U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Federal Aviation 

Administration 

JUL 2 0 2011 

Small Airplane Directorate 

901 Locust 

Kansas City, MO 64106 

Mr. Sergio Augusto Viana de Carvalho 

Airworthiness Manager 

Embraer S .A. 

Av. Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 2170 -PC 179 

12227-901 Sao Jose dos Campos, SP-Brazil 

Dear Mr. Viana de Carvalho: 

We are enclosing a grant of your petition submitted on April 1, 2011, requesting exemption 

from the requirements of§ 23.562(a) of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This 

grant of exemption allows Embraer to install a two-place, side-facing divan into their model 

EMB-505 airplane using alternative testing criteria. 

If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Robert Stegeman at the above address or call 

him on 816-329-4140. 

Sincerely, 

Earl Lawrence 

Manager, Small Airplane Directorate 

Aircraft Certification Service 

Enclosure 

0 
Exemption No. 10321 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATIO

WASHINGTON, DC 20591 

N 

In the matter of the petition of 

EMBRAER S. A. 

for an exemption from §23.562(a) 

of Title 14, Code of 

Federal Regulations 

Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2011-0336 

GRANT OF EXEMPTION 

By letter dated March 21, 2011, Mr. Sergio Augusto Viana de Carvalho, Airworthiness 

Manager, Embraer S.A. (Embraer), Av. Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 2170-PC 179 12227-901 Sao 

Jose dos Campos, SP-Brazil, petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on behalf of 

Embraer for an exemption from§ 23.562(a) of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). 

The proposed exemption, if granted, would allow Embraer to install a two-place, side-facing 

divan into their model EMB-505 airplane using alternative testing criteria included herein. 

The petitioner requires relief from the following regulations: 

Section 23.562(a) prescribes dynamic seat testing for forward and aft-facing aircraft seats. 

This grant of exemption would allow Embraer model EMB-505 airplanes to be certificated with 

similar criteria currently used for side-facing seats. 

The petitioner supports its request with the following information: 

The petitioner states: 

Rationale: "The multiple-place side facing couch is required to comply with the requirements 

of 14 CFR 23.562, however the pass/fail injury criteria of these requirements were primarily 

developed for forward and aft facing seats and the National Civilian Aviation Agency of Brazil 

(ANAC) has determined that the existing regulations do not provide adequate safety standards 

for occupants of side facing couches. For this reason ANAC has indicated that the only 

certification method available for side facing couches is through an exemption from 14 CFR 

23.562(a). 

ACE-11-254-E 
2 

Embraer proposes the following injury criteria and testing for showing that Two Place Side 

Facing Divan will comply with injury criteria presented on 14 CFR 23.562(c) and in addition will 

meet the injury requirements for (Thoracic Trauma Index, Lateral Pelvic Acceleration, no contact 

of head, pelvis and thorax between adjacent ATDs, ATD body to wall/furnishing contact 

evaluation, occupant retention and shoulder strap loads) developed FAA specifically for side 

facing divans.” 

The Petitioner proposes the following injury criteria: 

 “The following proposed injury criteria and installation / testing guidelines represent the 

minimum acceptable standard:

1. Existing Criteria: All injury protection criteria of 14 CFR Part 23.562(c)(1) through (C)(7)

apply to the occupants of side facing seating. Head Injury Criterion (HIC) assessments are only

required for head contact with the seat and/or adjacent structures.

2. Body-to-Body Contact: Contact between the head, pelvis, torso or shoulder area of one

Anthropomorphic Test Dummy (ATD) with the adjacent seated ATD's head, pelvis torso or

shoulder area is not allowed during the tests conducted in accordance with 14 CFR Part

23.562(b)(1) and (b)(2). Contact during rebound is allowed.

3. Thoracic Trauma: If the torso of an ATD at the forward most seat place impacts seat and/or

adjacent structure during testing, Thoracic Trauma Index (TTI) injury criterion must be

substantiated by dynamic test or by rational analysis based on previous test(s) of a similar seat

installation. TTI data must be acquired with a Side Impact Dummy (SID), as defined by 49 CFR

Part 572, Subpart F, or an equivalent ATD or a more appropriate ATD and must be processed as

defined in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Part 571.214, section S11.5. TTI

must be less than 85, as defined in 49 CFR Part 572, Subpart F. Torso contact during rebound is

acceptable and need not be measured.

4. Pelvis: If the pelvis of an ATD at any seat place impacts seat and/or adjacent structure during

testing, pelvic lateral acceleration injury criteria must be substantiated by dynamic test or by

rational analysis based on previous test(s) of a similar seat installation. Pelvic lateral acceleration

must not exceed 130g. Pelvic acceleration data must be processed as defined in FMVSS Part

571.214, section S11.5.

5. Body-to-Wall/Furnishing Contact: If the seat is installed aft of a structure such as an interior

wall or furnishing that may contact the pelvis, upper arm, chest, or head of an occupant seated

next to the structure, the structure or a conservative representation of the structure and its

stiffness must be included in the tests. It is recommended, but not required, that the contact

surface of the actual structure be covered with at least two inches of energy absorbing protective

padding (foam or equivalent).
3 

6. Shoulder Strap Loads: Where upper torso straps (shoulder straps) are used for divan

occupants, the tension loads in individual straps must not exceed 1,750 pounds. If dual straps are

used for restraining the upper torso, the total strap tension loads must not exceed 2,000 pounds.

7. Occupant Retention: All side-facing seats require end closures or other means to prevent the

ATD's pelvis from translating beyond the end of the seat at any time during testing.

Proposed General Test Guidelines 

1. All seat positions need to be occupied by ATDs for the longitudinal tests.

2. A minimum of one longitudinal test, conducted in accordance with the conditions specified in

14 CFR Part 23.562(b)(2), is required to assess the injury criteria as follows. Note that if a seat is

installed aft of structure (e.g., an interior wall or furnishing) that does not have a homogeneous

surface, additional test(s) may be required to demonstrate that the injury criteria are met for the

area which an occupant could contact. For example, different yaw angles could result in different

injury considerations and may require separate tests to evaluate.

• For configurations without structure (e.g., wall, bulkhead) installed directly forward of the

forward seat place, Hybrid II ATDs or equivalent must be in all seat places.

• For configurations with structure (e.g., wall, bulkhead) installed directly forward of the

forward seat place, a SID or equivalent ATD or more appropriate ATD must be in the

forward seat place and a Hybrid II ATD or equivalent must be in all other seat places.

• The test may be conducted with or without deformed floor.

• The test must be conducted with either no yaw or 10 degrees yaw for evaluating occupant

injury. Deviating away from the no yaw condition must not result in the critical area of

contact not being evaluated. Allowing the test to be conducted at 10 degrees yaw will

permit many occupant injury tests to be considered the structural test as well and is

considered acceptable since an exemption is sought in lieu of compliance with part 23.

Note that this condition does not provide relief from the requirement that torso restraint

straps, where installed, must remain on the occupant's shoulder during the impact condition

of 14 CFR Part 23.562(b)(2).

3. For the vertical test, conducted in accordance with the conditions specified in 14 CFR Part

23.562(b)(1), Hybrid II ATDs or equivalent must be used in all seat positions.”

Public Interest: 

“The proposed certification requirements provide an adequate level of protection for the 

passengers seated in the divan during the minor crash landing conditions established in 14 CFR 

Part 23. The 2-place Side Facing Divan will provide a high level of comfort for the passengers, 

similar to aircraft of an upper category, and the commodity is an important item for the most 

clients which buy and operate EMBRAER executive aircraft conduct activities usually 

incompatible with commercial aircraft, like conferences, etc. Therefore granting of this 
4 

exemption is of public interest, because the expectancy is that the installation Two Place Side 

Facing Divan on EMS-505 aircraft is an important asset to bring the EMB-505 to a superior level 

of marketing, increasing the sales and consequent creation of more jobs for Embraer and partners 

(Brazilian and foreign). 

Denial of this petition would negatively impact the ability of the EMB-505 to compete with other 

airplanes in the executive market that have side facing divans either because they have earlier 

certification bases or because their Authority granted them an exemption similar to that being 

requested here. It is important to remark that a very similar exemption (from 14 CFR 23.562 (a)) 

was granted by FAA to an EMBRAER's competitor airplane (FAA Exemption 9593 granted to 

Cessna Aircraft Company on Feb 1 st, 1998). Denial of this petition would result in the loss of 

revenue for EMBRAER, its Brazilian suppliers, and have an adverse impact on the Brazilian 

economy, which is against public interest." 

A summary of the petition was published in the Federal Register on May 20, 2011 

(76 FR 29289). No comments were received. 

The FAA's analysis is as follows: 

The FAA finds that similar requests have been granted in the past; however, this exemption 

will apply the current associated rules and policies that have since changed as a result of ongoing 

testing. This testing included additional research regarding neck bending, body-to-body contact, 

and leg flailing injury from rotation about the knee. The FAA has carefully reviewed the 

information contained in the petitioner's request for exemption. The FAA agrees that Embraer's 

proposed requirements are similar to transport category requirements. The requirements 

contained within this exemption have been revised to reflect part 23 rules and safety 

considerations that reflect recent research findings. Embraer will test the two-place side-facing 

divans to the criteria below. 

The FAA's Decision 

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption is in the public interest and 

will not adversely affect safety when tested to the defined criteria. Therefore, pursuant to the 

authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 40113 and 44701, delegated to me by the Administrator, 

Embraer S.A. is granted an exemption from 14 CFR§ 23.562(a) to the extent necessary to allow 

type certification of the Embraer model EMB-505 airplane with two-place, side-facing divans, 

subject to the following conditions and limitations listed below. 

Conditions and Limitations 

The following injury criteria and installation/testing guidelines represent the minimum 

acceptable standard for incorporation in an exemption from the general occupant injury criteria 

of§ 23.562(a). This addresses an exemption from the general occupant injury criteria of 

§ 23.562(a) only for two-place, side-facing seats. Compliance with the structural requirements 

must be demonstrated for side-facing seats using the same conditions for the test and pass/fail 

criteria as for fore- and aft-facing seats. 
5 

1. Injury Criteria 

a) Existing Criteria: All injury protection criteria of§ 23.562(c)(l) through (c)(7) 

apply to the side-facing divan occupants. HIC assessments are only required for head contact 

with the seat and/or adjacent structures. 

b) Body-to-Body Contact: Contact between the head, pelvis, torso or shoulder area of 

one ATD with another ATD's head, pelvis, torso, or shoulder area during testing in accordance 

with§ 23.562(b) is allowed if the contact is minor and would not cause serious injury to either 

occupant. Contact of the legs, feet, arms, and hands of the occupants is acceptable. Contact 

during rebound is allowed. 

c) Thoracic Trauma: If the torso of an A TD at the most forward seat place impacts 

the seat and/or adjacent structure during testing, compliance with the TTI injury criterion must be 

substantiated by dynamic test or by rational analysis based on previous test(s) of a similar seat 

installation. TTI data must be acquired with a SID, as defined by 49 CFR part 572, subpart F, or 

an equivalent or more appropriate ATD and must be processed as defined in Federal Motor 

Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) part 571.214, section S6.13.5. TTI must be less than 85, as 

defined in 49 CFR part 572, subpart F. Torso contact during rebound is acceptable and need not 

be measured. 

d) Pelvis: If the pelvis of an ATD at any seat place impacts seat and/or adjacent 

structure during testing, pelvic lateral acceleration injury criteria must be substantiated by 

dynamic test or by rational analysis based on previous test(s) of a similar seat installation. Pelvic 

lateral acceleration must not exceed 130g. Pelvic acceleration data must be processed as defined 

in FMVSS part 571.214, section S6.13.5. 

e) Body-to-Wall/Furnishing Contact: Two-place, side-facing divans installed aft of a 

structure, such as an interior wall or furnishing, that may contact the pelvis, upper arm, chest, or 

head of an occupant seated next to the structure, then the structure or a conservative 

representation of the structure and its stiffness must be included in the tests. 

f) Occupant Retention: The forward side of the side-facing divan requires a statically 

tested end closure or a means to prevent the occupant from sliding off the seat. 

g) Head/Neck Injury: Some form of barrier must be employed to prevent injury from 

significant neck bending and seatbelt impingement on the neck during the tests conducted in 

accordance with§ 23.562(b). The barrier may be permanent, removable or a part of the restraint 

system. 

h) Leg: Flailing of the lower leg segments, such that the upper leg segment 

experiences torque shall be limited to 45 degrees of rotation about the knee in either direction 

from the nominal seated orientation. 
6 

2. General Guidelines 

a). All seat positions need to be occupied by ATDs for the longitudinal tests. 

b) A minimum of one longitudinal test, conducted in accordance with the condition

specified in § 23 .562(b )(2), is required to assess the injury criteria. If a two-place, side-facing 

divan is installed aft of a structure ( e.g., an interior wall or furnishing) that does not have a 

homogeneous surface, additional test(s) may be required to demonstrate that the injury criteria 

are met for the area which an occupant could contact. For example, different yaw angles could

result in different injury considerations and may require separate tests to evaluate. 

c) For configurations without a structure (e.g., wall, bulkhead) installed directly 

forward of the two-place, side-facing divan, Hybrid II ATDs or equivalent must be in all seat 

places. 

d) For configurations with a structure (e.g., wall, bulkhead) installed directly forwar

of the two-place, side-facing divan, a SID or equivalent ATD or more appropriate ATD must b

in the forward seat place and a Hybrid II ATD or equivalent must be in all other seat places. 

e) The injury criteria and installation tests may be conducted with or without 

deformed floor. 

f) The test must be conducted with either no yaw or 10 degrees of yaw for evaluatin

occupant injury. Deviating away from the no yaw condition must not result in the critical area 

contact not being evaluated. Conducting the test at 10 degrees yaw will permit many occupant

injury tests to be considered the structural test. This is acceptable since an exemption is sough

in lieu of compliance with part 23. This condition does not provide relief from the requiremen

that torso restraint straps, where installed, must remain on the occupant's shoulder during the 

impact condition specified in § 23 .562 (b )(2). 

g) For the vertical test conducted in accordance with the conditions specified in 

§ 23 .562(b)(l), Hybrid II ATDs or equivalent must be used in all seat positions. 

Issued in Kansas City, MO, on J uly 20, 2011. 

s 

d 

e 

g 

of 

t 

t 

Earl Lawrence 

Small Airplane Directorate 

Aircraft Certification Service