This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

60319 

Vol. 79, No. 194 

Tuesday, October 7, 2014 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2014–0706; Special 

Conditions No. 25–568–SC] 

Special Conditions: Hawker 

Beechcraft, Model 400A Airplane, as 

Modified by Nextant Aerospace; 

Installed Rechargeable Lithium 

Batteries and Battery Systems 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final special condition; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: These special conditions are 

issued for the Hawker Beechcraft Model 

No. 400A airplane as modified by 

Nextant Aerospace. This modification 

will have a novel or unusual design 

feature associated with an installed 

emergency power supply and standby 

attitude module that use rechargeable 

lithium batteries and battery systems. 

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: The effective date of these 

special conditions is October 7, 2014. 

We must receive your comments by 

November 21, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2014–0706 

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 the 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: 

Nazih Khaouly, FAA, Airplane and 

Flight Crew Interface Branch, ANM– 

111, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service, 1601 Lind 

Avenue SW., Renton, Washington 

98057–3356; telephone 425–227–2432; 

facsimile 425–227–1149. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA 

has determined that notice of, and 

opportunity for prior public comment 

on, these special conditions is 

impracticable because these procedures 

would significantly delay issuance of 

the design approval and thus delivery of 

the affected aircraft. 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 November 29, 2012, Nextant 

Aerospace applied for an amendment to 

supplemental type certificate (STC) 

ST10959SC to replace the existing 

nickel-cadmium standby power 

supplies with new rechargeable lithium 

battery emergency power supplies and 

to install a module that uses a 

rechargeable lithium battery for 

emergency power back-up on the 

Hawker Beechcraft Model 400A. The 

Model 400A is a mid-size, nine (9) 

passenger maximum business jet 

powered by two turbo fan engines. 

The amendment to STC ST10959SC, 

Rockwell Collins Proline 21 Instrument 

Display System, includes the 

installation of Mid-Continent 

Instrument Co. MD302 Standby 

Instrument and TS835 Emergency 

Power Supplies. It also includes the 

installation of a Midcontinent MD302 

Standby Attitude Module for emergency 

power back-up, all of which use 

rechargeable lithium batteries and 

battery systems. 

Rechargeable lithium batteries are a 

novel or unusual design feature in 

transport category airplanes. This type 

of battery has certain failure, 

operational, and maintenance 

characteristics that differ significantly 

from those of the nickel-cadmium and 

lead-acid rechargeable batteries 

currently approved for installation on 

transport category airplanes. Because of 

rapid improvements in airplane 

technology, the applicable airworthiness 

regulations do not contain adequate or 

appropriate safety standards for this 

design feature. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under the provisions of 14 CFR 

21.101, Nextant Aerospace must show 

that the Model 400A, as changed, 


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60320 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 7, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

continues to meet the applicable 

provisions of the regulations 

incorporated by reference in STC 

ST10959SC or the applicable 

regulations in effect on the date of 

application for the change. The 

regulations incorporated by reference in 

the STC are commonly referred to as the 

‘‘original type certification basis.’’ The 

regulations incorporated by reference in 

STC ST10959SC are as follows: 

The certification basis is 14 CFR part 

25 effective February 1, 1965, as 

amended by 25–1 through 25–40, plus 

§§ 25.1335, 25.1351(d), 25.1353(c)(5), 

and 25.1447 at Amendment 25–41; 

§§ 25.29, 25.255, and 25.1353(c)(6) at 

Amendment 25–42; §§ 25.361(b) and 

25.1329(h) at Amendment 25–46; 14 

CFR part 36, effective December 1, 1969, 

as amended by 36–1 through 36–17; 

SFAR 27 effective February 1, 1974, as 

amended by 27–1 through 27–5; and 

Special Conditions No. 25–ANM–32 

dated February 22, 1990, High Altitude 

Operation, and Special Conditions No. 

25–ANM–33 dated June 18, 1990, 

Lightning and Radio Frequency Energy 

Protection. 

In addition, if the regulations 

incorporated by reference do not 

provide adequate standards regarding 

the change, the applicant must comply 

with certain regulations in effect on the 

date of application for the change. The 

FAA has determined that the Model 

400A, as modified by STC ST10959SC, 

must also comply with the following 

section of part 25 as amended by 

Amendment 25–1 through 25–123: 

§ 25.1353. 

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 Hawker Beechcraft Model 400A 

because of a novel or unusual design 

feature, special conditions are 

prescribed under the provisions of 14 

CFR 21.16. 

Special conditions are initially 

applicable to the model for which they 

are issued. Should the applicant apply 

for a STC to modify any other model 

included on the same type certificate to 

incorporate the same novel or unusual 

design feature, the special conditions 

would also apply to the other model. 

In addition to the applicable 

airworthiness regulations and special 

conditions, the Hawker Beechcraft 

Model 400A, as modified by STC 

ST10959SC, 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 14 

CFR 21.101. 

Novel or Unusual Design Features 

The Hawker Beechcraft Model 400A 

will incorporate the following novel or 

unusual design features: A MidContinent TS835 Emergency Power 

Supply and MD302 Standby Attitude 

Module that use a rechargeable lithium 

batteries and battery systems. 

Rechargeable lithium batteries are a 

novel or unusual design feature in 

transport category airplanes for which 

the applicable airworthiness regulations 

do not contain adequate or appropriate 

safety standards. 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. 

Discussion 

The current regulations governing 

installation of batteries in large 

transport-category airplanes were 

derived from Civil Air Regulations 

(CAR) part 4b.625(d) as part of the recodification of CAR 4b that established 

14 CFR part 25 in February 1965. The 

new battery requirements, 

§ 25.1353(c)(1) through (c)(4), basically 

reworded the CAR requirements. 

Increased use of nickel-cadmium 

batteries in small airplanes resulted in 

increased incidents of battery fires and 

failures that led to additional 

rulemaking affecting large transport 

category airplanes as well as small 

airplanes. On September 1, 1977, and 

March 1, 1978, the FAA issued 

§ 25.1353(c)(5) and (c)(6), respectively, 

governing nickel-cadmium battery 

installations on large transport-category 

airplanes. At Amendment 25–123, 

effective December 10, 2007, the FAA 

issued a revised § 25.1353, which 

moved the battery requirements to 

§ 25.1353(b)(1) through (b)(6). 

The proposed use of rechargeable 

lithium batteries for equipment and 

systems on the Model 400A, modified 

by STC ST10959SC prompted the FAA 

to review the adequacy of these existing 

regulations. Our review indicates that 

the existing regulations do not 

adequately address several failure, 

operational, and maintenance 

characteristics of rechargeable lithium 

batteries that could affect the safety of 

the airplane and its passengers and 

crew. 

At present, commercial aviation has 

limited experience with use of 

rechargeable lithium batteries and 

battery systems in applications 

involving commercial aviation. 

However, other users of this technology, 

ranging from wireless telephone 

manufacturers to the electric-vehicle 

industry, have noted potential hazards 

with rechargeable lithium batteries. 

These problems include overcharging, 

over-discharging, and flammability of 

cell components. 

1. Overcharging 

In general, lithium batteries are 

significantly more susceptible to 

internal failures that can result in selfsustaining increases in temperature and 

pressure (i.e., thermal runaway) than 

their nickel-cadmium or lead-acid 

counterparts. This condition is 

especially true for overcharging, which 

causes heating and destabilization of the 

components of the cell, leading to the 

formation (by plating) of highly unstable 

metallic lithium. The metallic lithium 

can ignite, resulting in a self-sustaining 

fire or explosion. Finally, the severity of 

thermal runaway, due to overcharging, 

increases with increasing battery 

capacity due to the higher amount of 

electrolyte in large batteries. 

2. Over-Discharging 

Discharge of some types of lithium 

battery cells beyond a certain voltage 

(typically 2.4 volts), can cause corrosion 

of the electrodes of the cell, resulting in 

loss of battery capacity that cannot be 

reversed by recharging. This loss of 

capacity may not be detected by the 

simple voltage measurements 

commonly available to flightcrews as a 

means of checking battery status—a 

problem shared with nickel-cadmium 

batteries. 

3. Flammability of Cell Components 

Unlike nickel-cadmium and lead-acid 

batteries, some types of lithium batteries 

use liquid electrolytes that are 

flammable. The electrolyte can serve as 

a source of fuel for an external fire, if 

there is a breach of the battery 

container. 

These problems experienced by users 

of lithium batteries raise concern about 

the use of these batteries in commercial 

aviation. The intent of the special 

conditions is to establish appropriate 

airworthiness standards for lithium 

battery installations in the Hawker 

Beechcraft 400A and to ensure, as 

required by §§ 25.1309 and 25.601, that 

these batteries are not hazardous or 

unreliable. 

Applicability 

As discussed above, these special 

conditions are applicable to STC 

ST10959SC, which modifies the Hawker 

Beechcraft Model 400A airplane. 

Should Nextant Aerospace apply at a 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 7, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 60321 

later date to amend this STC to 

incorporate the same novel or unusual 

design feature, the special conditions 

would apply to that STC as well. 

Conclusion 

This action affects only certain novel 

or unusual design features on one 

airplane model. 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 date for the modification 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 Hawker Beechcraft 

Model 400A airplanes modified by 

Nextant Aerospace. 

Installed Rechargeable Lithium Batteries 

and Battery Systems 

These special conditions require that 

(1) All characteristics of the 

rechargeable lithium batteries and 

battery installation, that could affect 

safe operation of the Hawker Beechcraft 

400A airplanes, are addressed; and (2) 

appropriate Instructions for Continued 

Airworthiness, which include 

maintenance requirements, are 

established to ensure the availability of 

electrical power, when needed, from the 

batteries. 

In lieu of the requirements of Title 14, 

Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 

25.1353(b)(1) through (b)(4) at 

Amendment 25–123, all rechargeable 

lithium batteries and battery 

installations on Hawker Beechcraft 

400A airplanes modified by ST10959SC 

must be designed and installed as 

follows: 

1. Safe cell temperatures and 

pressures must be maintained during 

any foreseeable charging or discharging 

condition and during any failure of the 

charging or battery monitoring system 

not shown to be extremely remote. The 

rechargeable lithium battery installation 

must preclude explosion in the event of 

those failures. 

2. Design of the rechargeable lithium 

batteries and battery systems must 

preclude the occurrence of selfsustaining, uncontrolled increases in 

temperature or pressure. 

3. No explosive or toxic gases emitted 

by any rechargeable lithium battery in 

normal operation, or as the result of any 

failure of the battery charging system, 

monitoring system, or battery 

installation which is not shown to be 

extremely remote, may accumulate in 

hazardous quantities within the 

airplane. 

4. Installations of rechargeable 

lithium batteries must meet the 

requirements of § 25.863(a) through (d). 

5. No corrosive fluids or gases that 

may escape from any rechargeable 

lithium battery may damage 

surrounding structure or any adjacent 

systems, equipment, or electrical wiring 

of the airplane in such a way as to cause 

a major or more severe failure condition, 

in accordance with § 25.1309(b) and 

applicable regulatory guidance. 

6. Each rechargeable lithium battery 

installation must have provisions to 

prevent any hazardous effect on 

structure or essential systems caused by 

the maximum amount of heat the 

battery can generate during a short 

circuit of the battery or of its individual 

cells. 

7. Rechargeable lithium battery 

installations must have a system to 

control the charging rate of the battery 

automatically, so as to prevent battery 

overheating or overcharging, and, 

a. A battery temperature sensing and 

over-temperature warning system with a 

means for automatically disconnecting 

the battery from its charging source in 

the event of an over-temperature 

condition, or, 

b. A battery failure sensing and 

warning system with a means for 

automatically disconnecting the battery 

from its charging source in the event of 

battery failure. 

8. Any rechargeable lithium battery 

installation, the function of which is 

required for safe operation of the 

airplane, must incorporate a monitoring 

and warning feature that will provide an 

indication to the appropriate flight 

crewmembers whenever the state-ofcharge of the batteries has fallen below 

levels considered acceptable for 

dispatch of the airplane. 

9. The Instructions for Continued 

Airworthiness required by § 25.1529 

must contain maintenance requirements 

to assure that the battery is sufficiently 

charged at appropriate intervals 

specified by the battery manufacturer 

and the equipment manufacturer that 

contain the rechargeable lithium battery 

or rechargeable lithium battery system. 

This is required to ensure that lithium 

rechargeable batteries and lithium 

rechargeable battery systems will not 

degrade below specified ampere-hour 

levels sufficient to power the airplane 

systems for intended applications. The 

Instructions for Continued 

Airworthiness must also contain 

procedures for the maintenance of 

batteries in spares storage to prevent the 

replacement of batteries with batteries 

that have experienced degraded charge 

retention ability or other damage due to 

prolonged storage at a low state of 

charge. Replacement batteries must be 

of the same manufacturer and part 

number as approved by the FAA. 

Precautions should be included in the 

Instructions for Continued 

Airworthiness maintenance instructions 

to prevent mishandling of the 

rechargeable lithium battery and 

rechargeable lithium battery systems, 

which could result in short-circuit or 

other unintentional impact damage 

caused by dropping or other destructive 

means that could result in personal 

injury or property damage. 

Note 1: The term ‘‘sufficiently charged’’ 

means that the battery will retain enough of 

a charge, expressed in ampere-hours, to 

ensure that the battery cells will not be 

damaged. A battery cell may be damaged by 

lowering the charge below a point where the 

battery experiences a reduction in the ability 

to charge and retain a full charge. This 

reduction would be greater than the 

reduction that may result from normal 

operational degradation. 

Note 2: These special conditions are not 

intended to replace § 25.1353(b) at 

Amendment 25–123 in the certification basis 

of airplane Hawker Beechcraft 400A 

airplanes. These special conditions apply 

only to rechargeable lithium batteries and 

lithium battery systems and their 

installations. The requirements of 

§ 25.1353(b) at Amendment 25–123 remain in 

effect for batteries and battery installations 

on Hawker Beechcraft 400A airplanes that do 

not use lithium batteries. 


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60322 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 7, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on 

September 9, 2014. 

Jeffrey E. Duven, 

Manager, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–23887 Filed 10–6–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2014–0730; Directorate 

Identifier 2013–NM–206–AD; Amendment 

39–17984; AD 2014–20–11] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Zodiac Seats 

France (formerly Sicma Aero Seat) 

Passenger Seat Assemblies 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are superseding 

Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2011–07– 

05 for certain Sicma Aero Seat 9140, 

9166, 9173, 9174, 9184, 9188, 9196, 

91B7, 91B8, 91C0, 91C2, 91C4, 91C5, 

and 9301 series passenger seat 

assemblies; and Sicma Aero Seat 

9501311–05, 9501301–06, 9501311–15, 

9501301–16, 9501441–30, 9501441–33, 

9501311–55, 9501301–56, 9501441–83, 

9501441–95, 9501311–97, and 9501301– 

98 passenger seat assemblies. AD 2011– 

07–05 required a general visual 

inspection for cracking of backrest links, 

replacement with new links if cracking 

is found, and eventual replacement of 

all links with new links. This new AD 

requires a new general visual inspection 

for cracking of backrest links, which 

includes new seat backrest links; 

replacement with new links if cracking 

is found; and eventual replacement of 

all links with new links. This AD was 

prompted by a report that new seat 

backrest links could be affected by 

cracks similar to those identified on the 

backrest links with the previous design. 

We are issuing this AD to detect and 

correct cracks in the backrest links, 

which could affect the structural 

integrity of seat backrests. Failure of the 

backrest links could result in injury to 

an occupant during emergency landing 

conditions. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective 

October 22, 2014. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain publication listed in this AD 

as of October 22, 2014. 

We must receive comments on this 

AD by November 21, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Zodiac Seats France, 7, 

Rue Lucien Coupet, 36100 ISSOUDUN, 

France; telephone +33 (0) 2 54 03 39 39; 

fax +33 (0) 2 54 03 39 00; email 

customerservices@sicma.zodiac.com; 

Internet http://

www.sicma.zodiacaerospace.com/en/. 

You may view this referenced service 

information at the FAA, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue 

SW., Renton, WA. For information on 

the availability of this material at the 

FAA, call 425–227–1221. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2014– 

0730; or in person at the Docket 

Operations office between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. The AD docket 

contains this AD, the regulatory 

evaluation, any comments received, and 

other information. The street address for 

the Docket Operations office (telephone 

(800) 647–5527) is in the ADDRESSES

section. Comments will be available in 

the AD docket shortly after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeffrey Lee, Aerospace Engineer, Boston 

Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), 

FAA, Engine & Propeller Directorate, 12 

New England Executive Park, 

Burlington, MA 01803; telephone (781) 

238–7161; fax (781) 238–7199; email: 

jeffrey.lee@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

On March 14, 2011, we issued AD 

2011–07–05, Amendment 39–16642 (76 

FR 18020, April 1, 2011). AD 2011–07– 

05 applied to certain Sicma Aero Seat 

9140, 9166, 9173, 9174, 9184, 9188, 

9196, 91B7, 91B8, 91C0, 91C2, 91C4, 

91C5, and 9301 series passenger seat 

assemblies; and Sicma Aero Seat 

9501311–05, 9501301–06, 9501311–15, 

9501301–16, 9501441–30, 9501441–33, 

9501311–55, 9501301–56, 9501441–83, 

9501441–95, 9501311–97, and 9501301– 

98 passenger seat assemblies; installed 

on, but not limited to, various transport 

category airplanes. AD 2011–07–05 was 

prompted by reports of cracks on certain 

backrest links. We issued AD 2011–07– 

05 to detect and correct cracking of 

backrest links, which could result in 

failure of the backrest links during 

emergency landing conditions and 

consequent injury to an occupant. 

Since we issued AD 2011–07–05, 

Amendment 39–16642 (76 FR 18020, 

April 1, 2011), we received a report that 

new seat backrest links could be 

affected by cracks similar to those 

identified on the backrest links with the 

previous design. 

The European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Community, has issued EASA 

Airworthiness Directive 2012–0038, 

dated March 12, 2012 (referred to after 

this as the Mandatory Continuing 

Airworthiness Information, or ‘‘the 

MCAI’’), to correct an unsafe condition 

for the specified products. The MCAI 

states: 

On in-service passenger seats, some cracks 

were found on seat backrest link with part 

number (P/N) 90–000200–104–1 and 90– 

000200–104–2. 

These cracks could significantly affect the 

structural integrity of the seat backrests. 

Failures of the seat backrests could result in 

injury to passengers or crew members during 

an emergency landing. 

To prevent this condition, a life limit was 

introduced on the affected backrest links and 

their mandatory replacement was required by 

[a French AD] * * * [which corresponds to 

FAA AD 2011–07–05, Amendment 39–16642 

(76 FR 18020, April 1, 2011)]. 

Since that [French] AD was issued, the seat 

manufacturer introduced new seat backrest 

links of similar design with P/N 90–000202– 

104–1 and P/N 90–000202–104–2 for 

passenger seat series 91B7, 91B8 and 91C5. 

Further analysis showed that also the new 

seat backrest links are potentially affected by 

similar cracks to those identified on the 

backrest links with the previous design. 

For the reasons described above, this 

[EASA] AD, which supersedes * * * [the 

French AD], requires visual inspections of 

the seat backrest links, the accomplishment 

of the applicable corrective actions as well as 

the replacement of the backrests links before 

reaching their life limit. 

Failure of the backrest links could 

result in injury to an occupant during 

emergency landing conditions. The 

required actions include a general visual 

inspection for cracking of backrest links, 

replacement with new links if cracking 


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