Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 189 / Wednesday, September 30, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 58597 

installed such that the inflatable lap belt 

would not properly deploy. 

Alternatively, it must be shown that 

such deployment is not hazardous to the 

occupant, and will provide the required 

head-injury protection. 

4. The inflatable lap-belt system must 

be shown not to be susceptible to 

inadvertent deployment as a result of 

wear and tear, or inertial loads resulting 

from in-flight or ground maneuvers 

(including gusts and hard landings), 

likely to be experienced in service. 

5. Deployment of the inflatable lap 

belt must not introduce injury 

mechanisms to the seated occupant, nor 

result in injuries that could impede 

rapid egress. This assessment should 

include an occupant who is in the brace 

position when it deploys, and an 

occupant whose inflatable lap belt is 

loosely fastened. 

6. An inadvertent deployment that 

could cause injury to a standing or 

sitting person must be shown to be 

improbable. 

7. It must be shown that inadvertent 

deployment of the airbag system in the 

lap belt, during the most critical part of 

the flight, either will not cause a hazard 

to the airplane or its occupants, or meets 

the requirement of § 25.1309(b). 

8. The inflatable lap belt must be 

shown to not impede rapid egress of 

occupants 10 seconds after its 

deployment. 

9. The inflatable lap-belt system must 

be protected from lightning and HIRF. 

The threats specified in existing 

regulations regarding lightning, 

§ 25.1316, and HIRF, § 25.1317, are 

incorporated by reference for the 

purpose of measuring lightning and 

HIRF protection. For the purposes of 

complying with HIRF requirements, the 

inflatable lap-belt system is considered 

a ‘‘critical system’’ if its deployment 

could have a hazardous effect on the 

airplane; otherwise it is considered an 

‘‘essential’’ system. 

10. The inflatable lap belt must 

function properly after loss of normal 

airplane electrical power, and after a 

transverse separation of the fuselage at 

the most critical location. A separation 

at the location of the lap belt does not 

have to be considered. 

11. The inflatable lap belt must be 

shown to not release hazardous 

quantities of gas or particulate matter 

into the cabin. 

12. The inflatable lap-belt installation 

must be protected from the effects of fire 

such that no hazard to occupants will 

result. 

13. A means must be available for a 

crewmember to verify the integrity of 

the inflatable-lap-belt-activation system 

prior to each flight, or it must be 

demonstrated to reliably operate 

between inspection intervals. 

14. The inflatable material may not 

have an average burn rate of greater than 

2.5 inches per minute when tested using 

the horizontal-flammability test as 

defined in 14 CFR part 25, Appendix F, 

Part I(b)(5). 

15. The airbag system in the lap belt, 

once deployed, must not adversely 

affect the emergency-lighting system 

(i.e., block floor-proximity lights to the 

extent that the lights no longer meet 

their intended function). 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on 

September 1, 2015. 

Jeffrey E. Duven, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–24725 Filed 9–29–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2015–3367; Special 

Conditions No. 25–596–SC] 

Special Conditions: Flight Structures, 

Inc., Boeing Model 777–200 Dynamic 

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

With Airbag Devices 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final special conditions; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: These special conditions are 

issued for Boeing Model 777–200 

airplanes. This airplane, as modified by 

Flight Structures, Inc., will have novel 

or unusual design features associated 

with oblique-angled, single-occupant 

seats equipped with airbag systems. The 

applicable airworthiness regulations do 

not contain adequate or appropriate 

safety standards for these design 

features. These special conditions 

contain the additional safety standards 

the Administrator considers necessary 

to establish a level of safety equivalent 

to that established by the existing 

airworthiness standards. 

DATES: The effective date of these 

special conditions is September 30, 

2015. We must receive your comments 

by November 16, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2015–3367 

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 

issuance. 

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58598 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 189 / Wednesday, September 30, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

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 July 7, 2014, Flight Structures, 

Inc., applied for a supplemental type 

certificate to allow the installation of 

oblique business-class passenger seats, 

positioned at 32.5 degrees to the vertical 

plane of the airplane longitudinal 

centerline, and to include inflatable lap 

belts, in Boeing Model 777–200 

airplanes. 

The seating configuration Flight 

Structures, Inc., proposes in 

certification plan No. B3FS332–D10 

includes the installation of TSO–39capproved, Zodiac Aries model, sidefacing, pod-style, business-class seats 

(with surrounding shells and front-row 

furniture), installed at an angle of up to 

32.5 degrees to the airplane longitudinal 

centerline. These seats will include 

restraint (airbag) systems for occupant 

restraint and injury protection. 

The Boeing Model 777–200 airplane, 

approved under Type Certificate No. 

T00001SE, is a swept-wing, 

conventional-tail, twin-engine, turbofanpowered transport airplane, with seating 

capacity for 440 passengers. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under the provisions of title 14, Code 

of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 21.101, 

Flight Structures, Inc., must show that 

the Model 777–200 airplane, as 

changed, meets 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. The regulations listed 

in the type certificate are commonly 

referred to as the ‘‘original typecertification basis.’’ The regulations 

listed in Type Certificate No. T00001SE 

are as follows: 

14 CFR part 25, Amendments 25–1 

through 25–82, with exceptions listed in 

the type-certification data sheet. In 

addition, the certification basis includes 

certain special conditions, exemptions, 

or later amended sections of the 

applicable part that are not relevant to 

these 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 Boeing Model 777–200 airplanes 

because of a novel or unusual design 

feature, special conditions are 

prescribed under § 21.16. 

Special conditions are initially 

applicable to the model for which they 

are issued. Should the applicant apply 

for a supplemental type certificate 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 777–200 

airplane must comply with the fuel-vent 

and exhaust-emission requirements of 

14 CFR part 34, and the noisecertification 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 business-class seating 

configuration Flight Structures, Inc., 

proposes is novel and unusual due to 

the seat installation at 32.5 degrees to 

the aircraft centerline, the airbag-system 

installation, and the seat/occupant 

interface with the surrounding furniture 

that introduces occupant alignment and 

loading concerns. The proposed 

business-class seating configuration also 

is beyond the limits of current 

acceptable equivalent-level-of-safety 

findings. 

Ongoing research is progressing to 

establish acceptable limits. Until those 

limits become available, the FAA 

proposes a set of interim limits based on 

the current literature available, current 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration (NHTSA) regulations, 

and preliminary test data from the 

research program. 

The existing regulations do not 

provide adequate or appropriate safety 

standards for occupants of obliqueangled seats with airbag systems. To 

provide a level of safety that is 

equivalent to that afforded occupants of 

forward- and aft-facing seats, additional 

airworthiness standards, in the form of 

special conditions, are necessary. These 

special conditions supplement part 25 

and, more specifically, supplement 

§§ 25.562 and 25.785. The requirements 

contained in these special conditions 

consist of both test conditions and 

injury pass/fail criteria. 

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, positioned 

at more than an 18-degree angle to the 

vertical plane of the airplane 

longitudinal centerline, must be 

protected from head injury by a safety 

belt and an energy-absorbing rest that 

will support the arms, shoulders, head, 

and spine; or by a safety belt and 

shoulder harness that will prevent the 

head from contacting any injurious 

object. The FAA concluded that an 18- 

degree angle would provide an adequate 

level of safety based on tests that were 

performed at that time, and thus 

adopted that standard. 

Part 25 was amended June 16, 1988, 

by Amendment 25–64, to revise the 

emergency-landing conditions that must 

be considered in the design of the 

airplane. Amendment 25–64 revised the 

static-load conditions in 14 CFR 25.561, 

and added the new § 25.562 that 

requires dynamic testing for all seats 

approved for occupancy during takeoff 

and landing. The intent of Amendment 

25–64 is to provide an improved level 

of safety for occupants on transportcategory airplanes. Because most seating 

is forward-facing on transport-category 

airplanes, the pass/fail criteria 

developed in Amendment 25–64 

focused primarily on these seats. As a 

result, the FAA issued Policy 

Memorandums ANM–03–115–30 and 

PS–ANM–100–2000–00123 to provide 

the additional guidance necessary to 

demonstrate the level of safety required 

by the regulations for side-facing seats. 

To reflect current research findings, 

the FAA developed a methodology to 

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

seats positioned in the airplane with the 

occupant facing 90 degrees to the 

vertical plane of the airplane 

centerline), and has documented those 

requirements in a set of new special 

conditions. The FAA issued Policy 

Statement PS–ANM–25–03–R1 to define 

revised injury criteria associated with 

neck and leg injuries. 

The proposed Model 777–200 

airplane business-class seat installation 

is novel such that the current Model 

777–200 airplane certification basis 

does not adequately protection of the 

occupant’s neck and spine for seat 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 189 / Wednesday, September 30, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 58599 

configurations that are positioned at an 

angle greater than 18 degrees from the 

airplane centerline. Therefore, the Flight 

Structures, Inc., proposed configuration 

will require new special conditions. 

These special conditions will provide 

head injury criteria, neck injury criteria, 

spine injury criteria, and body-to-wall 

contact criteria. They 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 

These special conditions are 

applicable to the Boeing Model 777–200 

airplanes configured with the businessclass seating defined in Flight 

Structures, Inc., certification plan No. 

B3FS332–D10. Should Flight Structures, 

Inc., apply at a later date for a 

supplemental type certificate to modify 

any other model included on Type 

Certificate No. T00001SE to incorporate 

the same novel or unusual design 

feature, these special conditions would 

apply to the other model as well. 

Conclusion 

This action affects only certain novel 

or unusual design features on one model 

of airplane. 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. 

The substance of these special 

conditions has been subjected to the 

notice and comment period in several 

prior instances, and has been derived 

without substantive change from those 

previously issued. It is unlikely that 

prior public comment would result in a 

significant change from the substance 

contained herein. Therefore, because a 

delay would significantly affect the 

certification of the airplane, the FAA 

has determined that prior public notice 

and comment are unnecessary and 

impracticable, and good cause exists for 

adopting these special conditions upon 

publication in the Federal Register. The 

FAA is requesting comments to allow 

interested persons to submit views that 

may not have been submitted in 

response to the prior opportunities for 

comment described above. 

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 the Boeing Model 

777–200 airplane. 

Side-Facing Seats Special Conditions 

In addition to the requirements of 

§ 25.562: 

1. Head-Injury Criteria 

Compliance with § 25.562(c)(5) is 

required, except that, if the 

anthropomorphic test device (ATD) has 

no apparent contact with the seat/

structure but has contact with an airbag, 

a head-injury criterion (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., an interior wall or furnishing) that 

does not provide a homogenous contact 

surface for the expected range of 

occupants and yaw angles, then 

additional analysis and/or test(s) may be 

required to demonstrate that the injury 

criteria are met for the area that an 

occupant could contact. For example, if 

different yaw angles could result in 

different airbag performance, then 

additional analysis or separate test(s) 

may be necessary to evaluate 

performance. 

3. Neck Injury Criteria 

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. 

a. 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 

b. In addition, peak Fz must be below 

937 lb in tension and 899 lb in 

compression. 

c. Rotation of the head about its 

vertical axis, relative to the torso, is 

limited to 105 degrees in either 

direction from forward-facing. 

d. The neck must not impact any 

surface that would produce 

concentrated loading on the neck. 

4. Spine and Torso Injury Criteria 

a. The shoulders must remain aligned 

with the hips throughout the impact 

sequence, or support for the upper torso 

must be provided to prevent forward or 

lateral flailing beyond 45 degrees from 

the vertical during significant spinal 

loading. Alternatively, 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-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) J211–1. 

c. 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. Longitudinal test(s), conducted to 

measure the injury criteria above, must 

be performed with the FAA Hybrid III 

ATD, as described in SAE 1999–01– 

1609. The test(s) must be conducted 

with an undeformed floor, at the mostcritical yaw case(s) for injury, and with 

all lateral structural supports (armrests/ 

walls) installed. 

Note: Boeing must demonstrate that the 

installation of seats via plinths or pallets 

meets all applicable requirements. 

Compliance with the guidance contained in 

FAA Policy Memorandum PS–ANM–100– 

2000–00123, dated February 2, 2000, titled 

‘‘Guidance for Demonstrating Compliance 

with Seat Dynamic Testing for Plinths and 

Pallets,’’ is acceptable to the FAA. 

Inflatable Lap Belt Special Conditions 

If inflatable lap belts are installed on 

single-place side-facing seats, the lap 

belts must meet Special Conditions No. 

25–187A–SC. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on 

September 2, 2015. 

Jeffrey E. Duven, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–24727 Filed 9–29–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

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