RA-13-03762 Enclosure Page 1 of 3

1 Petition for Amendment to Exemption No . 6425B which permits relief from 14

CFR 25. 562(b)(2) Amendment 25

- 64 from floor warpage t esting requirement for flight deck seats

Name and Address of the Petitioner

Douglas Lane, Deputy Lead Administrator The Boeing Company PO Box 3707, M/S 03-56 Seattle, Washington, 98124

Section(s) of the Regul ation(s) to which an Amendment is sought:

Section 25.562(b)(2), as am ended by Amendment 25-64, r equires the floor tracks

used to attach the seat to the floor to be misaligned with respect to the adjacent seat tracks by at least 10 degrees vertically (i.e. out of paralle l), with one rolled 10 degrees. The misalignment is used duri ng the forward loading dynamic test condition and applies to both crew and passenger seats.

Extent of Amendment Sought and Reason(s)

Boeing hereby petitions for an exempt ion from the floor warpage testing requirements of FAR 25.562 Amendment 25-64, for flight deck seats on Boeing Airplane Model 737 MAX ( 737-7/-8/-9). The 737 MAX models (737-7/-8/-9) are derivatives of corresponding 737NG models (737-700/-800/-900ER). The significant product level change for t he 737 MAX models is the new engine and related changes. With respect to FAR 25.562(b)(2 ), the 737 MAX flig ht deck seats are unchanged relative to the 737NG model airplanes, whic h were granted an exemption.

Description of Issue

Boeing 737-600/-700/-700C /-800/-900/-900ER, 757-3 00, 767-200C/-400ER, 777 series/-200, and 787 models were exempt from this requirement based on the following justification:

FAR 25.562 states that “... w here floor rails or floor fittings are used to attach the seating devices to the test fixture, the ra ils or fittings must be misaligned with respect to the adjacent set of rails or fittings by at least 10 degrees vertically (i.e., out of parallel) with one rolled 10 degrees.”

The preamble to Amendment 25- 64 states: “Crash investigations have shown that

localized cabin floor deformation can occu r in survivable crashes. This has beenRA-13-03762 Enclosure Page 2 of 3

2 confirmed by the controlled impact demonstration and drop tests involving transport category airplanes. The inabi lity of some seats to acco mmodate such deformations, remain in place, and restrain the occupa nts can contribute sign ificantly to [the] degree of injury during a crash. The simulated floor deformation used in the dynamic tests...will demonstrat e the tolerance of the seat and its attachments to

deformations that could occur in an actual crash.

The preamble also states the benefit of th is amendment is believed to be that “... some lives are expected to be sav ed that otherwise ma y not have been.”

This test requirement makes no distin ction between passenger and crew seats,

while the evidence mentioned in the preamble is believed to be based on passenger seats only. There is evidence to s uggest that floor warpage has not been a significant factor in flight deck seat failures during survivable crash conditions.

The FAA acknowledged in t he preamble to Amendment 25- 64 that the likelihood of seats designed to meet this amendment co sting more to manufacture and therefore to purchase, as well as increasing th e airplane operating cost due to a weight increase. In order to justif y the increased costs, it must be expected that some lives will be saved that otherwise may not hav e been. This does not appear to be the case for flight deck seats. Thes e increased costs will create an economic disadvantage for the 737-7/-8 /-9 without a commensurate ex pectation of saving lives that otherwise may have been lost.

Statement of Public Interest

Granting of this exemption is in the public interest because it will:

 Not adversely affect flight safety;

 Improve the efficiency of the Model 737-7/-8/-9;

 Tend to reduce air transportation fares;

 Improve the potential for sales to fore ign operators, which in turn improves the U.S. balance of payments;

Statement of No Adverse Effect on Safety

This test requirement makes no distin ction between passenger and crew seats,

while the evidence mentioned in the preamble is believed to be based on passenger seats only. There is evidence to suggest that floor warpage has not been a significant factor in flight deck seat failu res during survivable crash conditions. In Exemption No. 6425, the F AA noted, “Although some cockp it floor distortion have been observed after accidents, there has no t been a problem with flight deck seat separations due to floor buckling on narro w body and larger airp lanes which have a minimum of 40 inches of frangible structur e between the flight deck floor and theRA-13-03762 Enclosure Page 3 of 3

3 lower fuselage contour. The FAA now considers that requi ring testing of pilot seats with floor warpage cannot be justified on narrow body and larger airplanes.”

Summary to be Published in the Federal Register

PETITIONER: Boeing Commercial Airplanes

SECTION OF 14 CFR AFFECTED: 14 CFR 25.562(b)(2)

DESCRIPTION OF RELIEF SOUGHT: Exemption to permit relief from the 14CFR Part 25.562(b)(2) Amendment 25-64 compli ance with the 10 degrees of track misalignment and roll test requirements for f light deck seats in stalled on Boeing Model 737-7/ -8/-9 series airplanes.

Request to “Waive Pub lication and Comment”

The petitioner would like to request waiving the requirem ent for Federal Register publication because the exempti on, if granted, would not se t a precedent. This is not a new exemption but rather a revision to the existing ones to add additional model series aircraft. This request is bas ed on the rationale of similarity to the 737-

600/-700/-700C/-800/-900/ -900ER and exemptions grant ed on other Boeing models.

Privileges of the Exemption Ou tside of the United States

The petitioner would like to extend the privilege of the exemption outside of the United States. The same flight deck s eats are applicable to all 737NG and 737 MAX airplanes.

Conclusion

With reference to the FAA position when granting the exemptions for previous Boeing models, Boeing petitions for an exemption from the floor warpage testing requirement of 14 CFR Part 25.562(b)(2 ) Amendment 25-64 for flight deck seats installed on Boeing 737 MAX Models (737-7/-8/-9).