantive public

contact with FAA personnel concerning

this rulemaking will be filed in the

docket. Persons wishing the FAA to

acknowledge receipt of their comments

submitted in response to this notice

must submit with those comments a self

addressed, stamped postcard on which

the following statement is made:

‘‘Comments to Docket No. NM–25.’’ The

postcard will be date stamped and

returned to the commenter.

Background

On December 17, 1986, the Boeing

Commercial Airplane Company applied

for a change to Type Certificate No.

A20WE to include Model 747 series

airplanes with overhead crew rest areas

installed. The crew rest area was to be

installed above the main passenger

cabin in the vicinity of the Number 5

passenger door. This is an area that had

not been used for this purpose in any

previous transport-category airplane.

Due to the novel or unusual features

associated with the installation of those

crew rest areas, Special Conditions No.

25–ANM–16 were issued on November

13, 1987, to provide a level of safety

equal to that established by the

regulations incorporated by reference in

the type certificate. Upon issuance,

Special Conditions No. 25–ANM–16

became part of the regulations

incorporated by reference in Type

Certificate No. A20WE for Boeing 747

series airplanes.

Boeing Commercial Airplane Group

now proposes certification of overhead

crew rest areas that would be divided

into three sections by a hard partition

and a curtain. These crew rest areas,

which would be in the same location,

would be designated for in-flight use

only and would include additional

novel or unusual design features not

incorporated in the previous crew rest

areas. Because of these additional

features, the regulations incorporated by

reference in Type Certificate No.

A20WE, including Special Conditions

25–ANM–16, do not contain adequate or

appropriate safety standards. Special

Conditions 25–ANM–16 would,

therefore, be amended to contain the

additional safety standards found

necessary to establish a level of safety

equivalent to that established in the

regulations.

Discussion

A hard partition separates the crew

rest area into forward and aft sections

while a door in the partition provides

access between the forward and aft

sections. A curtain slides in the forward

and aft directions to visually divide the

aft section of the crew rest area. Item 3

of Special Conditions No. 25–ANM–16

requires that a stairway be installed

between the main deck and the crew

rest area. Additionally, there must be an

alternate evacuation route for occupants

of the crew rest area, located on the

opposite side of the crew rest area or

sufficiently separated within the

compartment from the stairway. The

installation of a hard partition creates an

area within the crew rest area which

does not have a means of egressing

directly to the main cabin.

In addition to the partition, a curtain

has been added to the crew rest area

which further breaks up the crew rest

area into sections. This was not

considered in Special Conditions No.

25–ANM–16. The curtain and partition

installation also reduces the

accessibility to the emergency

equipment and communication

controls, and has the potential to

prevent the occupants from being able

to easily locate the primary and
45590 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 167 / Thursday, August 28, 1997 / Proposed Rules

secondary escape means. This could

cause additional confusion during an

emergency.

Since the installation of a door in the

crew rest area raises concerns about

operational reliability during an inflight emergency and since the related

paragraphs of § 25.819 from which the

original special conditions were

developed require two evacuation

routes, design features must be provided

to assure that occupants of the forward

section will be able to vacate the crew

rest area in the event of an in-flight

emergency. Additional emergency

equipment and two-way communication

equipment will also be required in the

forward section since the equipment in

the aft area will not be readily accessible

to the forward section occupants in the

event of an in-flight emergency.

A limitation in the Airplane Flight

Manual or other suitable means

requiring that crewmembers be trained

in the use of the evacuation routes

would be required.

The additional proposed safety

standards would be contained in

proposed new Item 13. Although Items

1 through 12 are standards already

adopted in Special Conditions No. 25–

ANM–16 and are not subject to further

public comment, they are repeated in

this notice in order to place the

additional proposed standards in proper

perspective.

Delivery of Model 747–400 airplanes

with these additional novel or unusual

design features is currently scheduled

for September 26, 1997. Because a delay

would significantly affect the

applicant’s installation and type

certification of the crew rest areas, the

public comment period is only 20 days.

Type Certification Basis

The Type Certification Basis for the

Boeing Model 747 series prior to the

747–400 is Part 25 of the FAR effective

February 1, 1965, as amended by

Amendments 25–1 through 25–8, plus

Amendments 25–15, 25–17, 25–18, 25–

20, and 25–39, with certain exceptions

and several sets of special conditions,

which are identified in Type Certificate

Data Sheet No. A20WE. These

exceptions are not pertinent to the

subject of overhead crew rest areas.

The regulations incorporated by

reference in Type Certificate No.

A20WE for the Boeing Model 747–400

series airplanes include Part 25 of the

FAR as amended by Amendments 25–1

through 25–59, with certain exceptions

not relevant to the installation of an

overhead crew rest area.

In addition, the regulations

incorporated by reference for all 747

series include the noise certification

requirements of Part 36 of the FAR,

emission standards, and a number of

special conditions, including Special

Conditions No. 25–ANM–16.

If the Administrator finds that the

applicable airworthiness regulations

(i.e., Part 25 as amended) do not contain

adequate or appropriate safety standards

for the Boeing model 747 because of a

novel or unusual design feature, special

conditions are prescribed under the

provisions of § 21.16.

Special conditions, as appropriate, are

issued in accordance with § 11.49 of the

FAR after public notice, as required by

§§ 11.28 and 11.29(b), and become part

of the type certification basis in

accordance with § 21.101(b)(2).

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 manufacturer who

applied to the FAA for approval of these

features on the airplane.

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25

Air transportation, Aircraft, Aviation

safety, safety.

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 proposes the following

additional special condition (Item No.

13) as part of the type certification basis

for the Boeing Model 747 series

airplanes with overhead crew rest areas

installed. (Existing special conditions

(Item Nos. 1–12) are repeated below for

clarity.)

1. Occupancy of the overhead crew

rest area is limited to a maximum of 10

crewmembers. Occupancy during taxi,

takeoff, or landing is not permitted.

2. There must be a stairway between

the main deck and the crew rest area

and there must be an alternate

evacuation route for occupants of the

crew rest area.

The stairway and alternate evacuation

route must be located on opposite sides

of the crew rest area or have sufficient

separation within the compartment. The

stairway and the alternate evacuation

route must provide for evacuation of an

incapacitated person, with assistance,

from the crew rest area to the main

deck, must not be dependent on any

powered device, and must be designed

to minimize the possibility of blockage

which might result from fire,

mechanical or structural failure. The

crewmember procedures for carriage of

an incapacitated person must be

established.

3. An exit sign meeting the

requirements of § 25.812(b)(1)(i) must be

provided in the crew rest area near the

stairway.

4. In the event the airplane’s main

power system should fail, emergency

illumination of the crew rest area must

be automatically provided. Unless two

independent sources of normal lighting

are provided, the emergency

illumination of the crew rest area must

be automatically provided if the crew

rest area normal lighting system should

fail. The illumination level must be

sufficient for the occupants of the crew

rest area to locate, and descend to the

main deck by means of the stairway

and/or the alternate evacuation route,

and to read any required operating

instructions.

5. There must be a means for two-way

voice communication between

crewmembers on the flight deck and

occupants of the crew rest area, and

between crewmembers at least one flight

attendant seat on the main deck and

occupants of the crew rest area.

6. There must also be either public

address speaker(s), or other means of

alerting the occupants of the crew rest

area to an emergency situation, installed

in the crew rest area.

7. There must be a means, readily

detectable by occupants of the crew rest

area, that indicates when seat belts

should be fastened and when smoking

is prohibited.

8. For each occupant permitted in the

crew rest area, there must be an

approved seat or berth that must be able

to withstand the maximum flight loads

when occupied.

9. The following equipment must be

provided:

a. At least one approved fire

extinguisher appropriate to the kinds of

fires likely to occur.

b. One protective breathing device,

having TSO–C99 authorization or

equivalent, suitable for firefighting.

c. One flashlight.

10. A smoke detection system that

annunciates in the flight deck and is

audible in the crew rest area must be

provided.

11. A supplemental oxygen system

equivalent to that provided for main

deck passengers must be provided for

each seat and berth.

12. There must be a limitation in the

Airplane Flight Manual or other suitable

means requiring that crewmembers be

trained in the use of the evacuation

routes.

13. The following requirements apply

to crew rest areas that are divided into
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 167 / Thursday, August 28, 1997 / Proposed Rules 45591

several sections by the installation of

curtains or partitions.

a. To compensate for lack of crowd

awareness, there must be an audible

alert concurrent with automatic

presentation of supplemental oxygen

masks in each section of the crew rest

area, whether or not seats or berths are

installed in the section. There must also

be a means by which the flightcrew can

manually deploy the oxygen masks.

b. A placard is required adjacent to

each curtain that visually divides or

separates the overhead crew rest area

into small areas to serve a function of

creating privacy. The placard must

require that the curtain(s) remain open

when the private area it creates is

unoccupied. The vestibule area adjacent

to the stair well is not considered a

private area, and as such, its vacancy

does not require a placard.

c. Each crew rest section created by

the installation of a curtain must meet

the requirements of items 4, 6, 7, and 10

of these special conditions with the

curtain open or closed.

d. Overhead crew rest areas, which

are visually divided to the extent that

evacuation could be affected, must have

exit signs meeting the requirements of

§ 25.812(b)(1)(i) in each separate area of

the crew rest which direct occupants to

the primary stairway exit.

e. Sections within an overhead crew

rest area that are created by the

installation of a rigid partition with a

door physically separating the sections

require either a secondary evacuation

route from each section of the crew rest

area to the main deck or it must be

shown that any door between the

sections cannot be jammed, rendering

the door unusable. In either case, any

door between compartments must be

shown to be frangible from both

directions and openable when crowded

against. There can be no more than one

door between each section of a crew rest

area and the primary stairway exit. Exit

signs meeting the requirements of

§ 25.812(b)(1)(i) that direct occupants to

the primary stairway exit must be

provided in each section of the crew rest

area.

f. Each smaller area, within the main

crew rest area, created by the

installation of a partition with a door

must individually meet the

requirements of items 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and

10 of these special conditions with the

door open or closed.

Issued in Renton, Washington, on August

20, 1997.

John J. Hickey,

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service,

ANM–100.

[FR Doc. 97–22921 Filed 8–27–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Airspace Docket No. 97–ASW–4]

Proposed Realignment of Jet Routes;

Texas

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: This notice proposes to

realign 14 jet routes located in the

Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW), TX, area. These

proposed realignments would remove

all high altitude navigation routes from

the DFW Very High Frequency

Omnidirectional Range/Tactical Air

Navigation (VORTAC) and realign them

to existing navigational aids (NAVAIDs)

located in the DFW area. This proposal

is a portion of a master plan to relocate

the DFW VORTAC 3/4 nautical miles

(NM) to the west of its current position

and to provide more NAVAID capacity

for airport traffic use by eliminating the

high altitude en route traffic service.

Additionally, Jet Route J–66 will be

further realigned west of the DFW area

to include the Big Springs, TX,

VORTAC as part of its route structure.

This realignment would allow pilots to

fly at lower minimum enroute altitudes

(MEA) between the Newman, TX, and

Abilene, TX, VORTACs.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before October 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the

proposal in triplicate to: Manager, Air

Traffic Division, ASW–500, Docket No.

97–ASW–4, Federal Aviation

Administration, 2601 Meacham Blvd;

Fort Worth, TX 76193–0500.

The official docket may be examined

in the Rules Docket, Office of the Chief

Counsel, Room 916, 800 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC,

weekdays, except Federal holidays,

between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

An informal docket may also be

examined during normal business hours

at the office of the Regional Air Traffic

Division, Federal Aviation

Administration, 2601 Meacham Blvd;

Fort Worth, TX 76193–0500.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steve Brown, Airspace and Rules

Division, ATA–400, Office of Air Traffic

Airspace Management, Federal Aviation

Administration, 800 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591;

telephone: (202) 267–8783.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

Interested parties are invited to

participate in this proposed rulemaking

by submitting such written data, views,

or arguments as they may desire.

Comments that provide the factual basis

supporting the views and suggestions

presented are particularly helpful in

developing reasoned regulatory

decisions on the proposal. Comments

are specifically invited on the overall

regulatory, aeronautical, economic,

environmental, and energy-related

aspects of the proposal.

Communications should identify the

airspace docket number and be

submitted in triplicate to the address

listed above. Commenters wishing the

FAA to acknowledge receipt of their

comments on this notice must submit

with those comments a self-addressed,

stamped postcard on which the

following statement is made:

‘‘Comments to Airspace Docket No. 97–

ASW–4.’’ The postcard will be date/

time stamped and returned to the

commenter. All communications

received on or before the specified

closing date for comments will be

considered before taking action on the

proposed rule. The proposal contained

in this notice may be changed in light

of comments received. All comments

submitted will be available for

examination in the Rules Docket both

before and after the closing date for

comments. A report summarizing each

substantive public contact with FAA

personnel concerned with this

rulemaking will be filed in the docket.

Availability of NPRM’s

Any person may obtain a copy of this

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)

by submitting a request to the Federal

Aviation Administration, Office of Air

Traffic Airspace Management, 800

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20591, or by calling

(202) 267–8783. Communications must

identify the notice number of this

NPRM. Persons interested in being

placed on a mailing list for future