This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

33147 

Vol. 86, No. 119 

Thursday, June 24, 2021 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 25 

[Docket No. FAA–2020–0893; Notice No. 25– 

21–02–SC] 

Special Conditions: Pro Star Aviation 

LLC, Bombardier Model CL–600–2B16 

Airplanes; Installation of an Infrared 

Laser Countermeasure System. 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed special 

conditions. 

SUMMARY: This action proposes special 

conditions for the Bombardier Model 

CL–600–2B16 (Bombardier) airplane. 

This airplane, as modified by Pro Star 

Aviation LLC (Pro Star Aviation), 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 a system that emits infrared laser 

energy outside the aircraft as a 

countermeasure against heat-seeking 

missiles. The applicable airworthiness 

regulations do not contain adequate or 

appropriate safety standards for this 

design feature. These proposed 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: Send comments on or before 

August 9, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments identified 

by Docket No. FAA–2020–0893 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: Except for Confidential 

Business Information (CBI) as described 

in the following paragraph, and other 

information as described in 14 CFR 

11.35, the FAA will post all comments 

received without change, to http://

www.regulations.gov/, including any 

personal information you provide. The 

FAA will also post a report 

summarizing each substantive verbal 

contact received about this proposal. 

Confidential Business Information 

Confidential Business Information 

(CBI) is commercial or financial 

information that is both customarily and 

actually treated as private by its owner. 

Under the Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt 

from public disclosure. If your 

comments responsive to this document 

contain commercial or financial 

information that is customarily treated 

as private, that you actually treat as 

private, and that is relevant or 

responsive to this document, it is 

important that you clearly designate the 

submitted comments as CBI. Please 

mark each page of your submission 

containing CBI as ‘‘PROPIN.’’ The FAA 

will treat such marked submissions as 

confidential under the FOIA, and they 

will not be placed in the public docket 

of this document. Send submissions 

containing CBI to the person indicated 

in the Contact section below. Comments 

that the FAA receives which are not 

specifically designated as CBI will be 

placed in the public docket for this 

rulemaking. 

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: Eric 

Peterson, Safety Risk Management 

Section, AIR–633, Policy and 

Innovation Division, Aircraft 

Certification Service, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 2200 South 216th 

Street, Des Moines, Washington 98198; 

telephone and fax 206–231–3413; email 

Eric.M.Peterson@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

The FAA invites you to send any 

written relevant data, views or 

arguments about this proposal. Send 

your comments to an address listed 

under ADDRESSES. Include ‘‘Docket No. 

FAA–2020–0893’’ at the beginning of 

your comments. The most helpful 

comments reference a specific portion of 

the special conditions, explain the 

reason for any recommended change, 

and include supporting data. 

The FAA will consider all comments 

received by the closing date and may 

amend these special conditions because 

of those comments. 

Background 

On December 7, 2018, Pro Star 

Aviation applied for a supplemental 

type certificate to install a ‘‘Large 

Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure 

(LAIRCM)’’ system, which directs 

infrared laser energy toward heatseeking missiles, on the Bombardier 

Model CL–600–2B16 airplane. This 

airplane, which is a derivative of the 

Bombardier Model CL–600 series 

airplanes currently approved under 

Type Certificate No. A21EA, is a twinengine business jet with seating for 20 

passengers and two crewmembers, and 

a maximum takeoff weight of 47,600 

pounds. 

Type Certification Basis 

Under the provisions of title 14, Code 

of Federal Regulations (14 CFR 21.101), 

Pro Star Aviation must show that the 

Bombardier Model CL–600–2B16 

airplane, as changed, continues to meet 

the applicable provisions of the 

regulations listed in Type Certificate No. 

A21EA, or the applicable regulations in 

effect on the date of application for the 

change, except for earlier amendments 

as agreed upon by the FAA. 

If the Administrator finds that the 

applicable airworthiness regulations 

(e.g., 14 CFR part 25) do not contain 

adequate or appropriate safety standards 

for the Bombardier Model CL–600–2B16 


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33148 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 119 / Thursday, June 24, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

airplane because of a novel or unusual 

design feature, special conditions are 

prescribed under the provisions of 

§ 21.16. 

Special conditions are initially 

applicable to the model for which they 

are issued. Should the applicant apply 

for a supplemental type certificate to 

modify any other model included on the 

same type certificate to incorporate the 

same novel or unusual design feature, 

these special conditions would also 

apply to the other model under § 21.101. 

In addition to the applicable 

airworthiness regulations and special 

conditions, the Bombardier Model CL– 

600–2B16 airplane 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 

§ 21.101. 

Novel or Unusual Design Features 

The Bombardier Model CL–600–2B16 

airplane, as modified by Pro Star 

Aviation, will incorporate the following 

novel or unusual design feature: 

A system that emits infrared laser 

energy outside the aircraft. 

Discussion 

In recent years, in several incidents 

abroad, civilian aircraft were fired upon 

by man-portable air defense systems 

(MANPADS). This has led several 

companies to design and adapt systems 

like LAIRCM for installation on civilian 

aircraft, to protect those aircraft against 

heat-seeking missiles. Pro Star 

Aviation’s LAIRCM system directs 

infrared laser energy toward an 

incoming missile, in an effort to 

interrupt the missile’s tracking of the 

aircraft’s heat. 

Infrared laser energy can pose a 

hazard to persons on the aircraft, on the 

ground, and on other aircraft. The risk 

is heightened because infrared light is 

invisible to the human eye. Human 

exposure to infrared laser energy can 

result in eye and skin damage, and 

affect a flight crew’s ability to control 

the aircraft. Infrared laser energy can 

also affect other aircraft, whether 

airborne or on the ground, and property, 

such as fuel trucks and airport 

equipment, in a manner that adversely 

affects aviation safety. 

FAA design standards for transport 

category airplanes did not envisage that 

a design feature could project infrared 

laser energy outside the airplane. The 

FAA’s design standards are inadequate 

to address this capability. Therefore, 

this system is a novel or unusual design 

feature, and the FAA has developed 

these proposed special conditions to 

establish a level of safety equivalent to 

that of the regulations. 

Special conditions are also warranted, 

per 14 CFR 21.16, because FAA design 

standards are inappropriate for this 

design feature. 14 CFR 25.1301 requires 

installed equipment to be of a design 

that is appropriate for its intended 

function. The FAA has no basis to 

determine whether this LAIRCM system 

will successfully perform its intended 

function of thwarting heat-seeking 

missiles. 

The special conditions that the FAA 

proposes to address the installation of 

the LAIRCM system on this model of 

airplane are as follows. 

Ground Activation. Condition 1 

requires the design to have means to 

prevent inadvertent operation of the 

system while the airplane is on the 

ground, including during maintenance. 

These means must identify and address 

all foreseeable failure modes that may 

result in inadvertent operation. These 

modes include errors in airplane 

maintenance and operating procedures, 

such as erroneously setting the system 

to ‘‘air’’ mode while the airplane is on 

the ground. The applicant could show 

such failure modes, their risks, and how 

they will be addressed, by conducting 

safety assessments and incorporating 

prevention strategies into the design. 

In-Flight Activation. Condition 2 

requires that the system be designed so 

that in-flight operation does not result 

in damage to the airplane or to other 

aircraft, or injury to any person. To 

account for these effects, the applicant’s 

analysis should include effects from the 

system’s erroneous operation, from 

system failures, and from failures that 

may not be readily detectable prior to 

flight (i.e. latent failures). The applicant 

may address this condition through 

safety assessments and incorporation of 

prevention strategies into its design. The 

‘‘operation’’ addressed by Condition 2 

includes all operation of the system, 

whether intentional, inadvertent, or 

automatic. 

Markings, instructions, and other 

information. Conditions 3, 4, and 5 are 

intended to protect certain categories of 

persons based upon their expected 

interaction with the system. These 

conditions require the design to supply 

certain safety information to these 

persons. 

Condition 3 requires the design to 

provide pertinent laser-safety 

information to maintenance and service 

personnel at the location of the 

installation. At a minimum, such 

‘‘pertinent’’ information will include 

information about potential hazards to 

persons who are using optical 

magnification devices, such as 

magnifying glasses or binoculars. The 

warning information should be 

consistent with the laser’s classification 

in 21 CFR parts 1000–1010. 

Condition 4 requires the airplane 

instructions for continued airworthiness 

to contain the appropriate warnings 

related to the laser’s classification. Like 

the warning information to be provided 

at the location of the laser system’s 

installation, the purpose of this 

condition is to ensure any person 

maintaining the system is aware of the 

hazards, including those related to the 

use of magnifying glasses or binoculars. 

Condition 5 requires the applicant to 

update the airplane operating 

limitations and information required 

under 14 CFR 25.1581. The airplane 

flight-manual supplement insert must 

describe the intended function of the 

LAIRCM system, its intended operation, 

and the phases of flight in which it may 

be used. The insert also must add a 

caution that describes the significant 

risk of injury the LAIRCM system poses 

to others while in proximity to other 

aircraft, airports, and populated areas. 

These proposed 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. 

After considering public comment, 

should the FAA impose these special 

conditions on the applicant, and issue a 

supplemental type certificate for the 

installation of this system, such 

approvals would not constitute approval 

to operate the system. FAA Advisory 

Circular 70–1, Outdoor Laser 

Operations, provides guidance on 

obtaining operational approval. 

Applicability 

As discussed above, these special 

conditions are applicable to the 

Bombardier Model CL–600–2B16 

airplane with the Pro Star Aviation 

LAIRCM system installed. Should Pro 

Star Aviation apply at a later date for a 

supplemental type certificate to modify 

any other model included on Type 

Certificate No. A21EA to incorporate the 

same novel or unusual design feature, 

these special conditions would apply to 

that model as well. 

Conclusion 

This action affects only a certain 

novel or unusual design feature on one 

model of airplane. It is not a rule of 

general applicability and affects only 

the applicant. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 119 / Thursday, June 24, 2021 / Proposed Rules 33149 

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 25 

Aircraft, Aviation safety, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

Authority Citation 

The authority citation for these 

special conditions is as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40113, 

44701, 44702, 44704. 

The Proposed Special Conditions 

Accordingly, the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) proposes the 

following special conditions as part of 

the type certification basis for the 

Bombardier Model CL–600–2B16 

airplane with the LAIRCM system, as 

modified by Pro Star Aviation. 

1. The system must have means that 

prevent the inadvertent activation of the 

system on the ground, including during 

airplane maintenance and ground 

handling. Such means must address all 

foreseeable failure modes and operating 

and maintenance errors. 

2. The system must be designed so 

that its operation in-flight does not 

result in damage to the airplane or other 

aircraft, or injury to any person. 

Operation of the system must not be 

capable of compromising continued safe 

flight and landing of other aircraft and 

the airplane on which it is installed, 

either by direct damage, laser-reflective 

damage, or through distraction or 

incapacitation of crew. 

3. Laser-safety information for 

maintaining or servicing the airplane 

must be prominently placarded on the 

airplane or LAIRCM system at the 

location of the laser installation. 

4. Instructions for continued 

airworthiness for installation, removal, 

and maintenance of the LAIRCM system 

must contain warnings appropriate to 

the laser classification concerning the 

hazards associated with exposure to 

laser radiation. This includes 

instructions regarding potential hazards 

to personnel who are using optical 

magnification devices such as 

magnifying glasses or binoculars. 

5. The airplane flight manual 

supplement (AFMS) must describe the 

intended functions of the installed laser 

systems, to include identifying the 

intended operations and phases of 

flight. The AFMS must state, 

‘‘CAUTION: The operation of the 

installed laser system could pose 

significant risk of injury to others while 

in proximity to other aircraft, airports, 

and populated areas.’’ 

Issued in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 

14, 2021. 

Patrick R. Mullen, 

Manager, Technical Innovation Policy 

Branch, Policy and Innovation Division, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–12833 Filed 6–23–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2021–0507; Project 

Identifier 2018–SW–117–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Leonardo 

S.p.a. Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to adopt a 

new airworthiness directive (AD) for 

certain Leonardo S.p.a. Model AB139 

and Model AW139 helicopters. This 

proposed AD was prompted by a report 

that, during a post-flight inspection of 

an in-service helicopter, a tail rotor 

slider assembly was found fractured, 

and the bushing and the actuator rod in 

the tail rotor servo were partially 

damaged. This proposed AD would 

require an inspection of the tail rotor 

slider assembly for corrosion and signs 

of circumferential refinishing and, 

depending on the findings, replacement 

of the tail rotor slider assembly with a 

serviceable part or repetitive inspections 

of the of the tail rotor slider assembly 

for corrosion and signs of 

circumferential refinishing, as specified 

in a European Aviation Safety Agency 

(now European Union Aviation Safety 

Agency) (EASA) AD, which is proposed 

for incorporation by reference (IBR). The 

FAA is proposing this AD to address the 

unsafe condition on these products. 

DATES: The FAA must receive comments 

on this proposed AD by August 9, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 

11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

https://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: Deliver to Mail 

address above between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

For EASA material that is proposed 

for IBR in this AD, contact EASA, 

Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 3, 50668 

Cologne, Germany; telephone +49 221 

8999 000; email ADs@easa.europa.eu; 

internet www.easa.europa.eu. You may 

find this IBR material on the EASA 

website at https://ad.easa.europa.eu. 

You may view the EASA material at the 

FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel, 

Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood 

Pkwy., Room 6N–321, Fort Worth, TX 

76177. For information on the 

availability of the EASA material at the 

FAA, call (817) 222–5110. The EASA 

material is also available at https://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2021– 

0507. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket at 

https://www.regulations.gov by 

searching for and locating Docket No. 

FAA–2021–0507; or in person at Docket 

Operations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. The AD docket contains this 

NPRM, the EASA AD, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for Docket Operations is 

listed above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Andrea Jimenez, Aerospace Engineer, 

COS Program Management Section, 

Operational Safety Branch, Compliance 

& Airworthiness Division, FAA, 1600 

Stewart Ave., Suite 410, Westbury, NY 

11590; telephone (516) 228–7330; email 

andrea.jimenez@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

The FAA invites you to send any 

written relevant data, views, or 

arguments about this proposal. Send 

your comments to an address listed 

under ADDRESSES. Include ‘‘Docket No. 

FAA–2021–0507; Project Identifier 

2018–SW–117–AD’’ at the beginning of 

your comments. The most helpful 

comments reference a specific portion of 

the proposal, explain the reason for any 

recommended change, and include 

supporting data. The FAA will consider 

all comments received by the closing 

date and may amend this proposal 

because of those comments. 

Except for Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) as described in the 

following paragraph, and other 

information as described in 14 CFR 

11.35, the FAA will post all comments 

received, without change, to https:// 


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