51084 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 149 / Wednesday, August 3, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 

seated position. Evaluation during 

rebound does not need to be considered. 

7. ATD and Test Conditions 

Longitudinal tests conducted to 

measure the injury criteria above must 

be performed with the FAA Hybrid III 

ATD, as described in SAE 1999–01– 

1609. The tests must be conducted with 

an undeformed floor, at the most-critical 

yaw cases for injury, and with all lateral 

structural supports (e.g., armrests or 

walls) installed. 

Structure-Mounted Airbag and 

Inflatable Lapbelt Special Conditions 

When present, the structure-mounted 

airbag device must meet special 

conditions no. 25–605–SC, ‘‘Boeing 

Model 787–9 Airplane; StructureMounted Airbags.’’ When present, the 

inflatable lapbelt(s) must meet special 

conditions no. 25–431–SC, ‘‘Boeing 

Model 787 Series Airplanes; Seats with 

Inflatable Lapbelts.’’ 

Note: As indicated in the special 

conditions above, airbags and inflatable 

lapbelts must be shown to not affect 

emergency-egress capabilities in the main 

aisle, cross-aisle, and passageway. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on July 27, 

2016. 

Victor Wicklund, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2016–18449 Filed 8–2–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2016–4136; Special 

Conditions No. 25–621–SC] 

Special Conditions: The Boeing 

Company Model 777–300ER Airplanes; 

Dynamic Test Requirements for SingleOccupant Oblique (Side-Facing) Seats 

with Inflatable Restraints 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final special conditions; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: These special conditions are 

issued to The Boeing Company (Boeing) 

for their Model 777–300ER airplane. 

This airplane has novel or unusual 

design features associated with singleoccupant oblique (side-facing) seats 

equipped with inflatable restraints. The 

applicable airworthiness regulations do 

not contain adequate or appropriate 

safety standards for occupants of seats 

installed at an angle of greater than 18 

degrees, but substantially less than 90 

degrees, to the vertical plane containing 

the centerline of the airplane, nor for 

inflatable restraints or related airbag 

devices. These 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: This action is effective on Boeing 

on August 3, 2016. We must receive 

your comments by September 19, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2016–4136 

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: John 

Shelden, Airframe and Cabin Safety, 

ANM–115, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification 

Service, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., 

Renton, Washington 98057–3356; 

telephone 425–227–2785; facsimile 

425–227–1149. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA 

has determined that notice of, and 

opportunity for prior public comment 

on, these special conditions are 

impracticable because these procedures 

would significantly delay issuance of 

the design approval and thus delivery of 

the affected airplane. In addition, the 

substance of these special conditions 

has been subject to the public-comment 

process in several prior instances with 

no substantive comments received. 

The FAA therefore finds that good 

cause exists for making these special 

conditions effective upon publication in 

the Federal Register. 

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 December 24, 2015, Boeing 

Commercial Airplanes applied for a 

design change to type certificate no. 

T00001SE for single-occupant seats 

installed at an oblique angle to the 

vertical plane containing the centerline 

of the airplane, and equipped with 

inflatable lapbelts, in the Boeing Model 

777–300ER airplane. The Model 777– 

300ER airplane is a wide body, swept 

wing, conventional tail, twin-engine, 

turbofan-powered, transport-category 

airplane. 

Type Certification Basis 

The type certification basis for the 

Model 777–300ER airplane is 14 CFR 

part 25, effective February 1, 1965, as 

amended by Amendments 25–1 through 

25–98, including special conditions 25– 

295–SC, 25–187A–SC, and 25–569–SC. 

In addition, the certification basis 

includes certain special conditions, 

exemptions, or later amended sections 

of the applicable part that are not 

relevant to these proposed special 

conditions. 

If the Administrator finds that the 

applicable airworthiness regulations 

(i.e., 14 CFR part 25) do not contain 

adequate or appropriate safety standards 

for the Boeing Model 777–300ER 

airplane because of a novel or unusual 


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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 149 / Wednesday, August 3, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 51085 

design feature, special conditions are 

prescribed under the provisions of 

§ 21.16. 

Under the provisions of title 14, Code 

of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 21.101, 

Boeing must show that the Model 777– 

300ER airplane, as changed, continues 

to meet the applicable provisions of the 

regulations listed in type certificate no. 

T00001SE or the applicable regulations 

in effect on the date of application for 

the change, except for earlier 

amendments as agreed upon by the 

FAA. These regulations will be 

incorporated into type certificate no. 

T00001SE after type certification 

approval of the 777–300ER. 

In addition to the applicable 

airworthiness regulations and special 

conditions, the Boeing Model 777– 

300ER 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 

The Boeing Model 777–300ER 

airplane will incorporate the following 

novel or unusual design features: 

The seating configuration proposed by 

Boeing in certification plan no. 17174, 

revision A, ‘‘Installation of B/E 

Aerospace Super-Diamond Model 

Business Class Seats on WE736,’’ 

consists of Super Diamond model 

oblique (side-facing), business-class 

passenger seats installed in a Boeing 

Model 777–300ER airplane. These seats 

will also incorporate inflatable 

restraints. 

The applicable airworthiness 

regulations do not contain adequate or 

appropriate safety standards for 

occupants of seats installed in the 

proposed configuration. To provide a 

level of safety equivalent to that 

afforded to occupants of forward- and 

aft-facing seats, additional airworthiness 

standards, in the form of special 

conditions, are necessary. Although 

special conditions no. 25–187A–SC, 25– 

295–SC, and 25–569–SC already apply 

to the 777–300ER, they do not directly 

address the complex occupant-loading 

conditions introduced by this oblique 

(side-facing) seat configuration, nor do 

they reflect the latest findings of ongoing research. 

Discussion 

Amendment 25–15 to part 25, dated 

October 24, 1967, introduced the subject 

of side-facing seats, and a requirement 

that each occupant in a side-facing seat 

must be protected from head injury by 

a safety belt and a cushioned rest that 

will support the arms, shoulders, head, 

and spine. 

Subsequently, Amendment 25–20, 

dated April 23, 1969, clarified the 

definition of side-facing seats to require 

that each occupant of a seat that is 

positioned at more than an 18-degree 

angle to the vertical plane containing 

the airplane centerline must be 

protected from head injury by a safety 

belt and an energy-absorbing rest that 

supports the arms, shoulders, head, and 

spine; or by a safety belt and shoulder 

harness that prevents the head from 

contacting injurious objects. The FAA 

concluded that a maximum 18-degree 

angle would provide an adequate level 

of safety based on tests that were 

performed at the time, and thus adopted 

that standard. 

Amendment 25–64, dated June 16, 

1988, revised the emergency-landing 

conditions that must be considered in 

the design of the airplane. It revised the 

static-load conditions in § 25.561 and 

added a new § 25.562, requiring 

dynamic testing for all seats approved 

for occupancy during takeoff and 

landing. The intent was to provide an 

improved level of safety for occupants 

on transport-category airplanes. Because 

most seating on transport-category 

airplanes is forward-facing, the pass/fail 

criteria developed in Amendment 25–64 

focused primarily on forward-facing 

seats. Therefore, the testing specified in 

the rule did not provide a complete 

measure of occupant injury in seats that 

are not forward-facing. However, 

§ 25.785 does require that occupants of 

all seats occupied during taxi, takeoff, 

and landing not suffer serious injury as 

a result of the inertia forces specified in 

§§ 25.561 and 25.562. 

To address recent research findings 

and accommodate commercial demand, 

the FAA developed a methodology to 

address all fully side-facing seats (i.e., 

seats oriented in the airplane with the 

occupant facing 90 degrees to the 

direction of airplane travel) and has 

documented those requirements in a set 

of proposed new special conditions. The 

FAA issued policy statement PS–ANM– 

25–03–R1 on November 12, 2012, titled, 

‘‘Technical Criteria for Approving SideFacing Seats,’’ which conveys the injury 

criteria to be used in the special 

conditions. Some of those criteria are 

applicable to oblique seats, but others 

are not because the motion of an 

occupant in an oblique seat is different 

from the motion of an occupant in a 

fully side-facing seat during emergencylanding conditions. 

For shallower installation angles, the 

FAA has granted equivalent level of 

safety (ELOS) findings for oblique seat 

installations on the premise that an 

occupant’s kinematics in an oblique seat 

during a forward impact would result in 

the body aligning with the impact 

direction. We predicted that the 

occupant response would be similar to 

an occupant of a forward-facing seat, 

and would produce a level of safety 

equivalent to that of a forward-facing 

seat. These ELOS findings were subject 

to many conditions that reflected the 

injury-evaluation criteria and mitigation 

strategies available at the time of 

issuance of the ELOS. However, review 

of dynamic test results for many of these 

oblique seat installations raised 

concerns that the premise was not 

correct. Potential injury mechanisms 

exist that are unique to oblique seats 

and are not mitigated by the ELOS selfalignment approach even if the 

occupant appears to respond similarly 

to a forward-facing seat. 

These 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 special 

conditions are applicable to the Boeing 

Model 777–300ER airplane. These 

special conditions can be applied to 

oblique seats installed in accordance 

with Boeing certification plan no. 

17174, revision A, ‘‘Installation of B/E 

Aerospace Super-Diamond Business 

Class Seats on WE736.’’ 

The FAA will amend these special 

conditions, or issue new special 

conditions, should unusual occupant 

response in the required dynamic tests, 

or additional research into occupantinjury mechanisms, indicate that these 

special conditions are inadequate. Any 

future special conditions would include 

due public notice for comment. 

Conclusion 

This action affects only certain novel 

or unusual design features on one model 

of airplane. It is not a rule of general 

applicability. 

Under standard practice, the effective 

date of final special conditions would 

be 30 days after the date of publication 

in the Federal Register; however, as the 

certification date for the Boeing Model 

777–300ER airplane, as modified by 

Boeing, is imminent, the FAA finds that 

good cause exists to make these special 

conditions effective upon publication in 

the Federal Register. 


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51086 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 149 / Wednesday, August 3, 2016 / Rules and Regulations 

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 Special Conditions 

Accordingly, pursuant to the 

authority delegated to me by the 

Administrator, the following special 

conditions are issued as part of the type 

certification basis for Boeing Model 

777–300ER airplanes modified by 

Boeing. 

Oblique (Side-Facing) Seats Special 

Conditions 

In addition to the requirements of 

§ 25.562: 

1. Head Injury Criteria (HIC) 

Compliance with § 25.562(c)(5) is 

required, except that, if the 

anthropomorphic test device (ATD) has 

no apparent contact with the seat and 

related structure but has contact with an 

airbag, a HIC unlimited score in excess 

of 1000 is acceptable, provided the 

HIC15 score (calculated in accordance 

with 49 CFR 571.208) for that contact is 

less than 700. 

2. Body-to-Wall/Furnishing Contact 

If a seat is installed aft of structure 

(e.g. interior wall or furnishings) that 

does not provide a homogenous contact 

surface for the expected range of 

occupants and yaw angles, then 

additional analysis and tests may be 

required to demonstrate that the injury 

criteria are met for the area which an 

occupant could contact. For example, if 

different yaw angles could result in 

different airbag device performance, 

then additional analysis or separate tests 

may be necessary to evaluate 

performance. 

3. Neck Injury Criteria 

a. The seating system must protect the 

occupant from experiencing serious 

neck injury. The assessment of neck 

injury must be conducted with the 

airbag device activated, unless there is 

reason to also consider that the neckinjury potential would be higher for 

impacts below the airbag-device 

deployment threshold. 

b. The Nij, calculated in accordance 

with 49 CFR 571.208, must be below 

1.0, where Nij =Fz/Fzc + My/Myc, and Nij

critical values are: 

i. Fzc = 1530 lb for tension 

ii. Fzc = 1385 lb for compression 

iii. Myc = 229 lb-ft in flexion 

iv. Myc = 100 lb-ft in extension 

c. In addition, peak upper-neck Fz

must be below 937 lb in tension and 899 

lb in compression. 

d. Rotation of the head about its 

vertical axis relative to the torso is 

limited to 105 degrees in either 

direction from forward-facing. 

e. The neck must not impact any 

surface that would produce 

concentrated loading on the neck. 

4. Spine and Torso Injury Criteria 

a. The lumbar spine tension (Fz) 

cannot exceed 1200 lb. 

b. Significant concentrated loading on 

the occupant’s spine, in the area 

between the pelvis and shoulders 

during impact, including rebound, is 

not acceptable. During this type of 

contact, the interval for any rearward 

(X-axis direction) acceleration 

exceeding 20g must be less than 3 

milliseconds as measured by the 

thoracic instrumentation specified in 49 

CFR part 572, subpart E, filtered in 

accordance with SAE International 

(SAE) Recommended Practice J211/1, 

‘‘Instrumentation for Impact Test–Part 

1–Electronic Instrumentation.’’ 

c. The occupant must not interact 

with the armrest or other seat 

components in any manner significantly 

different than would be expected for a 

forward-facing seat installation. 

5. Pelvis Criteria 

Any part of the load-bearing portion 

of the bottom of the ATD pelvis must 

not translate beyond the edges of the 

seat bottom seat-cushion supporting 

structure. 

6. Femur Criteria 

Axial rotation of the upper leg (about 

the Z-axis of the femur, per SAE 

Recommended Practice J211/1) must be 

limited to 35 degrees in the strike 

direction from the nominal seating 

position. Evaluation during rebound 

need not be considered. 

7. ATD and Test Conditions 

Longitudinal tests conducted to 

measure the injury criteria above must 

be performed with the FAA Hybrid III 

ATD, as described in SAE 1999–01– 

1609, ‘‘A Lumbar Spine Modification to 

the Hybrid III ATD For Aircraft Seat 

Tests.’’ The tests must be conducted 

with an undeformed floor, at the mostcritical yaw cases for injury, and with 

all lateral structural supports (e.g. 

armrests or walls) installed. 

Inflatable Lapbelt Special Conditions 

The inflatable lapbelts must meet 

special conditions no. 25–187A–SC, 

‘‘Boeing Model 777 Series Airplanes; 

Seats with Inflatable Lapbelts.’’ 

Note: As indicated in special conditions 

no. 25–187A–SC, inflatable lapbelts must be 

shown to not affect emergency-egress 

capabilities in the main aisle, cross-aisle, and 

passageway. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on July 8, 

2016. 

Michael Kaszycki, 

Assistant Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2016–18323 Filed 8–2–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2015–7294; Special 

Conditions No. 25–628–SC] 

Special Conditions: Gulfstream 

Aerospace Corporation Model GVII– 

G500 Airplanes; Interaction of Systems 

and Structures Through a Three-Axis 

Fly-by-Wire System 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final special conditions; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: These special conditions are 

issued for the Gulfstream Aerospace 

Corporation (Gulfstream) Model GVII– 

G500 airplane. This airplane 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 a fly-bywire flight-control system that governs 

the pitch, yaw, and roll axes of the 

airplane. The applicable airworthiness 

regulations do not contain adequate or 

appropriate safety standards for this 

design feature. These 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: This action is effective on 

Gulfstream on August 3, 2016. We must 

receive your comments by September 

19, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2015–7294 

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 


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