Feb. 7, 2014

U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management Facility 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE West Building Ground Floor

Room W12-140 Washington, DC 20590

Subject : Petition for Exemption from 14 CFR §25.785(h )(1) flight attendant direct view, §25.785(d) firm handhold, §25.791(a) no smoking placards, §25.813( e) doors between passenger compartments and §25.853(a)(1) maximum heat release rates for large pane l cabin interior materials on an Airbus Model A330-200 airplane.

Ref : Delta ODA STC Project no. ODA-2370-01

Background :

Delta Engineering is handling the certification for the completion of an executive business interior in Airbus Model A330-200 airplane. The NYACO F AA Organization Management Team (OMT) is reviewing our ODA Project Number ODA-2370-01 for this project.

This exemption is a repeat request of recently granted exemption 10878 issued to Gore Design Completions Ltd.

The certification basis of the Airbus A330-200 is 14 CFR Part 25, Amendments 25-1 through 25-63, 25- 65, 25-66, 25-68, 25-69, 25-73, 25-77, 25-78, 25-81, 25-82, 25-84 and 25-85 with numerous special conditions and equivalent safety findings. Also amendment levels 25-64 and 25-72 are met with exceptions.

There are good technical arguments to support special consideration for private use airplanes: the airplanes are not for public hire and they are configur ed to carry a fraction of the passengers carried in airline service. For these reasons, Delta Engineer ing has prepared a petiti on for exemption to the following regulations:Regulation Amendment Requirements

14 CFR §25.785(h)(1) Amendment 25-64 Flight attendant seats must be located to provide

direct view of the cabin area. 14 CFR §25.785(d) Amendment 25-64 Requires a “firm handhold” along each aisle.

14 CFR 25.791(a) Amendment 25-32 Requires signs in the passe nger cabin indicating when smoking is prohibited.

14 CFR §25.807(d)(7) Amendment 25-55 Gore exemption include 25.807(d)(7) at amendment

25-72 but the certif ication basis for 25.807 per the TCDS A46NM is 25-55 so exemption for the 60 feet requirement is not required as granted by exemption

10878.

14 CFR §25.813(e) Amendment 25-46 No door may be installed in any partition between

passenger compartments.

14 CFR §25.853(a)(1) Amendment 25-66 Limits maximum heat release rates for large panel

cabin interior materials.

Discussion :

14 CFR Part 25 governs design certificat ion of transport category airplane s. The primary intent of these regulations, as written, are to be certain that airplane manufacturers provide the appropriate design

features to meet the standards ne cessary to protect the traveling publ ic. Clearly, there is a requirement “in the public interest” and in the interest of safety to provide regulatory guid elines for certification. However, it is also very clear these regulations ar e intended to regulate the certification of “commercial” airplanes, which are “for hi re” to the general public.

While the greatest majority of these regulations re present a common sense inclusion for any aircraft regardless of its intended use, a few are obviously intende d to regulate situations th at are specific to an airline, or for hire operation. When a transport category airplane is operated under 14 CFR Part 91 or Part 125, some of the Part 25 rules have acceptance crite ria that are inappropriate, or are not compatible with the type of operation and the intended use of this airplane.

The FAA clearly recognizes these differences as evidenced by the issuance of Exemption numbers 6820A, 6822, 7120A, 7489, 9786 and numerous others whic h eliminate many of the more onerous regulations when applied to “priva te use, not-for hire” operations under 14 CFR Part 91 and Part 125.

Basis for Exemption :

The airplane that is the subject of this petition is an Airbus Model A330-200. It is privately owned and will be operated under Part 125 regulations or othe r equivalent non-US foreign national operational standard. In accordance with 14 CFR §11.81(h), we request to exercise the privilege of this exemption outside the United States since the operator of the airplane is located in Turkey.

The interior configuration being inst alled in this airplane is planned to provide seating for ninety-eight (98) passengers (see attached floor plan drawing) for taxi, takeoff, and landing – 4 passengers in the office, 3 passengers in the conference room, and 91 passengers in business class. There are an additional 10 seats in the lounge and six seats in the conference room that are not occupied for taxi, takeoff, and landing.The remaining seats in the cabin are to be occupied by crew only – three cabin a ttendants in the door 1 area, two cabin attendants in th e door 3 area, and four cabin a ttendants in the door 4 area. Two

additional crew seats are in the crew rest area. The maximum certified passenger count for this airplane is 375 seats for three pairs of Type A and one pair of Type 1 exits configurat ion. The passenger count of the subject airplane represents just 24% of the capacity allowed for this airplane.

Regulation 14 CFR §25.785(h)(1)

Customers are buying these large airp lanes as an extension of the o ffice and are requiring privacy areas within the airplane sometimes spanning the whole cabi n, such as board rooms, bedrooms, lavatories, and lounges rather than tr aditional airline type seati ng. An exemption to the flight attendant direct view requirement is therefore needed to allow the full us e of the airplane capabi lities. In addition, this requirement was incorporated into the FAA ru les through amendment 25-51. Out of the comments submitted to the FAA during the NPRM comments peri od, two said that, if galley doors were used as emergency exits, the placement of an attendant seat near the exit preclude compliance with the requirement that the attendant be pr ovided with direct view of the cabin area. To cover this situation, it was suggested that the requirement be conditioned to apply in so far as practicable and without compromising the proximity to required floor level ex its. The FAA concurred and further stated in the preamble to the final rules that “locat ion of the flight attendant seats near the floor level exits in this case is more important than the requirement to have a di rect view of the cabin”. The final rule was revised from the NPRM proposal to addr ess this relative importance.

Regulation 14 CFR §25.785(d)

Customers are buying airplanes because they wish to create a spacious and impressive atmosphere they are used to. The wide body of the A330 satisfies thes e requirements. On the other hand, the requirement for firm hand hold along the aisles cannot be met for certain areas in the passenge r cabin due to the wide open spaces, specifically, the lounge, conference room and passageways. On a typical “commercial” flight this requirement is met by the individual seat backs which t ypically provide an adequate hand hold for a passenger to stabilize themselves in the aisle during turbulence. In fact due to the spaciousness of the interior there is no readily identifiable “aisl e” in the conference room . Any construction hanging from the ceiling would ruin the appearance of the hi gh quality interior, is not acceptable to the customer, and may add additional safety concerns.

It has been acknowledged by the FAA, that the passengers on this type of airplane are typically the same people on most of the trips. Familiarity with the airplane layout and operation provides an addition benefit towards the level of safety.

Regulation 14 CFR §25.791(a)

The proposed VIP airplane is intended to be a non-sm oking airplane. Placards will be displayed at each entry door indicating such and passengers are familia r with this designation of the airplane. An acceptable level of safety will be maintained with placement of placards different than required in the applicable rule but equally visibl e to all occupants upon boarding. Ther efore, an exemption to the No Smoking Placards requirement, similar to that grante d in Exemption 10686, is needed to meet the needs

of the end customer.

Regulation 14 CFR §25.813(e)There will be six manual mechani cal pocket type doors (one each lo cated at the office/bedroom and hallway/lounge doorways and two located each at the lounge/conference room and conference room/business class seating area doorways) and an elec trically actuated mechanical pocket type door is located at the hallway/office doorwa y. Swing doors are located between passenger compartments in the hallway/bedroom and bedroom/VIP lavatory doorways. An additional swing door that is not between passenger compartments is located in the front entry/hallway doorway. Door between passenger compartments (except for the bedroom door) will have the following design feat ures: dual latches (each

of which are able to withstand the forces de fined by 14 CFR §25.561) to s ecure them in the open position, cockpit annunciation of the door position for taxi, takeoff and landing, and the doors will be frangible in the event that they should become st uck in the closed position. The bedroom door will be placarded to be closed for taxi, takeoff and landing and this door will be shown to be frangible.

Regulation 14 CFR §25.853(a)(1)

With the sudden growth in the VIP or executive transport airplane market together with the simultaneous introduction of more stringent interior material flammability standards, aircraft interior

modifiers have been faced with a serious dilemma in resolving the styling re quirements of the private aircraft owner/operator of these executive aircraft and the flammability requirements imposed by §25.853. For the most part, modifiers have been able to simultaneously satis fy both the styling and interior material flammability requirements of §25.853(a) and (c) with great effort and diligence; however, many of the materials requ ired in these aircraft interiors simply ca nnot pass the 65/65 heat release requirement of § 25.853(a)(1) no matter how diligen t the designer is. It is not within the grasp of current technology to make certain na tural materials conform to these standards and the owners of these airplanes define, in fact demand, the use of these materials. It should be understood that these aircraft must be outfitted in a style not unlike fine executive board rooms or luxurious residences to satisfy their private users.

Occupant Safety Considerations :

14 CFR §25.785(h)(1)

Considering the reduced numb er of occupants in the business, privat e airplane, in this case 24% of that

of a traditional commercial confi guration, and the familiarity of the flight and cabin crews with the specific airplane, the passengers a nd the interior arrangement, and the wording of the existing rule that places the emphasis for safety on the proximity of the exit to the attendant over the ability of the attendant to view the cabin area, th ere should be no degradation in the pa ssenger safety as a result of this requested exemption.

14 CFR §25.785(d)

The risk for occupants due to the non-availability of direct hand holds in certain areas of the airplane should be considered acceptabl e for the following reasons:

● All furniture in the passenger cabin has rounded corners and e dges to avoid serious injury in case

of turbulence.

● The installed seat and divans are heavily upholstered and will not cause injuries when contacted.

● In the conference room, seat backs, tables, and furniture are readily within reach with one or two

steps.● There will be a recommendation to passengers to remain seated with their seat belts fastened in case of turbulence during flight.

● Occupants are intimately familiar with the interior arrangement.

● The airplane will be operated under 14 CFR Part 125 and will not be operated for hire or offered for common carriage.

14 CFR §25.791(a)

There is no safety risk for occupants due to the special placement requireme nts of no smoking placards.

14 CFR §25.813(e)

The risk for occupants due to the use of doors betw een passenger compartments should be considered acceptable for the following reasons:

● All doors between passenger comp artments will be frangible.

● The swing door between the bedroom and hallway will be placarded to be closed for takeoff and landing.

● The pocked door between the office and bedroom will be placarded to be closed for takeoff and landing.

● The pocket doors between the hallway and loun ge, between the lounge a nd conference room, and

between the conference room and business class area will be placarded to be open for takeoff and landing.

● The doors between passenger compartments will have dual means to retain them in the open position for takeoff and landing, each of which will be capable of withstanding the inertia loads specified in 14 CFR §25.561.

● The airplane will be operated under 14 CFR Part 125 and will be not be operated for hire or offered for common carriage.

● The AFMS will provide proce dures and limitations to ensure that the doors are in the proper position for takeoff and landing.

14 CFR §25.853(a)(1)

The vast majority of the rule was driven by the post -crash fire experiences in airline operations. The 65/65 heat release regulation was specifically developed to reduce the likelihood of the flash-over phenomenon which was proven by tests to be a prime c ontributor to the rapid pr opagation of post-crash cabin interior fires and the gene ration of blinding smoke. Rapid fire propagation combined with the relatively slow rate of passenger ev acuation from densely packed air ca rrier airplanes has proven to be a deadly combination during actual airline accidents. Si nce it is clear that material selection is being controlled by aesthetics in this a pplication, we cannot exercise any re al control over the actual heat release but the exposure time to this heat release is st ill within the designer’s control. Therefore, it is proposed as a first step in mitigati ng the fire hazard that an evacuati on analysis be performed to show that all souls on board can be safely evacuated in less than 45 seconds. This would be possible because of excess emergency exits for the airplane pass enger capacity, eleven flight attendants, smooth evacuation routes, and the small numb er of seats in the cabin. In addi tion, GDC will instal l fire detectors in the conference/dining room, offi ce, lounge and bedroom that would compensate for the potential for an increased in-flight fire threat.Public Interest :

As in the cases of numerous alre ady established Exemptions, granting this petition for exemption would be clearly in the public inte rest for the following reasons:

● It allows efficient and safe carriage of H ead of State and execu tives in the sought for environment that would otherwise not be possible,

● There is no degradation of safe ty involved with this request a nd therefore no detrimental impact to the public at large,

● Increased sales of these executive configured transport airplanes will ultimately result in some portion of those airplanes bei ng completed at US owned or operated aircraft completion facilities, providing improved financial performance and work force stability for those organizations as well,

● Improved financial performance of US owned or operated corporations, and increased work force stability translates into continued a nd improved tax revenue for all governmental organization involved,

● Improved financial performance allows US cor porations to continue to invest in new R & D research which will allow the US to maintain or improve its competitive position in the world

economy,

● A large number of these types of sales can be predicted to be to “offshore” clients, improving the

US balance of trade deficit.

Public Comment :

In accordance with 14 CFR 11.87, Delta Engineering Co rporation, requests that the period for public

comment be waived because of numerous similar ex emptions that have previously been granted.

If you have any questions regardi ng this data, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Jonathan E. Moritz Delta Engineering 13 DRBA Way New Castle, DE 19720 (302) 325-9351