Transport Airplane Directorate

1601 Lind Avenue, S.W.

Renton, Washington 98057-3356

June 30, 2014

Exemption No. 10268B

Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2010-1284

Mr. Douglas M. Lane

ODA Deputy Lead Administrator

The Boeing Company

P.O. Box 3707 MC 03-56

Seattle, WA 98124-2207

Dear Mr. Lane:

This letter is to inform you that we have granted your petition for time-limited extension to 

exemption no. 10268. It explains the basis for our decision and describes its effect.

The Basis for Our Decision

By letter dated April 9, 2014, you petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 

behalf of The Boeing Company for an amendment to exemption no. 10268. That exemption 

from §§ 25.1305(c)(6) and 25.1309(c), Amendment 25-116, of Title 14, Code of Federal 

Regulations, provides The Boeing Company temporary relief from the cockpit indication 

requirements for indicating fuel-system contamination on Boeing Model 787-8 airplanes

powered by General Electric GEnx-1B engines. Your request would add 4 months to the 

original exemption time limit for the 787-8 to allow relief for airplanes delivered prior to 

October 31, 2014, and for retrofit incorporation until April 30, 2017.

For the 787-8 fuel systems to comply with § 25.1309(c), an unambiguous and timely

indication to the flightcrew is required in the event that both engines on the same flight are 

subjected to a fuel filter impending bypass condition. Further, to comply with § 25.1309(c), 

the flightcrew must be alerted of anticipated fuel-system contamination that could clog the 

fuel system ahead of the engine fuel filter. The purpose of this indication is to enable the 

flightcrew to take appropriate corrective action.

Boeing originally requested relief for a limited number of 787- 8 airplanes to allow 

sufficient time to develop, validate, certify, and incorporate into production a new,

compliant, gross-fuel-system contamination indication. Following incorporation of the 

compliant indication into production airplanes, Boeing will issue a service bulletin that 

requires all airplanes delivered under this time-limited exemption to be retrofitted. Boeing 

has completed the design development for the impending bypass indication. They met the 

compliance-planning conditions of the exemption, submitted draft service instructions to the 

FAA, and are on schedule to receive FAA approval of the final service instructions as 

required by the original exemption. However, incorporation of the gross-fuel-system 
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contamination indication into production airplanes requires modifying the electronic engine 

controls (EEC) that provide information to the airplane’s cockpit display system. 

Modification of the EEC to include the following safety improvements has resulted in the 

need to extend the compliance time for the original exemption:

 Allows the engine to continue safe function in ice-crystal icing conditions

 Ensures engine stability throughout the operating envelope

 Provides clearer fuel-shutoff-valve position indication.

According to Boeing, the extraordinary procedures included in the amendment to the 

original exemption compensate for the non-compliant features. This includes specific postmaintenance procedures that are intended to detect debris that may be introduced into the 

airplane fuel system during fuel-tank entries. The Airworthiness Limitations section of the 

Instructions for Continued Airworthiness include procedures for inspecting the engine fuel 

strainer for contaminants after the first flight following maintenance actions where personnel 

enter into the center wing fuel tank. The amended provisions require inspection of the 

engine fuel-strainer maintenance indicators after the first flight, and inspection of engines at 

specified flight-hour intervals instead of after a single flight.

The FAA understands that your petition makes no change in the intent of the conditions and 

reasons relative to public interest and safety that were the basis for granting the original 

exemption.

The FAA has determined that good cause exists for not publishing a summary of the petition 

in the Federal Register because the requested time-limited extension to the exemption would 

not set a precedent, and any delay in acting on this petition would be detrimental to The 

Boeing Company.

The Effect of Our Decision

Our decision extends the time limit of exemption no. 10268, for airplanes for which an 

application for an airworthiness certificate is made, from prior to June 30, 2014, to prior to 

October 31, 2014. The time limit for retrofit of in-service airplanes is extended from 

December 31, 2016, to April 30, 2017. Boeing has met the requirements of conditions 

number 2 and 5 of the original exemption. These conditions are included in this amendment 

of the original exemption for completeness. The Grant of Amended Exemption provides 

specific compliance dates for the exemption extended time limits. 

The Grant of Amended Exemption

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that extending the time-limited grant of exemption 

no. 10268 is in the public interest regarding 14 CFR 25.1305(c)(6) and 25.1309(c), at 

Amendment 25-116. Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. 40113 and 

44701, delegated to me by the Administrator, The Boeing Company is granted an exemption 

until April 30, 2017, from the requirements of §§ 25.1305(c)(6) and 25.1309(c), at 

Amendment 25-116, as they pertain to indication of impending bypass of the engine oil fuelcooled oiler coolers, and indication of impending bypass on the main fuel filters of multiple 

engines, for the Boeing Model 787-8 airplanes powered by General Electric GEnx-1B and

subsequent variants of the engine.
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The following amended conditions and limitations, except numbers 2 and 5, supersede the 

conditions and limitations of exemption no. 10268:

1. For Model 787-8 airplanes granted a certificate of airworthiness before October 31, 

2014, the Airworthiness Limitations section of the Instructions for Continued 

Airworthiness must include a limitation that requires operators to verify

contaminants have not accumulated on the fuel strainer located upstream of the 

engine-driven fuel pump. The limitation must also require an inspection of the fuelcooled oil cooler if the fuel strainer has bypassed fuel. The airworthiness limitation 

must require these actions following any maintenance action that resulted in 

personnel entry into the center wing fuel tank:

a. After the first flight following tank entry, access and analyze the messages 

from the engine-indication and crew-alerting system, and operational-health 

monitoring system, to detect any bypass or impending bypass of any of the 

engine-fuel strainers.

b. Perform a physical inspection of the engine-fuel strainer from one engine 

within 20 flight hours.

c. Perform a second physical inspection of the engine-fuel strainer from the 

second engine within 40 flight hours.

2. Boeing must develop and implement procedures that include appropriate pass/fail 

criteria acceptable to the FAA for determining if contamination is present on the fuel 

strainer located upstream of the engine-driven fuel pump. If the upstream strainer has 

bypassed fuel, inspection of the face of the fuel-cooled oil cooler, and removal of 

any unacceptable contaminants, is required. This inspection must be accomplished 

following completion of production flight tests, and prior to issuance of the standard 

certificate of airworthiness or export certificate of airworthiness (as applicable in 

support of customer delivery),

3. Prior to October 31, 2014, Boeing must complete the design and show compliance to 

§§ 25.1305(c)(6) and 25.1309(c), at Amendment 25-116, for design improvements 

and flightcrew procedures to allow timely flightcrew awareness and response to 

hazardous fuel contamination.

4. Prior to July 31, 2014, Boeing must develop and submit for FAA approval service 

information to incorporate any design changes and/or operating and maintenance 

limitations developed to meet the provision of §§ 25.1305(c)(6) and 25.1309(c), as 

identified in condition 3 (above).

5. By July 1, 2011, Boeing must present to the FAA a comprehensive compliance plan 

and schedule, supporting the deliverables outlined in conditions 3 and 4 (above).

Thereafter, Boeing must submit a status report every three months to the Seattle 

Aircraft Certification Office identifying all actions completed to date, as well as 

those that remain outstanding. The report must demonstrate Boeing’s progressive 

performance and accomplishments indicating its projected success in meeting the 

schedule and conditions of the exemption. Boeing must also submit drafts of the 

service information required by condition 4 (above) to the FAA by April 30, 2014.
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6. For Model 787-8 airplanes granted a certificate of airworthiness prior to October 31, 

2014, that do not have the design changes incorporated as identified by condition 3 

(above), the Airworthiness Limitations section of the Model 787-8 airplane 

Instructions for Continued Airworthiness must state that delivered airplanes cannot 

be operated after April 30, 2017, unless the design changes submitted in accordance 

with condition 4 (above) are incorporated by the owner or operator.

7. If an application for an airworthiness certificate is made on or after October 31, 

2014, the affected airplanes must incorporate the indication of impending bypass of 

the fuel-cooled oil cooler in compliance with §§ 25.1305(c)(6) and 25.1309(c).

8. The FAA will not issue original airworthiness-certificate approvals for Boeing 

Model 787-8 airplanes on or after October 31, 2014, unless that airplane has 

incorporated the design changes that Boeing has shown to be fully compliant with 

§§ 25.1305(c)(6) and 25.1309, and the conditions and limitations of this exemption 

have been met.

All conditions and limitations of exemption no. 10268 remain the same. This letter must be 

attached to, and is a part of, exemption no. 10268.

Sincerely,

/s/ John P. Piccola, Jr.

John P. Piccola, Jr.

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate

Aircraft Certification Service