Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 188 / Monday, September 29, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 58243 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2014–0737; Special 

Conditions No. 25–570–SC] 

Special Conditions: Boeing, Model 

767–200/–300 Series Airplane, as 

Modified by Avionics Support Group; 

Installed Rechargeable Lithium 

Batteries and Battery Systems 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final special conditions; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: These special conditions are 

issued for the Boeing, Model 767–200/ 

–300 series airplanes. These airplanes, 

as modified by Avionics Support Group, 

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 an ePhone handset for use with the 

ICS SATCOM System that will 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 September 29, 

2014. We must receive your comments 

by November 13, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by docket number FAA–2014–0737 

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: 

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 March 3, 2014, Avionics Support 

Group applied for a supplemental type 

certificate (STC) for the installation of 

an ePhone handset for use with the ICG 

ICS–120A/220A SATCOM System that 

will use rechargeable lithium batteries 

and battery systems. The Model 767– 

200/–300 series airplanes are transport 

category airplanes powered by two 

turbo-fan engines. 

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. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under the provisions of 14 CFR 

21.101, Avionics Support Group must 

show that the Model 767–200/–300, as 

changed, continues to meet the 

applicable provisions of the regulations 

incorporated by reference in Type 

Certificate No. A1NM or the applicable 

regulations in effect on the date of 

application for the change. The 

regulations incorporated by reference in 

the type certificate are commonly 

referred to as the ‘‘original type 

certification basis.’’ 

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. 

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 Model 767–200/–300 series 

airplanes 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 an 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 Model 767–200/–300 

series airplanes 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. 


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58244 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 188 / Monday, September 29, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

Novel or Unusual Design Features 

The Model 767–200/–300 series 

airplanes will incorporate the following 

novel or unusual design feature: The 

installation of an ePhone handset for 

use with the ICG ICS–120A/220A 

SATCOM System that will use 

rechargeable lithium batteries and 

battery system. 

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. 

The proposed use of rechargeable 

lithium batteries for equipment and 

systems on the Model 767–200/–300 

series airplanes 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 and 

reliability of the lithium battery 

installations. 

At present, there is limited experience 

with the 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 electricvehicle industry, have noted safety 

problems 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 are to establish appropriate 

airworthiness standards for lithium 

battery installations in the Model 767– 

200/–300 series airplanes and to ensure, 

as required by §§ 25.1309 and 25.601, 

that these batteries are not hazardous or 

unreliable. 

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 Boeing 

Model 767–200/–300 series airplanes. 

Should Avionics Support Group apply 

at a later date for a supplemental type 

certificate to modify any other model 

included on Type Certificate No. A1NM 

to incorporate the same novel or 

unusual design feature, the special 

conditions would apply to that model as 

well. 

Conclusion 

This action affects only certain novel 

or unusual design features on two 

airplane model series. 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, which is 

imminent, 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 Boeing Model 

767–200/–300 series airplanes modified 

by Avionics Support Group. 

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 

Model 767–200/–300 series 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 systems on 

Model 767–200/–300 series airplanes, 

modified by Avionics Support Group, 

must be designed and installed as 

follows: 

1. Safe cell temperatures and 

pressures must be maintained during 

any foreseeable charging or discharging 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 188 / Monday, September 29, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 58245 

1See 77 FR 71741 (Dec. 4, 2012) (request for 

public comments). 

2 15 U.S.C. 13(d) (section 2(d) of the R–P Act) 

reads: ‘‘[I]t shall be unlawful for any person 

engaged in commerce to pay or contract for the 

payment of anything of value to or for the benefit 

of a customer of such person in the course of such 

commerce as compensation or in consideration for 

any services or facilities furnished by or through 

such customer in connection with the processing, 

handling, sale, or offering for sale of any products 

or commodities manufactured, sold, or offered for 

sale by such person, unless such payment or 

consideration is available on proportionally equal 

Continued 

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 must preclude the occurrence 

of self-sustaining, 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 shortcircuit 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) in the 

certification basis of airplane Model 767– 

200/–300 series airplanes. These special 

conditions apply only to rechargeable 

lithium batteries and lithium battery systems 

and their installations. The requirements of 

§ 25.1353(b) remain in effect for batteries and 

battery installations on Model 767–200/–300 

series airplanes that do not use lithium 

batteries. 

Issued in Renton, Washington, on 

September 19, 2014. 

Michael Kaszycki, 

Acting Manager, Transport Airplane 

Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–23042 Filed 9–26–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

16 CFR Part 240 

Guides for Advertising Allowances and 

Other Merchandising Payments and 

Services 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission. 

ACTION: Final changes to guides. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Trade 

Commission (‘‘the Commission’’) 

previously published in the Federal 

Register a request for public comments 

on the overall costs and benefits of and 

the continuing need for its Guides for 

Advertising Allowances and Other 

Merchandising Payments and Services 

(‘‘the Guides’’). The Commission issued 

this request as part of its program for 

periodic review of its rules and guides 

to ensure they are up-to-date, effective, 

and not overly burdensome. 

DATES: This action is effective as of 

November 10, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael J. Bloom, 202–326–2475, or 

Julie A. Goshorn, 202–326–3033, 

Federal Trade Commission, 

Washington, DC 20580. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Commission originally issued the 

Guides in 1969 to help businesses 

comply with sections 2(d) and 2(e) of 

the Robinson-Patman Act (‘‘R–P Act’’ or 

‘‘the Act’’). The Guides were last revised 

in 1990, to bring them into conformity 

with then-current legal developments 

and to eliminate nonessential 

requirements. See 55 FR 33651 (Aug. 17, 

1990). The changes published in this 

document reflect more recent legal 

developments as well as changes in 

technology and methods of marketing 

that have occurred since the Guides 

were last reviewed, such as the 

emergence of the Internet and 

widespread online marketing.1

As the name suggests, the Guides are 

not binding regulations, but are advisory 

interpretations providing assistance to 

businesses seeking to comply with 

sections 2(d) and 2(e) of the R–P Act.2


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